You open your banking app. You look at the balance. You look at retirement savings. You think about college. You think about inflation. You think about how much groceries cost this week.

And then you close the app.

Not because you do not care. But because it feels like too much.

The truth is, most mothers are running households like chief operating officers, yet feel oddly underqualified when it comes to investing and long-term wealth. We can coordinate sports schedules across three calendars, but the words index fund still make us pause.

Let’s simplify this.

This is not about becoming a financial analyst. It is about understanding your options, using what fits your life, and building wealth steadily without spiraling.

Step One: Build Stability Before You Build Wealth

Before investing, before side income, before debating stocks at soccer practice, there is one foundational move that matters most: an emergency cushion.

For moms, this is not just a rainy day fund. It is a peace of mind fund.

Ideally, that means three to six months of essential expenses sitting in a high-yield savings account. Not invested. Not tied up. Liquid and accessible.

Online banks such as Ally Bank, Marcus by Goldman Sachs and Capital One 360 offer high-yield savings accounts that typically earn significantly more than traditional brick and mortar bank accounts. These accounts are built for exactly this purpose.

Because investing is long term. Emergencies are not.

Once that base is set, you can move forward with confidence instead of anxiety.

Step Two: Understand the Three Core Investing Buckets

Most long-term wealth building for families falls into three areas: retirement accounts, brokerage accounts, and education savings.

When you break it down this way, it feels less overwhelming.

Retirement Accounts

If you have access to a workplace 401k, that is usually your first stop. Especially if your employer offers a match. An employer match is essentially free money, and it compounds over time.

Many 401k plans are held with companies like Fidelity, Vanguard or Charles Schwab.

If you already have an account with one of these, log in and check your contribution rate. Even increasing it by one percent can make a meaningful difference over time.

If you do not have access to a workplace plan, opening an individual retirement account is straightforward. These platforms allow you to open Roth or Traditional IRAs online in minutes.

A Roth IRA can be particularly powerful for many moms because contributions are made with after-tax dollars and qualified withdrawals in retirement are tax free. That long-term tax advantage can be significant.

For those who prefer a more hands-off approach, robo-advisors such as Betterment automatically build and manage diversified portfolios for you.

The key here is not perfection. It is consistency.

Brokerage Accounts

A brokerage account allows you to invest beyond retirement limits and access funds without age restrictions. This is where many women begin building wealth more flexibly.

You can open brokerage accounts with Fidelity, Vanguard or Schwab.

For beginners who prefer an app-based experience, Stash offers smaller automatic investment options that feel less intimidating.

Within these accounts, many long-term investors favor low-cost index funds or exchange traded funds that track the overall market. Rather than trying to pick the next winning stock, this approach spreads risk and builds growth gradually.

This is not about chasing headlines. It is about compounding.

Education Savings

If college is part of your child’s future, a 529 plan offers tax advantages for education expenses. Contributions grow tax deferred and withdrawals for qualified education costs are tax free.

Well-known plans such as the New York 529 College Savings Program and Utah’s my529 are accessible and highly rated. Many states also offer their own plans with potential state tax benefits, so checking your home state first is wise.

But here is the rule many moms need to hear clearly: your retirement comes first.

There are loans for college. There are no loans for retirement.

Step Three: Automate Everything

Moms are busy. If investing depends on remembering, it will not happen consistently.

Set up automatic contributions to your 401k. Schedule monthly transfers into your Roth IRA. Automate investments within your brokerage account.

Automation removes emotion from the process. It also prevents the common mistake of trying to time the market.

Consistency beats perfect timing every single time.

Step Four: Increase Income Intentionally

Saving is powerful. Earning more accelerates everything.

Negotiating a raise at work can have a greater long-term impact than cutting lattes. A small salary increase compounds over decades.

For additional income, platforms like Upwork allow freelance work in writing, design, consulting, and more. Shopify and Etsy offer pathways for product-based income streams.

The goal is not to exhaust yourself. It is to channel additional income strategically. Direct extra earnings toward investing instead of lifestyle expansion, and growth multiplies.

Beyond the Numbers

Money is rarely just math. It carries emotion, identity, security, and sometimes guilt.

Many women worry they are behind. Career pauses, part-time work, or caregiving years can create doubt.

But investing rewards starting, not perfection.

Fifty dollars invested monthly for years builds more wealth than waiting for the perfect moment to invest thousands.

Compound growth favors action.

The Bottom Line

You do not need to memorize stock charts or financial jargon.

You need:

A solid emergency fund.
A retirement contribution plan.
A brokerage strategy if appropriate.
Automation.
Intentional income growth.

Wealth for moms is not about obsession. It is about options.

Options to retire comfortably.
Options to pivot careers.
Options to help your children.
Options to say no when you need to.

And that kind of freedom is worth learning the basics for.

The post The Mom’s Guide to Saving, Investing, and Actually Building Wealth (Without Becoming a Finance Expert) appeared first on AKAMom Magazine.

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The struggle is real. Many try to save money — at least for a few weeks — by bringing a sack lunch to work, driving past their fancy coffee shop or ignoring enticing emails of storewide clearance sales.

USAA Bank surveyed people of all ages and income levels about how they save money and find extra cash in a pinch. Though many respondents said they are trying to save, most expressed difficulty doing so.

“Savings are typically based on life stages. Those who are just starting out are saving for a major purchase, such as a car or home. If you’re older you’re more focused on retirement,” says Mikel Van Cleve, director of personal finance advice at USAA.

As expected, USAA’s research found a person’s ability to save largely depends on their age and household income. Older Americans and those with greater incomes use their savings to cover unexpected expenses and save for retirement.

Those with household incomes less than $35,000 are significantly more likely to say they’re not able to save regularly. To be sure, economists say slower income growth in the last decade also may have contributed to inadequate savings levels.

When asked how they cover unexpected expenses, most respondents reported taking money out of a savings account. However, nearly half of respondents seek out additional work; 35 percent have been compelled to borrow money from family and friends; 23 percent have sold personal items and 8 percent have taken out a payday loan.

More than half of American households have less than one month of income available in readily accessible savings to use in case of an emergency, according to a new report from the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Household Saving Rate in the United States increased to 5.6 percent in October from 5.3 percent in September of 2015, the highest since December 2012, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Personal Savings in the United States averaged 8.36 percent from 1959 until 2015, reaching an all-time high of 17 percent in May of 1975 and a record low of 1.90 percent in July of 2005.

The good news is that eliminating the occasional grande macchiato and ignoring a swanky handbag that’s finally 50 percent off, might not be necessary or most effective. JJ Montanaro, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER (TM) at USAA, said there’s a better way to save.

He offers a few simple strategies to try in 2016:

• Review routine bills and compare service providers. Look for ways of reducing fees and costs.

• Look into refinancing your mortgage or auto loan — you may qualify for a lower rate. It doesn’t hurt to ask.

• Find the right credit card. Look for a card with a low interest rate or cash-back rewards.

• Trade down to a less expensive car. We often spend more on transportation than necessary.

“Most people think that in order to make a dent in their savings, they have to cut out all unnecessary daily expenses like trips to the coffee shop, but there are other ways to help you save more and reduce annual spending,” Montanaro said.

To learn more about how USAA can help you reach your financial goals, visit www.usaa.com.

The post A Resolution to Keep: Save more Money appeared first on AKAMom Magazine.

October was National Cyber Security Awareness month and during that time, millions of online identities were stolen in America with more than 200 published breaches.

We’re now getting close to 1 billion records of identity theft – more than three times our entire population in the United States.

Nearly two-thirds of Americans have heard, read or seen something about online safety and security issues recently, according to StopThinkConnect.org. Yet consumers also say they don’t take steps to stay safe online because they lack information or knowledge.

So here are my best tips to help you enjoy Black Friday, CyberMonday and the Christmas shopping experience without losing your privacy and identity or putting your children’s safety at risk:

• Change your passwords – all of them. Do it now and do it as frequently as you can tolerate. If you don’t want to change them often, then use any unique characters you can think of, such as a dollar sign ($) or an exclamation mark (!) or replace a letter “O” with a 0 (zero). This goes a long way in preventing brute force attacks against your password. Also, never trust anyone on the phone who asks for your password, especially if they called you. The same holds true with emails. Both the telephone and email are used by people who try to get your password by pretending to be the IRS, your bank or someone else you have an account with.

• Clean up your apps. Assume most of your smartphone or tablet apps are malware that spies on you and your online behavior. Do you really need them? Delete any apps you don’t use often. Replace apps that take advantage of too many of your privacy settings with similar apps that don’t. On an iPhone, you’re not being eavesdropped on until you run the app.

• Shop online only from websites you trust. If you don’t know where the merchant is located, don’t shop online there. If they don’t have a corporate address or are located in another country, it could be iffy whether you ever see the goods you think you purchased. Also, if their shopping-cart experience is not an HTTPS browser session, then everything you type in ¬– your name, address and credit card information – is going over the Internet unencrypted, in plain view.Never buy online using your credit card on a site that doesn’t have SSL (secure sockets layer) encryption installed. It’s easy to tell you are in a secure, encrypted session. You should see an icon of a locked padlock in your browser and the website URL starts with HTTPS not HTTP. Also, if you receive emails from the merchant, no matter the reason, don’t give them your credit card information over email.

• Don’t use cash or debit cards. You have three major choices when shopping – cash, credit or debit. In rare but growing instances there’s even a fourth option called “Bitcoins,” which are now accepted at some merchants including Overstock.com. Bitcoins could be considered the equivalent to the cash option, because once used, you can’t get them back. So, if you have to choose among these options, the best is the credit card.Here’s why: If you experience identity theft, credit card laws allow you to keep all of your credit immediately, with no responsibility during an identity theft or fraud investigation. With a debit card, your bank’s policy can be to tie up your money in the amount of the fraudulent transactions for up to 30 days. Some have been known to take up to 60 days to resolve the issue.

• Don’t use public WiFi without using SSL encryption. Public Wifi networks can be a hacker’s dream. If they want, they can see what websites you are visiting and insert malware into your computer or other device. The hacker also has access to any information you are sending out over the Internet, which could include credit card numbers or other critical information.

About Gary S. Miliefsky

Gary Miliefsky recently blew the lid on the how Russian, Chinese and Indian hackers are behind the top 10 flashlight apps specifically designed to collect and expose your personal information to cybercriminals abroad. Fox News Bret Baier’s interview with Miliefsky broke records for Fox with over 5 million views. Miliefsky is a consumer advocate who has been recently featured on ABC, Good Morning America, World News Tonight, NBC’s Today, FOX News, CNBC and elsewhere for his expertise as a cyber security expert. He is Founder of SnoopWall Inc., a cutting edge counter-intelligence technology company offering free consumer based software to secure personal data on cell-phones and tablets, while generating revenues helping banks and government agencies secure their networks. He has been active in the INFOSEC arena, as the Executive Producer of Cyber Defense Magazine and a regular contributor to Hakin9 Magazine. He has patents and patents pending on his inventions for Computer and Network Security.

The post Halting Hackers For The Holidays appeared first on AKAMom Magazine.

Money makes the world go round – we get it. But when you’ve got no disposable income the world turns a bit stagnant and life gets stressful… like, really stressful. You might find it impossible to save money, especially if pinching pennies is new to you or if you think the words “broke” and “savings” cannot logically belong in the same sentence. To help get the ball rolling, follow our helpful tips to get your bank account out of the red and back in black in no time.

1. Buy only the necessities – Food, clothing and shelter – these are the basics. Manicures, shopping sprees, Netflix accounts and extravagant parties are nice in theory, but it’s spending like this that causes your checking and savings accounts to dwindle at an exponential rate. Cut back to only the things your family needs instead of wants. Although this may take some getting used to, it’s imperative that families learn to do without the excess in order to fully recognize and appreciate the basics needed to sustain a happy and wholesome lifestyle.

2. Budget, budget, budget – There are no ifs, ands or buts about it – a household cannot function without a proper budget. Take the time to map out your family’s budget with your spouse to ensure every penny you earn and spend is accounted for. It’s a daily practice that takes time and patience, but you’ll reap the benefits tenfold if you appropriately allocate funds on schedule without second-guessing every purchase or expenditure.

3. Curb the splurge – Impulse shopping is your wallets worst nightmare. Don’t be duped into those last minute purchases at the checkout stand. For others, splurging goes well beyond a candy bar or lip balm at check out. If you’re susceptible to spending frivolously, try leaving the house with only a few dollars in cash rather than your entire wallet full of charge cards that will only get you into trouble. Preventative steps such as this will help your curb your splurging habits and beef up your bank account in no time.

4. Dine in, not out – Have you ever looked back on your monthly bank statement and realized a good chunk of your income went to food other than groceries? Going out to eat completely destroys your food and entertainment budget, and while it provides a bit of fun and distraction, it’s ultimately a fleeting feeling. Instead, call up your girlfriends for a Friday night potluck. It’s an inexpensive get-together in a casual environment that not only saves a ton of money, but makes a ton of memories as well.

5. Save your spare change – Loose change can slip through the cracks – literally. Make sure you are regularly digging through the couch cushions and emptying the ashtray in your car for loose change. Those nickels, dimes and quarters can help pay bills or save for your child’s college fund. Don’t let any amount, big or small, slip away due to carelessness.

6. Ask for help – Having to ask for help when finances get tight can be a very humbling experience. Putting aside your pride for the greater good lends to opportunities that wouldn’t otherwise present themselves. Whether it’s taking a small loan from a bank or family member, consolidating your bills through a third party or even filing for bankruptcy, there’s no shame in starting over with a clean slate. Building credit again will take some time, but it’s better than swimming in a mound of debt that’s crippling you and your family.

7. Sell what you don’t need – If your closet is overrun with clothes that haven’t been worn in five years, a car in the garage collecting dust or furniture that no longer serves a purpose, it’s time to chuck your junk. Your trash might just be another man’s treasure, so slap a price tag on it and rake in a few extra dollars. Make a plan to hold a yearly yard sale with neighbors or friends to draw in even bigger crowds for extra profit.

8. Become a DIY master – Gifts made by hand from the heart can go a long way, and not just for your pocketbook. Creating homemade gifts allows you to tap into your creative juices in easy and affordable ways without the hassle of pricey, last-minute shopping. Why pay full price for a gift you can make at home with your own personal touch?

9. Keep away from credit cards – If you have a bad habit of using credit cards instead of cash, it’s a smart choice to keep the plastic at home in a safe place. Out of sight, out of mind. Plus, if you don’t have the cold hard cash to purchase whatever it is you are charging on your card, then chances are you shouldn’t be buying it anyway (remember, buy only the necessities!).

10. Buy generic – Today’s society is so hung up on brand names that consumers can easily fall into the trap of paying extra for items that are, by their nature, almost identical. Try buying generic or store brand items at the supermarket and other shopping locations. The extra money you spend on brand names is solely due to marketing, and when you compare ingredients, chances are they’re exactly the same. Even if you find the savings aren’t that drastic, it’s important to remember that even the smallest savings is still a savings, and it will definitely affect your bank account over the course of time.

11. Become a fixer – When your toilet backs up, your dishwasher is on the fritz, your favorite jeans have ripped and your kids’ favorite toy is broken, don’t turn to a professional for help. A simple way to save your money is to learn to fix things on your own that are broken or in need of repair around the house. Plumbers, electricians and seamstresses all charge a hefty price tag for their services, but thanks to Google, it’s simple to find tutorials and videos online to show step-by-step solutions for whatever’s out of order in your home. And the best part – they’re free! Extending the life of your appliances and even your clothes has never been simpler so long as you’re willing to learn a new trait such as sewing or basic handyman techniques.

12. Cancel unused club memberships and subscriptions – Paying dues at clubs for services you never use really rack up. If you’re paying $45 a month for a gym membership and going only twice a year (sigh, guilty), then it’s time to cut the cord and add that money to your savings account. The same goes for magazine or newspaper subscriptions. If your stack of magazines have gone untouched for weeks and are covered in a thick layer of dust, get rid of them and the unused subscriptions that are slowly draining your bank account.

The post 12 Simple Ways to Save Money (Even When You’re Broke) appeared first on AKAMom Magazine.

Americans have become accustomed to living a lifestyle accompanied by debt. The negative side effects of debt have been minimized to a mere inconvenience, something to be dealt with at a later time. In fact, according to figures from the Federal Reserve, the total U.S. outstanding consumer debt was $3.33 trillion as of January 2015. This figure includes car loans, student loans and revolving debt, but not mortgages.

“Sound and responsible financial management starts with facing the realities of our individual financial circumstances,” said Scott Smith, personal finance expert and president of CreditRepair.com. “Truthfully evaluating our income level, debt obligations, spending habits, savings habits and future financial goals will get you started on the right path to living a responsible financial life.”

Smith recommends avoiding the following self-deceivers:

1.  I don’t know what my credit score is, but that’s okay. I’ll only need it when I decide to buy my next car or finally purchase a new home. It’s very important to know your credit score and responsibly manage it in every situation in life. Credit scores are not only used for securing a loan, but also for insurance pricing, job applications and rental agreements.

2.  I’ll just take a little from my savings account, but I’ll pay it back next month. Don’t borrow against yourself. Having an established savings plan is very important in every stage of life. If a circumstance comes up that demands you pull funds from your savings plan, make sure to get back on the savings train as quickly as possible.

3.  Investing is too complicated and besides, only the rich get richer. Most of the time the “rich get richer” because of their discipline. Investing and saving is important for everyone, regardless of their current financial situation.

4.  Maybe if I turn my voicemail off the debt collectors will stop calling. Dealing with debt collectors can be very frustrating and sometimes even intimidating, but consumers do have rights protecting them and debt collectors have laws that govern their ability to pester you.

5.  I deserve a break. I’ll just charge my vacation and pay it back later. Although circumstances sometimes arise that require the use of credit to cover unexpected expenses, those situations should be minimized as much as possible. If credit card debt is incurred, pay it off as soon as possible. The interest charged is a serious penalty and is not worth the instant gratification that a vacation or expensive pair of shoes may bring.

The bottom line: self-improvement is a tall order, but making excuses for poor financial judgment will do nothing to improve your life. Focus on ways to enhance your financial situation now. Your future self will thank you.

For more tips on managing your money, or your credit, visit www.CreditRepair.com, a site that empowers every individual to achieve the credit scores they deserve and enjoy a lifestyle of greater opportunity.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

*FF

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Even the most well-informed consumers do not fully understand how credit scores work and may still believe in some of the most common myths about them. The following guide will help clear up some of these credit score myths and provide tips to keeping your score in the best shape possible.

Myth 1: Checking your credit hurts your credit score

One of the most common beliefs about credit scores is that checking your own credit will lower your credit score. Fortunately, requesting a copy of your own credit report will not have an effect on your credit score. Your credit score is only impacted when the credit check is made for credit cards or loans.

This myth can be very dangerous to your credit score as it discourages you from monitoring your credit report. It is important to review your credit report periodically to identify and address any inaccuracies. Keeping an eye on your credit report will allow you to confirm that your payment performance is accurate and will enable you to remove any accounts that are falsely reported. Errors on your credit report can put a damper on your credit score and impact how lenders evaluate your credit worthiness.

Myth 2: Paying your bills on time is all that’s necessary to keep a good credit score

Many consumers believe that all they must do to keep a strong FICO score is pay their bills on time, but there is more to a good credit score than just a good payment history. Paying your bills on time accounts for just 35% of your credit score. The other 65% is comprised of the amount owed (30%), length of credit history (15%), new credit (10%) and type of credit (10%). It is important to take all of these components into account when reviewing your credit profile.

It is also important to note that your credit score is impacted by both positive and negative information on your credit profile. Late payments will have a negative effect on your score; however, if you improve your payment habits and consistently pay on time, you may see an increase in your credit score.

Myth 3: Lowering your credit limits helps your credit score

Asking your lenders for lower limits does not necessarily improve your credit score. In fact, maintaining substantial credit limits can actually help your score so long as you do not run up the debt to the maximum limit. When reviewing your credit profile, most lenders look for a fairly wide gap between the limit available and the actual amount of credit you are using.

As you know, your FICO score is based on a number of calculations. How much debt you owe makes up 30% of your score and can be calculated using your debt-to-available credit ratio. Debt is how much money you owe on all your credit cards, and the available credit is the sum of all the credit lines that are open. The lower your debt-to-available credit ratio the better your score. Therefore, if you reduce your credit limits but maintain the same debt, your debt-to-credit ratio will increase and can reflect negatively on your credit score.

For example, if you have $3,000 debt on your credit card with a limit of $10,000, you’re debt-to-available credit ratio is 30%. If you were to lower your credit limit to $7,500, you’re debt-to-available credit ratio

Myth 4: Closing a credit account can help your credit score

Closing credit cards does not help your credit rating. In fact, when you close an account your credit score may take a hit. Because the length of your credit history makes up roughly 15% of your FICO score, closing a credit card with a long payment history could be detrimental to your score.

If you stop using one of your oldest credit cards over a period of time, the card issuer may stop reporting updates on the account to the credit bureaus or close the account altogether. Even if the account still appears on your credit report, this long-standing credit account will not positively impact your score as much as it would if it were actively being used. The longer your credit history, the better. So it may be good for your score to keep an older account open and use the card at least once a month.

If you feel you must close an account, it is better to close the most recently opened cards first. For example, if you recently opened up a credit card to receive a discount, this would be the account to consider closing first.

Myth 5: Opening many credit cards is good for my credit score

Very often, many consumers believe having several active credit cards help improve their FICO score. However, the truth behind this myth depends on a number of factors. Depending on your overall credit history, opening several credit card accounts can actually hurt your credit score. For instance, having several credit cards with either high balances or high credit limits can have a negative effect on your credit score.

Regardless of the number of credit cards you have, whether 5 or 25, maintaining high balances can hurt your FICO score. To lenders, having high balances on credit cards indicates you may be a higher risk and this can impact whether credit is extended to you. Furthermore, having high debt-to-credit ratios on your open credit accounts will not help your credit score either. Overall, opening too many credit cards only affects your credit score if you don’t handle them properly.

About Balboa Capital

This article was written by Balboa Capital, a leading provider of small business loan products and equipment leasing. Established in 1988, Balboa Capital is one of the largest privately-held independent financing companies in the United States delivering industry-leading technology and innovative marketing tools that small and medium-sized customers require to fuel the growth and success of their business. For more information, please visit www.balboacapital.com.

The post Five Common Myths That May Be Affecting Your Personal Credit Score appeared first on AKAMom Magazine.

Generation Y, or the Millennial generation, has been known for its struggles with a weak job market. Only one out of two Millennials had a full-time job that required at least a Bachelor’s degree in 2012, which meant a full 50 percent of recent college graduates were either unemployed or underemployed.

Being underemployed means you have a job, but it might be part-time and it’s definitely below what your skill set and education says you’re capable of doing. This is the position I found myself in three months after graduating. I got a job doing basic data entry for a small company that paid $12 per hour. The job didn’t require training or any of the abilities I had picked up through four years of undergraduate study, but I felt lucky: the position was full-time and it came with benefits.

However, I wasn’t satisfied with remaining underemployed. I was determined to make the most of my position. Here’s what I did, and what you can do, too, if you find yourself underemployed but wanting more.

Take Pride in the Quality of Your Work

My job might have been incredibly easy, but I didn’t coast. I was determined to be the absolute best in the position that I could be. I worked to streamline processes, cut down on inefficiencies, and reduce mistakes. Soon, I was doing work in half the time my predecessor took to complete the same tasks (and more accurately, too).

I took pride in the work I was doing – and my supervisor took notice. Within a few months of starting my job, I had earned myself a raise and went from $12 per hour to $15. I still wasn’t rich, but I was making progress.

Be a Go-Getter

Eventually, I started doing my work almost too well. I would finish tasks so quickly that I was soon twiddling my thumbs for half the day. Instead of waiting to be assigned a project, I started looking for more ways to fill my time. I started volunteering for any work that needed to get done even if it was outside the list of responsibilities in my job description.

My superiors appreciated that I was willing to work and eager to help. I was able to take on more responsibility and higher-level work. This both kept me from getting bored and made me feel a little more useful – and more one step away from underemployed. It also netted me another raise, and I moved from an hourly employee to a salaried one.

Don’t Limit Yourself to Your Day Job

For me, one of the worst things about being underemployed was the fact that I felt useless. I wasn’t utilizing anything I learned in college, I wasn’t doing what I always dreamed of, and the work I was doing was simplistic and didn’t challenge me.

So I started up a side hustle. In my free time, I picked up writing gigs. Eventually, I even started my own blog, which lead to more paid writing work. Now, I’m looking at starting my own content management business and taking my entrepreneurial endeavor full-time within a year.

Don’t limit your opportunities

Work hard and prove how valuable you are to your employer, even if you’re not working your dream job. This will open new doors for you and might lead you to pay increases and even upward mobility within your company. But remember, you can always strike out on your own if you’re frustrated with underemployment. Millennials are, after all, also known for their indefatigable entrepreneurial spirit.

See more of Kali’s writing on GoGirl Finance (www.gogirlfinance.com). Kali also blogs about common-sense financial advice at Common Sense Millennial. She’s passionate about personal finance and helping millennials manage their money and live well on less. Currently, she is pursuing the ultimate dream of writing for a living and moving abroad. You can connect with her by tweeting @CSMillennial 

The post How I Made The Most of Underemployment appeared first on AKAMom Magazine.

At 28, I feel that I have reached that age where I can hear my biological clock ticking a little more loudly as I keep trying to climb the corporate ladder.

And apparently, I’m not alone. In Midlife Crisis at 30: How the Stakes Have Changed for a New Generation–And What to Do About It, Lia Macko and Kelly Rubin detail the stories of real women of all ages and socio-economic backgrounds who have faced their midlife crises in their 30s.

Why 30 is a Woman’s Mid-life Crisis

Thirty, according to the authors and the women featured in the book, is that age where our desires for our career clash with biology. We rush to compete with men for the best and most rewarding career moves while ignoring our doctors’ advice that our egg production dramatically plummets at 35, so if you want a child, you better start trying now.

As a twenty-something, I feel like I only have a ten-year window to actually accomplish several life milestones, which include getting married, having children, and landing that dream job.

Figuring out how to balance my career with my much-desired growing family is something that I think about way more than I’d like to admit. Just a few months ago, I was choosing between three master’s programs, and one of the most important deciding factors was whether I would be able to complete the program before we started trying for a baby. Do I start having children while I’m in school? Do I wait until I graduate? Will my company be frustrated if I take maternity leave so soon after achieving my master’s degree?

Career vs. Family: Do Men Have It Easier?

With a recent promotion behind me, I am feeling pretty good about my job prospects at this company. I am also thinking long term, hence the master’s degree. However, I worry that my baby-making years will somehow hinder my future promotion prospects. As progressive as I feel my company is, I worry I will be overlooked for future promotions because my company will assume I’ll be too stressed with child-rearing–an inconvenience that won’t be projected onto my male counterparts.

There’s a part of me that thinks it’s incredibly unfair that my husband does not have to have the same kind of worries that I do. He doesn’t fear if his company will retaliate for taking the full parental leave, and his career won’t be as interrupted by long absences, doctor’s appointments, and breast-pumping.

How Women Achieve “Having It All”

Midlife Crisis at 30 doesn’t have a simple response to how I can manage to “have it all,” except to point out that it’s very, very hard and I’ll most likely be exhausted. But it is very much possible. One of the key themes throughout the book was whether women really need to have it all or if it’s okay to just have enough. (Do you really need the white picket fence if your job requires you to travel year-round?)

In the second half of the book, the authors highlighted the New Girls Club–stories of women who had successfully managed to achieve their version of “having it all.” Because having it all means something to everyone. No matter how successful these women were, the trend was apparent–they didn’t achieve this high level of success without at least sacrificing some aspect of their family and home life.

“Being a good wife or mother does not mean you have to cook every meal, wash every bit of laundry, do all the grocery shopping, or, for that matter, suffer guilt trips for all that you are not able to do. You have to plan ahead and do your best, but no one really does it all. It’s not realistic. The details you have to figure out for yourself, but getting help is crucial. There is no Superwoman.” *Dr. Bernadine Healy, Senior Writer, Us News and World Report

Perhaps that’s the best lesson we can hope to comprehend. That we stop comparing ourselves to each other, that we respect each others’ decisions when it comes to family and career, and that–most importantly–we reach comfort and acceptance with our own decisions on how we choose to balance career and family.

After freelancing for GoGirl for six months writing about marriage and money, Erika joined the GoGirl team as the Content Manager in 2012. Erika received her B.A. in English and Italian Studies from Wellesley College and is currently working in public relations and going to graduate school full-time for her M.P.A. She blogs at Newlyweds on a Budget, covering everything on marriage and finances. Her top favorite GoGirl posts are How We Paid Off $45,000 in Debt in 45 Months and Marriage and Money: I make more money than my husband. 

The post Midlife Crisis at 30: How do you balance career and family? appeared first on AKAMom Magazine.