text: How to Build Wealth While Raising a Family | Couple Money
  by Elle Martinez August 22, 2018 Podcast
  Trying to juggle family, work, and money? Smart Mom, Rich Mom author Kim Palmer gives the critical steps you need to build wealth while raising your family!
  Taking care of your family and finances can be difficult. Even with automating your budget and bills, the two of you need still need some way to stay on top of things.
  Littles can make it harder to take some time for money dates to review the big picture and prepare for things that can come up.
  Kimberly Palmer, author of Smart Mom, Rich Mom: How to Build Wealth While Raising a Family, is going to help out today.
  She was the senior money editor at US News & World Report for nine years and also the author of Generation Earn: The Young Professional's Guide to Spending, Investing, and Giving Back.
  Besides her professional credentials, she's also a wife and a mother.
  She personally knows that it's not always easy to get your finances squared away when you have little ones around.
  what trait she discovered and admires with financially savvy moms
  how to work together on your finances while still respecting your own strengths
  what protections you need for your family
  You can listen to everything right here or read the highlights below. I hope you enjoy!
  Want to hear from another parent how you can work towards financial independence while taking care of the kids? Go listen to my interview with financial planner and dad Matt Becker!
  Parenthood and Financial Independence: Tips to Be Build Your Wealth
  In case you want to review the highlights, here's an edited summary of our episode.
  Financially Savvy Moms
  For Kim's book she was focused on finding women who were on top their family and money.
  She interviewed a variety of moms, whether they worked full time outside the home and earn income, stay at home to take care of the kids and handle the family finances, and everything in between.
  She picked up on some wonderful ideas and tips that she began incorporating into her own finances.
  One treat she noticed and admired a lot of these women was their confidence.
  There are actually two women who live in D.C. who I interviewed in person who had basically grown up, they didn't grow up with much money but they'd always grown up having part-time jobs, even as teenagers…
  ..that kind of got them in the habit of having to manage their own money so then when they got married and became moms they continued to take over those reins and be really in control of making those all those investment decisions and spending decisions.
  Kim also saw areas where many families could improve with their finances, such as sharing the financial details with one another.
  Many couples have one spouse who takes the reins and handles the day to day finances. That in itself isn't bad.
  The problem is when the other spouse doesn't have a clear idea of what's going on.
  Both spouses need to come together regular and make sure they each have a big picture idea of the accounts and agree on the budget.
  Money dates can be a fun and relaxing way to review things and adjust as needed.
  Working as a Team with Money
  Working together with your family's finances can be less stressful if you two play to your strengths.
  Who prefers handling the monthly bills? Which one of you is the master at planning the family vacations? Either one of you a fantastic sales hunter? Investor? Split these things up.
  Having one person handle everything can be a disaster. Not only are they overloaded, you may be missing on on an opportunity to use your talents and have some huge wins with money.
  Life happens so one of the best things you can do now is to prepare and make sure your family's finances are protected.
  It's not just tragic situations like your spouse passing away, but also typical situations that come up – your partner is on a business trip or they get sick and suddenly you need to take over.
  If you haven't already organize your finances. You can go digital with shared notes and documents or if you prefer, having a binder with all the necessary information.
  Make sure you have enough insurance coverage to cover your family's particular needs.
  Got another money issue you want to tackle? Check out our free Couple Money Toolkit to find a solution!