Okay, right off the bat, I'm going to acknowledge that I'm not the poster child for all working moms. In 2013 (the last year for which complete data is available), the labor force participation rate of mothers with children under 18 years of age was 69.9%. That's a lot of working moms. Included in that statistic are single and married moms, young and old moms, moms with college degrees and moms without.
So I don't profess to represent all working moms ever. I'm a working mom in suburban Philadelphia. I grew up in rural North Carolina where my great-grandmother would laugh at things I said, her eyes crinkling at the corners, and tell her friends that I "sounded just like a Philadelphia lawyer." It was a lofty thing to say in a culture where college degrees were reserved for the very wealthy and girls were expected to stay home and get married.
I bucked the trend. Not only did I go to college, I went on to law school. For the last 15 years, I was a practicing tax attorney at a firm that I started with my husband (yes, also a lawyer). For the past five of those years, I also had the privilege of writing for Forbes. This year, I moved over to full-time at Forbes where I now serve as a Senior Editor.
I have three kids, two girls and a boy. If you're a long time reader, you already know that because I talk about my kids a lot (just ask @btannebaum and @associatesmind). They are a huge part of my life and as you'll see in a minute, my expenses.
When Sam asked me to participate in the series (info and links here), I didn't hesitate. I love the idea. I am very aware of where I came from and where I am now, both in terms of my career and my finances. My mom thinks I'm fancy now because I don't check the clock before I make a phone call or put the clothes in the washer but then she doesn't see the student loan check payments (trust me, they're scary) that I write out. You won't either. The challenge was to list the last 10 things we spent money on - and my loan payments aren't due for about another week. Similarly, you won't see some of our living expenses - those bills are due towards the end of the month. And most of the upfront costs related to school and sports are paid up (a few remain, see below). But otherwise, it's pretty typical for me. And I realize that my financial picture may be very different from yours - and that's the most interesting bit, right?
In this series we will ask people to open up their wallets and credit card statements for a peek at the last 10 things they bought. To kick it off, here is a glimpse into how I spent my money over the last few days:
Sunday
1. Groceries. $325.93. So here's the thing that they don't tell you about having kids: they like to eat. A lot. With a family of five (plus a dog and a fish), the cost of groceries can be mind-boggling. I cook (and bake) a lot and my kids take lunches to school so I have to plan the equivalent of 20 or so meals for five people each week. The most expensive things on my list? A big bag of grapes ($7.86), tomatoes ($6.99), milk ($6.19) and one non-food item which is also my splurge, a bunch of sunflowers for $9.99. Just for kicks, I measured my receipt. Even without those "extras" at the bottom, it was 33" long.
2. Michaels. $134.98. I'm a sucker for Halloween. Every October, you'll find Michaels on my list because I love to decorate and make costumes, as do my kids. We also have a big Halloween party every year and have done so for as long as I can remember. The most expensive thing on my list? A hot knife. It was $16.99 but I had a coupon so it was actually $8.49 (My mom, the coupon queen, would be proud).
Monday
3. School Supplies. $13.99. You'd think school supplies purchases would be done in August. Au contraire. They're all year round. That compass my daughter took to school? Not the right kind. Yes, apparently there is a right kind of compass: a locking compass. And without it, my honor roll daughter was four degrees off in geometry. FOUR DEGREES, MOM!
4. Glasses/Eye Exam. $279.00. Our health insurance plan doesn't cover eye exams so we pay out of pocket for the exam plus screenings and glasses. It wasn't time for a trip to the eye doctor (we went for our annual exam in February) but the kids refuse to have health events on schedule. Darn near-sightedness. It turns out my oldest desperately needed updated lenses. This doesn't even include the $135.99 in contacts - those are pending.
5. Party Invitations. $136.32. Remember that big Halloween party I mentioned? It's really a thing in my house. And since I am a traditionalist, that means proper paper invites. I order mine from tinyprints.com because I always customize them.
6. Field Trip. $18.00 The PTA at my kids' school tries to supplement for field trips but even then, there are out of pocket costs. The latest offering? My middle school daughter is working on a poem theme for her lit class and they're going to a local theater to see a production of Poe's "The Raven."
Tuesday
7. Books. $10.35 Even though I work online a lot - and my husband does computer-related law - I try to keep my kids offline as much as possible. That means we don't spend money on games and apps but I am a sucker when it comes to buying them actual honest-to-goodness-paper books. I just picked up Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School) by Gail Carriger for my girls. The series was highly recommended with words like "madcap" and "witty" but I was really sold once it was called a steampunk version of Harry Potter.
8. FanDuel. $25.00 I know this one seems out of place and it is. I don't generally gamble - excuse me, I mean participate in games that might win me some cash for entertainment purposes only - but this is for work. I swear. Check back in after a few days and you'll see.
9. Library Rental. $2.12. My oldest daughter told me that if the public library came with a kitchen, she'd live there. All of my kids love the library and we go at least once a week. While books are free, A/V materials are not: there's a small rental fee. We usually try to go on "Two for Tuesdays" in order to save a few bucks. My daughter got an audiobook and I got a scary movie rental for the Halloween season (again, see my obsession at #2 and #5). The girls and I will be watching "Vertigo" later this week. Listen out for the screaming (I am such a baby).
Wednesday
10. Hanna Andersson. $250.09 Snow pants. My son has been begging for snow pants and snow boots. Every year, I figure I'll buy them and once the flurries start to fall, the stores are empty. I just can't wrap my head around buying winter wear in advance - this is what I get for growing up in the South. This year, however, I'm totally on top of it. I even bought winter pajamas.
Favorite purchase? My library rental. I'm really looking forward to watching "Vertigo" with my girls - snuggled into blankets, popcorn in hand. I'm sure that it's probably less expensive to rent using
Any regrets? Nope. I still get a little twinge when I look at the prices on kids' clothes so it was hard for me to pull the trigger on the Hanna purchase but I don't regret it. I used to always pick the cheapest option - a product of my upbringing - and it took me awhile to figure out that there is something to be said for quality. Buying a few pairs of cheap boots during the season isn't better than buying one pair that will last. I know that price doesn't always correlate with quality but as I get older, I am getting better about thinking purchases through, rather than relying simply on cost. That's probably been one of the better financial lessons I've learned.
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