MIND YOUR BUSINESS
Simmons has taken big steps toward her goal of financial freedom. She learned everything she could about investing. She started side hustles, like writing The Unlikely AchieveHer, taking speaking engagements and delivering goal-setting workshops. She maxed out her retirement accounts, including a 403(b), 457(b) and Roth IRA. Here's how she defied the odds.
1. Really look at your financial picture.
"I always say, 'Get a tool like Personal Capital so you can see and automatically track everything,'" Simmons said. In order to build a plan, Simmons advocates that people should first know what they have and what they owe and get familiar with all of their financial accounts. "I find that so many people just don't even really know where they stand," Simmons said. "I've had women tell me, 'I'm afraid to see how much debt I really have' or 'I'm afraid to know what my picture really looks like.' It's scary." She recalls her own financial turning point following her divorce: "I was afraid, too. But I would encourage women, all you have to do is take one step forward."
mothers are typically paid only 75 cents for every dollar paid to fathers.
Recent research also reveals a striking longer-term financial impact.
A Personal Capital-Empower Retirement survey found that a majority (62%) of single working moms no longer feel confident in their ability to plan for retirement. Conversely, less than half of the general population (40%) lacks confidence in their retirement plans.
The survey also uncovered that working single mothers, compared to the general population, are more likely to:
* Be paying off a student loan
* Not be able to achieve savings goals
* Anticipate missing a bill payment due to the pandemic
* Say they are "barely surviving" financially
For Simmons, scaling back living expenses was critical to the confidence she now has in her financial future. Although she would've been able to sustain her lifestyle, she knew she wouldn't get ahead. "For all those years, I'd been working for my money, but now I needed my money to make a return on investment for me," she said. "It was crunch time - my partner's gone, I have one income, I have two boys. I have to figure it out."
Finance tips for single moms
Since selling her house in 2017,
" ....people should first know what they have and what they owe
and get familiar
with all of their
financial accounts."