Monica - Single Parent with a 4 year old

Not enough attention is given to folks like Monica who have to shoulder providing parental care and financial support for her and her son. Like most single parents, she is gainfully employed and contributes not only to her family but to her community as well. However, for a single parent such as herself, time is the biggest constraint. She just doesn’t have the time to sit down to manage her finances and make the best decisions for her and her family.

We are so glad and privileged to be able to work with Monica.

Because time was so hard to come by for Monica, we coordinated our meetings with her according to her schedule. That meant meetings over zoom after her son was asleep, or weekends when she was able to drop him off at his grandparents for an hour or two. During our meetings, Monica got a chance to talk through everything that had been on her mind but never got a chance to sort through it. It included all her wishes and concerns for her son as well as concerns for her own retirement. She also mentioned how important it was that her life was not just about work and raising a child, she wanted to continue to grow as a person and build strong relationships.

With everything expressed, we were able to help Monica prioritize the items that were most important to her. For her, it was making sure that she could help her son pay for college, save enough for her own retirement, and be able to pay for child care twice a month so that she could spend time on herself.

Based on her priorities, we helped Monica set up a college savings plan, adjusted her retirement savings so that she wasn't saving too much or too little, and created a budget that allows her to more intentional about her spending that included child care. We also got her protected from any unexpected life events that might happen by helping her get adequate life insurance, long-term disability insurance, and create an estate plan that will protect her son should anything happen to her.

The freedom that Monica felt when everything came together is something we'll always cherish. For Monica, knowing what was important to her and knowing that she's on track to accomplish them motivated her to grow as a person and freed her up to be more present with her family and at work.