Things to Consider For a Secured Financial Future for Stay-At-Home or Single Moms

Stay-at-home moms might be managing the family's budget but they might also feel that having a secured financial future is out of reach if they are not the breadwinners.

Former stay-at-home mother Soledad Fernández Paulino has some sound investment advice for mothers who don't have regular incomes. Speaking with Business Insider, Paulino said that parents who do not earn a lot should start exploring the IRA spousal regulations.

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What is the IRA?

The Individual Retirement Arrangement, or IRA, from the Internal Revenue Services (IRS) is an investment for unpaid parents who are still legally married. This is a program that allows stay-at-moms to set aside some money if their spouse is earning a good income.

The IRA may be set up as a personal savings plan or a tax-free contribution called Roth IRA. The spouse's employer may also help set up a payroll deductible plan that may be established with a chosen bank.

More details about IRA spousal regulations are on the IRS official site. 

Paulino said that married couples must first discuss their contribution to the spousal IRA, especially when one spouse is not earning a proper and regular income. They need to decide on a comfortable maximum amount they can contribute per year.

For some stay-at-home parents, discussing the IRA contribution might be a sore spot if they do not earn well. However, Paulino said that contrary to popular opinion, unpaid parents do have substantial workloads. They clean the house, cook all the meals, oversee the children, and do errands for the family, among other tasks.

These workloads were even highlighted during the COVID-19 lockdowns when parents were forced to work at home and even took care of the children's school arrangements. If stay-at-home moms are actual paid workers, they earn about $184,820 a year, Paulino said.

What about Single Moms?

Meanwhile, single moms who do not have regular jobs or regular incomes like stay-at-home moms, maybe inspired by Wendy Keller's story. She wrote on Entrepreneur that she was able to carve her own niche as a businesswoman by initially pouring two hours a day into her work, while the rest of her day is focused on her daughter.

Keller said that for these two hours, she runs her small business like a laser-sharp CEO with the goal of setting aside a percentage of her profits for her retirement savings. Eventually, when her business expanded, she was able to establish a system that allowed her to pay for staff.

The single mom also said that she placed value on self-care as a single mom and entrepreneur. She said that she never wasted her time, money, or energy on fighting lawsuits with her ex-husband.

Keller started her business when her daughter was just a toddler. Now, her daughter is in her 30s and has become a business owner as well, she often tells people that she got her savvy skills from her mother.

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