Money

My Dear Girls,

About twelve years ago I knew that I wanted to be a single parent.   I'll save the reasons why I knew this was the right choice for me for another time.  I knew that money would be a big struggle in my life.

Single parents don't have someone to help them pay the mortgage or phone bill or extracurricular activities or tuition.  They don't have someone to help them watch the kids, so childcare costs are higher.  But your Grandma and Grandpa worked hard to give me a wonderful life, and I didn't want you girls to miss out on the incredible experiences I got to have as a kid. 

Vacations and field trips and all kinds of activities are an important part of a good childhood and I wanted you to be able to enjoy them.  So I started working hard.  I babysat for the first time at thirteen.  I looked after kids 3-4 days a week sometimes and I saved my money and learned a lot about kids in the process.

I kept getting new jobs, saving money and working with children.  I spent a good chunk of my money on law school, but I did that with you girls in mind too.  I needed a job that I could make good money at so that I could support my family without working three jobs.

I've worked hard, but it's worth it to me because I have a savings account with your names on it that I can add to a little bit each month.  Adoption is expensive, but I'm not worried.  We're going to have a great life and we're going to do it debt-free.

I want you to learn how to manage money so that you too can provide for yourselves and have great lives with your own families one day.  We're going to talk about money a lot and it's just because I want to pass on goo financial habits.  I already know that one day you're all going to roll your eyes when I talk about 'the budget'.

Love you!
Mom