Mom’s Got Money with Cat Alford
Mom’s Got Money with Cat Alford
I’ve been in the personal finance blogging and podcasting space now for over 8 years now and I’ve made so many great friends along the way. One of those friends is today’s guest, Catherine Alford. In my early days of blogging, Cat’s blog was one that I hoped to emulate and it’s actually because of her that I had a side hustle as a finance writer for a period of time. For years, I’ve followed Cat’s journey and desire to have a published book; and when I saw that her dream finally became a reality, I knew I needed to have her on the show to talk about her journey, why she never gave up and why you should check out her new book “Mom’s Got Money: A millennial mom’s guide to managing money like a boss.” Cat’s story is so inspiring and I hope it inspires you to never give up on your dreams as well.
What are we drinking?
Cat - Water and coffee
Shannon - Black Cherry Schweppes
Podcast Notes
Shannon met Cat prior to her having kids, and Cat now has seven year-old twins.
Cat went to graduate school for history and she started doing blog posts about how poor she was, in order to supplement her $12,000 teaching assistant stipend.
People liked the way she wrote about money and other people started asking her to write about different topics. This snowballed into a digital marketing company. She has her own website, she co-owns two other websites, and now she has a book.
Cat’s former website was Budget Blonde, and she wasn’t blonde. Shannon’s original blog was Financially Blonde. Cat was in the personal finance space before Shannon started blogging.
Cat’s first love is writing. She was always a freelance writer and historian first. She knew she could reach more people with a book and it took four and a half years to bring it to fruition. She had 27 publisher rejections.
Publishing is like the acting industry, because sometimes it doesn’t make sense why people get chosen. It is a little bit of luck and a lot of persistence. Cat was able to write the book she wanted to write with the level of experience she needed, and she didn’t have that four years ago.
First she pitched a mom building a business book and this was the first 20 rejections. There were too many similar books and there were others writing books that made seven figures instead of six.
After 20 rejections, Cat changed literary agents, because she wanted another opinion. Cat switched her book from building a business to personal finance and that’s what took. Her book is called Mom’s Got Money. Cat has spent a decade in personal finance and she had to stick with it.
You need a lot of grit and persistence to be an entrepreneur and to write a book. There is a reason that not everyone does this. There are billions of people in the world and there is someone out there who wants your work, but you need to be willing to take the feedback and acknowledge your shortcomings.
When trying to get a book deal, you cannot take the rejection personally. You never know what is going on behind the scenes. Cat ended up getting three offers, and she went with a publisher that rejected her first book idea. You need to know your why.
Cat wanted to write an empowering book for moms that was a little higher level than what is out there. Most books that are pitched for women are about meal planning and couponing. Moms are powerful beings and they run their families. She wanted to write a book that didn’t talk down to them.
Cat talks about post-partum depression and other personal topics. She includes a personal story in each chapter, because she wanted it to be relatable. It is a mom’s guide to managing money like a boss.
Cat wanted this to be the first money book that inspired moms to buy another money book and learn more.
Her family budget meetings with her husband used to be nitpicking every little thing, because they didn’t have much money. Now it is more like a monthly net worth tracking and talking about bigger purchases and vacations. They also revisit their big goals. When you have the big goal at the front of the meeting, it takes care of the small things.
Little money decisions are necessary and do make a difference, but talking about the big goals puts them into perspective. When you do enough of managing the small things in the beginning, you build good habits and then you can switch focus to the big things.
Childcare versus working is a very challenging decision and the weight is more on moms. Cat was trying to focus on how the chapter was perceived, because she didn’t want it to feel like it was one sided.
She wanted to encourage moms to make a decision that is right for their families and to make sure they are fully diving into what they are giving up if they decide to leave their job.
It isn’t just looking at salary versus daycare cost. You need to look at what you are giving up in terms of retirement savings, job experience, future raises, and future opportunities.
It is very hard to get back in after you leave and there are long-term effects that are difficult to perceive. Even if you want to be a stay at home mom, you have to have some type of skill and some small way to make money. It is easy to lose yourself in your kids’ lives, and having something eases the transition when the kids leave the house.
“Working to pay childcare” is not the end of the story. It isn’t simple math. Moms know what is best for their families and the choice they make is the best one.
Although this book says “millennial” in the subtitle, it is written for moms of all ages.
Takeaway: My biggest takeaway is the importance of keeping your eye on the prize where big dreams are concerned. Our deepest desires never seem to come around as soon as we want them to, but if we never give up, they always have a way of happening exactly when they’re supposed to.
Random Three Questions
If you wrote another book, what would it be about?
What is something you binged during the pandemic?
If this was your last meal on earth, what would it be?
Connect with Cat
Instagram: @catherinecalford
Facebook: Catherine C Alford
Twitter: @catcalford
Listeners can go to www.catherinealford.com and download a free Mom's Got Money Starter Pack ---> Everything Mom's need to jumpstart their money journies.
If you have any topics you would like me to cover on this podcast, or if you’d like to get in the financially naked hot seat, I encourage you to email me to Shannon@fingyms.com, or join the private Martinis and Your Money Facebook group, and let me know what you want to hear.
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