Offering mothers a path towards financial security May 6, 2022

Mother’s Day is celebrated across the world, in more than 50 countries, though not all on the same day.

Countries that celebrate Mother’s Day on the second Sunday of May include Singapore, Australia, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Switzerland, Turkey and Belgium¹.

This year, let’s go beyond the regular celebrations and focus on the financial security aspect for mothers.

If anyone can help it, no one wants to be economically dependent only on their spouses, children and relatives in their golden years. And it is with this in mind, that we have sourced work options for stay-at-home moms. (See list below)

For greater financial security, we have also suggested a few ways to help mothers. It would be a very thoughtful and meaningful gesture on the part of the children, if a part of the money spent on celebrating the special day and even better if contributions could be used to start her on her investment journey. (Some of the investment options are listed at the bottom of the article.)

To give context to the amount of money that is spent on feasting, let us look at some figures. In the US, Mother’s Day is now one of the most commercially successful occasions.

According to the National Restaurant Association, Mother’s Day is now the most popular day of the year for dining in US. This year, consumers are expected to spend USD21.2 billion on Mother’s Day, an increase of 5 percent from last year, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation.

The Greeting Card Association estimates that more than 150 million Mother’s Day cards are exchanged in the US every year, making Mother’s Day the third-largest card-sending holiday after Christmas and Valentine’s Day.

Mother’s Day² is all about children honouring their mother and expressing to her how much she means to them³. Common ways children do this include giving flowers, a card, a gift, or a phone call if unable to meet on the day. It’s also customary to take your mother out to a fancy dinner or at least to provide her with one at home.

But while Mother’s Day is all about honouring your mum on one day of the year, the celebration papers over an ugly reality. In fact, a 2018 United Nations report estimated that globally women do 2.6 times the amount of unpaid care and domestic work that men do.

That works out to roughly 243 minutes per day, or 28.4 hours per week, of unpaid work in US, a report by the Organization for Economic Co-Operations and Development found⁴. In comparison, US men spend just 17.5 hours each week doing unpaid labour, the report shows.

And in most cases, this is work that is not recognised when national economies calculate their gross domestic product (GDP), UN researcher Shahra Razavi says.

“That’s because society sees women’s work as less valuable” said Razavi, Chief of research and data for UN Women. “If women stopped doing a lot of the work they do unpaid, then the whole economy would collapse,” Razavi said.

As calculated by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, if women were paid the median hourly wage of USD26.82 an hour, they would earn an extra USD761.69 per week, or about USD40,000 per year.

But besides the unpaid work, can stay-at-home mums use their time to be economically productive and move towards ensuring their economic security in the future?.

Surely, none of us want our mothers to be economically dependent only on their spouses, children and relatives. And it is with this in mind, that we have sourced work options for stay-at-home moms.

Jobs for stay-at-home moms

Technically, stay-at-home jobs, remote jobs, and work-from-home jobs are largely the same thing. They are positions that allow you to manage your professional responsibilities without heading to a formal workplace.⁵ And here are some of the things stay-at-home moms can try their hands at.

1. Social Media Manager
2. Virtual Assistant
3. Home Day Care Provider
4. Remote Customer Support Rep
5. Freelance Writer
6. Web Developer
7. Transcriptionist
8. Tax Preparer
9. Graphic Designer
10. Telemarketer
11. Photography Editor
12. ESL Instructor
13. Online Researcher
14. Academic Tutor
15. Massage Therapist
16. Mental Health Counsellor
17. Video Editor
18. Bookkeeper
19. Recruiter
20. Item Flipper
21. Hairstylist
23. Data Entry
24. Translator
25. Life Coach
26. Grocery Delivery Driver
27. Search Engine Evaluator
28. Proofreader
29. Tech Support Specialist
30. Community Moderator

So, now that we have listed 30 options, stay-at-home moms can consider, let us move to the next step.

Now that you have worked hard for your money, now let us help you make your money work for you.

And this is where we have options that go beyond plain-vanilla bank accounts.

If you are a stay-at-home mom who is looking for options to invest and grow your income and savings, here are some options:

1) Balanced Unit Trust for lower-risk portfolio growth
2) Endowment plans to prepare for retirement
3) SMART Portfolio for growth without lock-in period
4) Managed Accounts for those who want their accounts managed

To check out the options for unit trusts, go to: https://unittrust.poems.com.sg/all-about-funds/fund-comparison/?_gl=1*2zbeho*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE2NDg2MjQ1NzMuQ2owS0NRandfNC1TQmhDZ0FSSXNBQWxlZ3JXVndPblVCRnRhY1g3bFRJT0I0c0R4dHVNVlJTSzNqR3U3THRydTIzSFhCRGFvY2dWX0NjOGFBdmFwRUFMd193Y0I.&_ga=2.77940820.1922151019.1649119887-1838253627.1647573154&_gac=1.28235470.1648624573.Cj0KCQjw_4-SBhCgARIsAAlegrWVwOnUBFtacX7lTIOB4sDxtuMVRSK3jGu7Ltru23HXBDaocgV_Cc8aAvapEALw_wcB

For endowment plans, go to: https://www.phillip.com.sg/sg/insurance/

For the SMART portfolio, go to: https://www.poems.com.sg/phillip-smart-portfolio/

And if want to learn more about managed accounts, go to: https://www.poems.com.sg/managed-account-services/

Reference:

• ^[1]https://www.officeholidays.com/holidays/mothers-day
• ^[2]https://publicholidays.sg/mothers-day/
• ^[3]https://publicholidays.sg/mothers-day/
• ^[4]https://blog.steadyapp.com/mothers-day-working-moms-paid-unpaid-labor/
• ^[5]https://theinterviewguys.com/stay-at-home-mom-jobs/

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