“I really like to have control so, I had to be honest with myself about what I can and can’t do. I used to work the whole week, then spend all of Saturday and Sunday cleaning, which was exhausting. So, the first thing I decided was ‘ok, I need to hire a cleaner.’ After getting over the guilt, like ‘oh my God, someone is coming to clean my house’ then I had to look at the cost and realize, every week would be expensive. Which led me to accept that my house is not going to be perfectly clean every day,” Edwine Alphonse, Finance Leader, Investor and Entrepreneur.
Money is a tricky topic for women. Many of us were taught not to want or discuss it too much. When we have kids, however, the power of financial freedom becomes more alluring. Bank balances aren’t just numbers; they represent access to everything from the childcare, schools, or vacations you want to supporting great causes and choice over how, when or if you career.
Yet the motherhood penalty is real. And women have been on the wrong end of the wage and leadership gaps forever so, we often underestimate our strengths and needs to grow. Although not everyone lives the ‘American Dream’ political instability, rising costs for everything from utilities to apples and the dismal job market raises the stakes on financial wellbeing. You may be thinking, ‘how will I possibly make time to do more?’ but there are many ways to tap into your hidden capacity.
Understand Your Financial Picture
Edwine has an expanded view of what “assets” and “liabilities” are. In her newsletter, ‘The Balanced Sheets’ she’s written about everything from the details behind mergers and bankruptcies for major brands, to Taylor Swift, motherhood and the rise of Bad Bunny.
When I asked, how can moms eager to build wealth get started? Edwine explained, “In the same way I would advise a business to start. Understand your cash flow, which means how much money you take in and how much money goes out. You don’t need fancy tools either. Just go online to your bank accounts and download your transactions. Then it’s quick addition to figure out how much money you spent and made this month.”
Start With Your Cash
Although it’s foundational, it isn’t complicated. Edwine said, “Do a really thorough analysis of what you make, including your salary or wages. Then do the same with your expenditures, like money spent on food, rent or mortgages and childcare. Look at everything!”
How much data is enough? Well, it depends. She recommends you keep it simple to get started. “Do it for one month or ideally, for the past three months.” But if your finances vary wildly during the year, or your expenses are seasonal, you can gain more insight from a longer period of time, like six months or a year.
Then Decide What You Can Live Without
Even if you’re not managing a strict budget, you already know paying taxes are more pressing than keeping up with Netflix. Digging deep on how you spend will tell you a lot. Edwine said, “There are expenses you can’t live without, like your mortgage or food, but you may not need to go on that trip you were planning. Take a realistic look at your spending and project your needs for the next three months. What is discretionary? For example, you might decide ‘I can’t afford not to go on that trip, but I can’t really get my nails done every two weeks. I can either go every month or do them at home.”
Wait, what if You Can’t Cut More Expenses?
Okay, many people can’t really trim more costs than they already have. US job growth has slowed, the stock market is messy, and moms were pushed from or left the paid workforce in droves last year. Knowing your numbers gives you the confidence to plan for what’s next.
Edwine said, “There are two things you can improve. If you can’t minimize your expenses then as I tell businesses, you have to figure out how to improve your top line, which is how much money you make. As women, we tend to be limit ourselves and think, ‘But I’m only getting paid this much’ but there are so many other opportunities.”
Rethink Use of Your Time
Most moms are overloaded with schedule Jenga, super tired or both. But time is often an overlooked opportunity. Edwine said, “Time is valuable. We can get paid for our time, be creative with it and invest our time.”
Women start businesses in record numbers, especially women of color even in times of economic unrest. Edwine said, “We have a lot more information and tools to help now. I spoke to a young woman recently and said, ‘you could be a copywriter, offer your services for social media or start drop shipping. We need to remember to be creative with our time and skills we have. Women are really good at figuring things out.”
Consider Your Strengths
Moms are multi-tasking, time bending magicians and often diminish our superpowers without realizing it. Edwine said, “I’ve seen people starting baking and catering businesses, some have started cleaning, or consulting businesses, basically anything that can help bring in extra dollars. Sometimes we forget that we have resources and can make investments. For example, there might be another mother that can give you a couple hours of work because she’s struggling.”
Flexible sidelines abound but finding a way to make everything coexist with parenting, is like managing a small empire. New streams of revenue can also mean new operational costs in addition to fragmented time. So how can you be intentional about building multiple revenue streams?
Be Clear About Your Goals and Interests
Edwine continues to adapt. “I’m still learning how to do it and I’m not perfect because every day there’s a new challenge. I have a busy job as an accounting leader in a fast-paced startup, where everything needs to be built and a lot of strategic decisions need to be made. At the same time, I like coaching, mentoring and supporting small businesses so, I do that on the side but not for many hours. I have real estate investments as well that need to be managed and I have to spend time with my family.”
Give Yourself Permission to Grow
It’s not possible to expand your life, whether it’s more kids, commitments, or career interests, without tradeoffs. Edwine shared how she chooses where to divest or add focus. And true to her accounting roots, she’s analytical about how to maximize the assets and decrease liabilities.
Edwine said, “Now, instead of feeling guilty I think about the fact that I’m helping my cleaner with a job. And she is helping me.” We discussed how seeking help carries emotional weight for women. We’re typically discouraged from doing it so, it doesn’t feel natural. At least, not yet.
And Get Comfortable with Help in All Forms
We need to invest in ourselves so, paid and/or unpaid support, is critical. Especially to increase self-care time. And it helps to think about outsourcing in terms of “return on investment” to save time. Edwine said, “For the consulting, I realized I cannot do that work but I can supervise so, I outsource a lot of it. I also have a virtual assistant, who is a college student that helps me with my content posting, like creating carousels and finding images. Giving her a couple hours of work per week, helps her with extra money. She’s also getting experience and creating a portfolio.
Including in Your Personal Life
Unless you happen to live near local family or close friends, you probably feel the absence of your village. If so, you need to construct one. If you are partnered, start there and reassess who does what. However, childcare, therapists, coaches, trainers and grandparents, can all be key to making your life, career, and self-care with kids possible.
Edwine said, “My kids play soccer on club teams and at some point, I was like, ‘I need to go to all these games and practices, and we have two of them!’ So, my husband and I would divide and conquer. Eventually, I realized it didn’t make sense, and we found a close friend interested in some pocket money so now she goes with them. She doesn’t do it every day, but we can rely on her and that frees me from stress to do other work and focus on my job.” During extremely busy seasons, including when she has to travel, Edwine will line up family support from her parents.
You can tweak how you’re doing everything and anything. Take some time for self-reflection, to better understand how your needs are changing then build in self-care to refuel. From there, you can get the energy and capacity to manage your money in ways that serve your short- and long-term goals.
Many thanks to the talented Edwine Alphonse!
Sign up for Edwine’s amazing newsletter, The Balanced Sheets and follow her great adventure on LinkedIn.
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About Edwine:
Edwine Alphonse, CPA is a finance leader and VP Controller at Houzz, with a career rooted in building and scaling finance and accounting organizations at high-growth and unicorn companies, including Ramp and Circle. She brings a thoughtful, people-first approach to financial transformation, building teams and processes that help companies grow with confidence and clarity.
Outside of work, Edwine is an entrepreneur, investor, and the founder of Your Startup CPA. She writes The Balanced Sheets, her newsletter where she shares practical insights on finance, leadership, and building sustainable businesses. A passionate advocate for financial inclusion and literacy for women, she is deeply committed to uplifting and supporting others through mentorship and board service with organizations aligned to her values.
Above all, Edwine is a proud mother of two amazing daughters and finds her greatest joy traveling the world and making memories with them.
