Mother’s Day is a time to celebrate the women who give everything to everyone around them. But one Valley financial advisor says it’s also the perfect moment for moms to ask themselves a harder question: Are you giving anything to yourself?
Allison Stine, founder of Stine Wealth Management in Phoenix, built her firm around three core values: empathy, ethics, and education. She says that combination matters because money is personal.
“Financial planning seems so black and white, but your finances are so deep,” Stine tells ABC15 Mornings Anchor Kaley O'Kelley. “People feel like they’re not where they should be, or they’re just scared to dive in.”
Her advice for moms this Mother’s Day? Start with one simple shift in mindset: Pay yourself first.
That means before the bills, before the groceries, before the kids’ activities, carve out even a small percentage of your paycheck for yourself. Saving, investing, or knocking down debt all count.
“Maybe it’s only five percent, maybe it’s 20%,” Stine says. “But can we carve out a little bit of that income to pay ourselves and then go out and consume, pay your bills, do fun things, live your life?”
She is not asking moms to sacrifice their lifestyle. Quite the opposite.
Stine says the biggest mistake people make is waiting until they have enough to start saving. Even $10 a month builds the habit, and the habit is the point.
A good first goal is building an emergency fund of three to six months' worth of your monthly expenses, kept in a no-risk high-yield savings account, currently earning around 3-4% interest.
“If it costs you $10,000 to live for one month, you want $30,000 to $60,000 liquid,” she says. “If we need it, it’s there. And if we use it, that’s what it’s there for.”
Stine recommends a simple exercise. Pull up your last bank or credit card statement and read through every charge. Recurring subscriptions, daily coffee runs, and frequent dining out are often the quiet budget killers most people forget about.
“Do we have eight streaming services? Do we need them all?” she says. “Remind yourself of where your money is going.”
Stine is quick to point out that financial wellness is not about deprivation. Planning for the future and enjoying the present are not mutually exclusive.
“You deserve to live comfortably,” she says. “Yes, we plan for the future, but you deserve to enjoy today.”
She also tells OKelley, "This Mother’s Day, maybe the best gift a mom can give herself is the decision to finally start!”
