Motherhood, Money, and Doing It Alone
What I’m Building for Moms Without a Village
Are you trying to raise children on less—way less—than six-figures?
Tired of pretending everything’s fine when it’s clearly not?
Do you roll your eyes at clean and organized beige playrooms?
Then Mama Needs a Village is for you. Welcome. You’ve found your people.
Motherhood today is a lot to carry, and most of us are doing it with less support than we were ever meant to. And brands are ready to capitalize on our exhaustion and isolation, turning burnout into a business model.
Every dollar wasted on stuff that doesn’t actually help is a dollar not going toward building stability, freedom, or generational wealth—and that’s how the cycle keeps repeating itself.
In this article:
Topics That Help Moms Thrive Emotionally and Financially
1. Emotional Survival for the Modern Mom
2. Smart Money Moves
3. Building a Life That Actually Works
Why My Psychology Background Makes Me a Better at Finances
You Don’t Have to Be a Genius or a High Earner—I Married Proof
When Societal Expectations Result in Economic Consequences
Topics That Help Moms Thrive Emotionally and Financially
Here’s what you’ll regularly see on Mama Needs a Village:
1. Emotional Survival for the Modern Mom
A look at societal expectations and impossible standards for parents. From unpacking emotional triggers to psychological manipulation, I explore how motherhood reshapes our inner world and how to stay sane.
Saying “no” to more so you can say “yes” to what matters
Emotional burnout and mom rage, explained and explored
Breaking generational patterns without breaking yourself
2. Smart Money Moves
Smart, doable financial strategies for moms who don’t have time, energy, or $200 for leggings. Financial independence matters more when you’re parenting without a village, so check out realistic money-saving hacks (I’m also cringing at the word) that work.
Making low/middle-income stretch further
Teaching your kid financial literacy early
Building a safety net without dual six-figure incomes
Trading basics and investing explained
How to build generational wealth using tactics the rich don’t advertise to the rest of us
3. Building a Life That Actually Works
From sleep training struggles to screen time debates, I tackle real parenting decisions with honesty and nuance—not judgment or trendy hacks.
Why “aesthetic” is bankrupting families
Calling out the cult of perfection (with receipts)
Setting realistic and attainable goals
👉 Subscribe to the Mama Needs a Village blog, bookmark the site, or just pop in when you need a hit of financial clarity, emotional validation, or a reality check that doesn’t make you feel like garbage. Because sometimes, we have to build the damn village ourselves.
Why My Psychology Background Makes Me Better at Finances
The day before our wedding and 19-weeks pregnant; before I knew how hard motherhood without a village would be
I took a major pay cut after I became a mom. I thought I could just keep working from home like I did before the baby. But it hit fast: between recovering from birth, round-the-clock feedings, and the mental fog of new motherhood, I had nothing left to give.
And like a lot of women, I quickly realized that motherhood doesn’t come with hazard pay.
At the same time, we gained a whole new set of bills with diapers, formula, onesies. We slid from solidly middle-class to something a little more “we’re-fine-as-long-as-nothing-breaks-this-month.”
What helped me was my mental health background:
B.A. in Psychology and M.S. in Health Care Management (this brain’s been formally trained to understand your brain).
Professional clinical experience in psychiatric hospitals, long-term care units, school systems, and community-based settings.
A trained eye for emotional manipulation, shame marketing, and scarcity tactics used by brands and influencers.
Lived experience in navigating motherhood without a support system, while the world screamed “buy more, do more, be more.”
That training translates surprisingly well to money. I know how and why people self-destruct with money—and how to build systems that work with my brain and my budget. I made money stretch through unexpected expenses and economic uncertainty. I learned how to invest, trade, and build wealth—without letting my emotions sabotage me.
I’ll never pretend I have it all figured out, but I do share what I learn as I go; from trading strategies that don’t require a trust fund to how to build emotional resilience when you’re running the mental load marathon alone.
You Don’t Have to Be a Genius or a High Earner—I Married Proof
Let me be clear: you don’t need a psych degree, a six-figure salary, or a Pinterest board full of #goals to get your life together. You just need someone to break it down without the fluff—and maybe a little tough love.
Exhibit A: my husband.
When I met him, he was 36 with no retirement account, no savings, a credit score in the 500s, and spending habits that made my eyelid twitch. Let’s just say “financially chaotic” would’ve been generous.
Fast-forward five years:
He’s got $20K in an IRA (and counting)
A credit score over 700
Solid saving and spending habits
And he did it all while never making more than $45K a year—including one year when he didn’t work at all
If I can help a middle-aged white Republican male change? Honey, I can help anyone.
You don’t need perfection. You need a system that respects your reality—limited income, mental exhaustion, maybe a baby on your hip. That’s what I share here: real tools for real people, not trust fund advice in disguise.
When Societal Expectations Result in Economic Consequences
When I talk about surviving motherhood in a capitalist hellscape, I’m not being dramatic. I’m being precise.
Businesses are marketing more than products. Through influencers, they’re selling a fantasy. One where homes are clean and everything is color-coordinated. They’re putting filters on reality, rebranding your deepest insecurities, and exploiting you to make you buy more things you don’t need.
Too many are in the trap of spending money they don’t have…
…trying to chase someone else’s “dream life” …
…while silently falling apart behind closed doors.
And most of us don’t even realize it—because that’s exactly how psychological manipulation works when it’s done well. It doesn’t scream; it whispers. It looks like help. It feels like safety.
“Give your baby the best” is guilt marketing.
Someone dressed as a pediatrician gives authority bias.
And 10,000 five-star Amazon reviews are social proof.
Stick around for money advice, emotional truths, and honest conversations that don’t guilt-trip you. Building your own village is the only way forward.
Best,
Felicia Muniz Roberts
