Quick Word of Advice ~ Minisode of the Mommy Pod

Being a single mom means carrying all the love — and often, all the bills too. In this raw and honest mini-sode, Shanta opens up about the emotional and financial struggle of wanting to give her kids the best while drowning in debt and exhaustion. She shares her truth about the pressure to “make it work,” and her word of advice to anyone dreaming of motherhood: prepare and plan first.

This episode is for every mom trying to stretch a dollar, every woman thinking about starting a family, and anyone who’s ever whispered, “What do I do now?” Tune in for a heart-to-heart reminder that preparation isn’t pessimism — it’s protection.

Transcript

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I think in order to succeed in life, or in order to have a softer time succeeding, life needed to have been prepared for you. Prepared for you. Like your parents needed to be in a position where they could afford you. They also needed to be in a position where they could provide a trust for you of some sort. And if they did not have all of those things, plus like a solid foundation with each other, understanding with each other, if they did not have all of those things, you are gonna have a harder time succeeding in life. It does not mean that you cannot succeed, but it means you're gonna have a harder time. And I did not have any of those things. I was an unplanned child. Um and my parents, you know, had not a pot to piss in. But they were in love or whatever. So then um my mom passed away, my dad gave up, and so I went to live with my grandparents, who did not prepare for me because I was their grandchild. So again, it's hard to come into a world when you're not prepared for. Um, I did get I think social security and maybe my grandma got child support, I don't know. But it wasn't saved, it was spent, and it needed to be. I was doing a lot of things pageants, dancing, competitions, a lot of things. So yeah. We needed that. But um I don't know. I can't just help but think how different life would be. And now I'm looking at my life and I am a mother of two children and I barely have a pot to piss in myself. My children were planned. I did not set up a savings or trust for them, but they were planned for. But I thought I was gonna be in a two-income household. That was the plan. And sometimes plans don't turn out the way you plan them. So you have to have a fallback, you have to have a savings. So I would say before you have children, save. Have money before you have kids. I feel like people struggle so much because they don't have the money that they need to take care of the kids. I mean, it's hard. And then the kids suffer. No child wants to walk around with dirty shoes or um whatever. Like every not everyone, but a lot of people are wearing the latest things. I haven't my kids don't know about labels and stuff like that yet. But when they do, it's gonna be hard if I am in this same situation, so that's why I'm trying to do everything that I can to not be in this situation, and I don't want to rely on a man or partner to come in and help me. It would be nice to have that, but obviously, things don't always work out, so I want to be able to provide and take care of my kids on my own, but I'm starting from scratch. I didn't have guidance, I didn't have um a savings, I didn't have um a good example. So now I'm trying to do this on my own, and I'm in mounds of debt. A few collections. And it's like, what am I supposed to do? I work extra hours when I can. I work full time and then I have my children. It's like I need to figure out everything and anything to do to work until the ground. Work to the ground. People on TikTok are making money to pay for their lifestyles, their living expenses. I would love to be able to do that. Like just one month, one bill, something. That would be the dream to be able to make bill money with these outlets that I have. I'm on TikTok. We got the Mommy Pod. Um I'm selling things on the pod shop, on Shopify, the Mommy Pod Pod Shop. Um, then I also have Lauraandjace Design.com where I design people's websites and help them with their logos and help them with their business plans. And I have one client, and that's it. And it's hard, it's hard, it's hard to get out there, but it it takes time. It's hard and it takes time. I've been doing the websites for about two years, and I've still only got one client. A lot of people say it's expensive. This one client, she's been uh doing great. She's has no complaints. Um, I mean, she probably does, but she hasn't voiced any, so I'm very thankful and grateful for her. I need more clients. So, yeah. And I'm also selling the books. Did I say that already? No. There's so many different outlets I'm doing, so many things I'm trying. So please help, support. Thank you if you're already doing that. Much love.