The true cost of starting your family & how to reduce financial stress with Stephanie Pow, Founder of Crayon

Hello Mama's!I had the pleasure of speaking with Stephanie Pow, Founder of Crayon and Mama of two girls. Steph has had an incredible career in finance, by age 25, Steph was Australia's #1 hybrids stockbroker at the global investment bank UBS. She completed an MBA from Wharton and an MPA from Harvard as the first finance recipient of the General Sir John Monash Scholarship. She then moved to New Zealand and joined New Zealand success story Vend in strategic and operational leadership roles. While at Vend, Steph welcomed her first child. Steph decided to not return to her role at Vend and go out on her own, she spent years working on what is now Crayon. The purpose of Crayon is to reduce financial stress for parents and empower parents to know where they stand when it comes to money. In this episode Steph and I cover:what are your legal rights in New Zealand when you go on parental leave and what are you entitled to from your employer and the governmenthow do you have the conversation with your employer about going on parental leavewhat are the upfront and hidden costs of having a babywhat happens to your annual leave while on parental leavehow can we be financially savvy while on a reduced/single incomeSteph's top tips and steps to take when planning on starting a family to reduce the financial stressreturning to work after parental leaveSteph shares with us her experience going on parental leave & also how she juggles career, family and Mum lifeCrayon has created the Parental Leave Register which is the most comprehensive database of verified parental leave policies in New Zealand. By creating this register, you are able to easily access NZ Companies Parental leave policies so that you can make informed decisions when considering a new role or wanting to know what you are entitled to in your current role without asking the direct question.Steph also shares with us her motherhood journey and what her fourth trimester was like with her girls. Steph practiced Chinese Confinement after the births of both her girls and she shares how she found that experience and what the benefit was for her.Useful links:book Steph recommends - https://nyupress.org/9781479835454/what-works-for-women-at-work/#:~:text=What%20Works%20for%20Women%20at%20Work%20tells%20women%20it's%20not,getting%20ahead%20in%20today's%20workplace.Parental Leave RegisterCrayon websiteCrayon InstagramStarting a family is such an exciting time and Steph's hope is that with some planning and knowledge you can take steps to reduce financial stress associated with starting a family & parenthood. I hope you will find this conversation informative and leave you feeling empowered knowing what you are entitled to and how to be smart with your money . I learnt so much in this chat & am incredibly grateful Steph has created Crayon and shared so much of her wisdom with us.If you enjoyed this chat, please rate & review on your platform of choice and follow along on socials @bumptomum.podcast for updates on future episodes.Enjoy Mama's!