On The Real Housewives of Toronto and her Instagram account, audiences see Ann Kaplan, DBA (doctor of business administration), living an envious life of travel and luxury and even purchasing a castle. And while all those things may be fantasies we dream about, the real aspirational message from Kaplan can’t be captured on film. It’s knowing that she built her empire as a single mother from rock bottom, and by following some of her financial advice, you may see that the sky can be the limit for you, too.
“The early days of launching a national finance company was challenging,” Kaplan tells LittleThings. “I was a single mother with two children, challenged for money and with no financial support. I worked full time and rented out a room in my apartment to a student in exchange for babysitting while I worked evenings. My emotions varied between concern and determination, and, on any given day, the alternative [not succeeding] was not an option. I found ways to keep costs low. Balancing my work time between dropping and picking up two young boys from school likely contributed to become efficient with the time I had.”
She chose a career in finance, saying, “I have always been math-minded, but a career in finance was not my career goal. What I did want was to build something that had limitless opportunities. In the early stages, I noticed there was a shift in coverage for medical procedures. I worried about [what] the future would look like if someone needed a medical procedure and did not have the finances to pay. I started a finance company to solve that problem.”
Kaplan grew her company, iFinance, from startup to exceeding $2 billion in loan applications while raising eight children, maintaining a marriage, and launching several highly successful businesses. Today, Kaplan holds advanced degrees in business, and iFinance is one of the largest financial institutions in North America.
But that doesn’t mean she didn’t make some mistakes along the way.
“Initially I felt the need to provide ‘everything’ for my children, while working to financially support them and building a business,” says Kaplan. “I felt that they would miss out if I did not provide the vacations, experiences, or luxuries that a young person could have. I felt challenged to ‘do it all.’ What I put myself in was a win/lose situation – the more I worked, the more I could provide, but the more I worked, the less I could be there for some of their milestones. The mistake I may have made was in my attitude. When I came to realize that being whole and content was more important than providing some of life’s luxuries, I was there for my children — always balancing between attending school performances and working a 12-hour day.”
Kaplan continues, “With a new attitude, I relieved myself from trying to be everything. Yes, I focused my finances on providing for the family, but I invested what I had left into a business. This meant not having certain (many) luxuries, it meant tightening the family belt, but it also meant that what I saved by not spending would open the door for a better financial future. I still think and act in the same manner.”
Kaplan encourages moms who want to build wealth to start from a platform of financial literacy. That means “know what your overhead is and what your income is.” Kaplan says, “Get familiar with what you really spend, then find ways to cut back. When a parent wants to build wealth, there are two initial rules: cut spending and make more. You cannot build wealth if you spend all your income, or worse, if payment of your debts equals or surpasses your income. Once you have a handle on the management of your expenses, you will be more able to start building a nest egg. Start to look at investment opportunities; avoid startups and questionable investments. I have always felt that real estate, where the income from properties pays the mortgage, is a sound long-term investment. My motto is to buy, I go in it for the long term, ride the economic waves, and look to a way to build an annuity — in the long run: income-earning investments.”
Stay-at-home moms in particular frequently struggle to financially contribute to their family.
Many buy into multilevel marketing (MLM) companies with the allure of being a “girl boss.” Kaplan says, “When there is a call for you to reach out to friends or family for investment, there is the underlying trade-off that your relationship reputation may suffer. Although quick money may be attractive, weigh heavier on what a business model actually is and what you are being asked to do.”
Instead, Kaplan says that stay-at-home moms can make other smart money moves. “A stay-at-home mother is really the heart of any family budget and operations,” says Kaplan. “Let’s call it the CEO of the family. Since the CEO is the orchestrator of a budget, a stay-at-home mom should/can become aware as to what the monthly income is and what the overhead is — get involved and look at how you, as a CEO of your household, can manage the income and start to look at extra cash and how to invest. There is no reason to not be involved in investment decisions.”
She also has tips for full-time working moms who are looking for side hustles to increase their cash flow.
“The best advice I can give to full-time working moms that are looking for a side hustle is to focus on opportunities that enhance your overall goals,” says Kaplan. “For example, work toward public speaking opportunities and speak about topics that you are passionate about and relative to the industry that you serve (or want to serve), write articles for various publications, always using the tone and message that emphasizes you as an expert in your chosen career goal.”
Generating passive income is a goal for many busy moms. The good news, Kaplan says, is that “there are many opportunities for moms (parents) looking to build a passive income. With the internet, these days, there are opportunities to be an influencer, to write (paid blogs/articles), and to assist in providing or managing content. There are also opportunities to start a business on easy-to-use platforms such as Shopify or Amazon. Take the time to look at these platforms, and consider if there is something you can offer that could be sold. Remember, patience and work are components of the formula for success.”
Overcoming debt is a hurdle many families face, and you may be considering consolidation. Kaplan says, “During this current (what we may call) recession and in inflationary times, it is an opportune time to look at any debt we have and what the true cost is. Over the past few decades, we have enjoyed low-interest borrowing, variable interest rates have been preferred, and fixed rates were low. Get familiar with your own cost of debt — in particular, a line of credit or a variable interest rate mortgage or loan — and review the interest charged on your credit cards. Reach out to your bank to replace high-interest variable rates with [a] fixed-term loan. Look to utilize a low-interest credit card to pay off a high-interest card and, if need be, consolidate some of your debt to a lower-cost loan. Careful — it is not helpful to consolidate debt where the overall interest charged, post-consolidation, is still high.”
Moms can also shop smarter. Kaplan says, “Review what you are purchasing each month (example: groceries). Take a look at what the savings would be to order items in bulk and/or order online. Be careful not to order items you do not ‘need’ just because bulk buying is cheaper.”
Once you’ve gotten your finances in order, you can begin to save.
“When you have reviewed and made changes to your monthly spend, and after you have looked at ways to make extra money, do not consider that your ‘slush fund,’” says Kaplan. “Take savings seriously. Once you build up a sizable amount, look at one-year savings bonds. There is an excellent return at this time given inflation.”
Using credit cards will also take some restraint. Kaplan says, “I simply love the topic of credit cards, how to use them and how to use them wisely. The first ‘rule’ is to use your credit cards instead of cash wherever possible, but pay them off every month just before the due date. You do not want to pay interest, and often credit companies report on your usage. You want to show usage, but not pay interest for that usage. This will take some discipline, as you need to be aware of your monthly finances and to not exceed spending what you cannot afford. The second rule for using a credit card wisely is to accept any increases in spending limits your bank may offer. Credit rating agencies look at the ‘available credit limit’ — the more credit you have available, the better your credit score will be. This also means never canceling a card, which negatively impacts your credit rating.”
As parents begin their financial literacy journeys, children can learn.
“I will give an example as to how I taught my kids about money,” says Kaplan. “When my daughter was very young, she found out about a doll called 'American Girl.' She would talk about how much she wanted one, eyeing the choices and the opportunity to choose the skin color, eye color, and hair. I advised her that, if she wanted one, she would have to earn it. I created a task list, paying her one dollar for every task she completed. There were 100 tasks in total. These tasks were not ordinary and they were not part of the daily routines and cleaning she was expected to do; they were hard.”
With all that she has accomplished, Kaplan says, “I think the biggest success I have had is that I live my life the way I want to. That does not necessarily mean money, but it does mean that I have made decisions in my life about the person that I want to be, and I live my life accordingly. That is, to me, success.”
