Salary.com released their 2007 Mom Salary survey last week.

Based on its survey of more than 40,000 mothers, Salary.com determined that the time mothers spend performing 10 typical job functions would equate to an annual salary of $138,095 for a stay-at-home mom … Working Mom’s ‘at-home’ salary is $85,939 … this is in addition to the salary they earn in the workplace …

A large portion of mom’s salary is from the amount of overtime worked … stay-at-home moms work a 92 hour “workweek” – more than half her time spent on the job is overtime. Working moms … logged over 9 hours of overtime for an average 49 hour mom work week beyond their full time paying jobs …

The job titles that best matched a mom’s definition of her work are (in order of hours spent per week): housekeeper, day care center teacher, cook, computer operator, laundry machine operator, janitor, facilities manager, van driver, CEO and psychologist.

It’s Mother’s Day this weekend, so let’s hear it for all you moms and the hard work you put in for your families week in and week out. We appreciate you and all that you do.

Oh, and by the way, if you would like someone to actually pay you that salary that you’re worth this year, check out the Similac Mom’s $135K Payday contest, which will award one mother with a full year’s salary in recognition for all her hard work. I hope you win – you deserve it!

HT: Between Two Worlds

Congratulations! If you live in the United States, as of today you can start earning money for yourself for the rest of the year instead of for the government.

According to The Tax Foundation, today (April 30, 2007) is America’s Tax Freedom Day. That means Americans spent the last 120 days working to pay their taxes and have now fulfilled all of their federal, state and local tax obligations for the year. Last year, the national Tax Freedom Day came two days earlier on April 28, 2006.

April 30 is the national average, but individual State Tax Freedom Days vary widely according to the state’s tax burden. Oklahoma has the earliest date at April 12, and Connecticut has the latest date at May 20. Here is a list of the states with the earliest and latest Tax Freedom Days. So when is your Tax Freedom Day?

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Are you trying to get out of debt? Are you looking for sound financial counseling? Here is some of the best (and funniest) advice on finances you will ever find, courtesy of Steve Martin and the Saturday Night Live gang.

(Video length – 2:28)

They say humor hits hardest the closer it hits to reality. I am going to order my copy of “Don’t Buy Stuff You Cannot Afford” as soon as I can!

HT: Bradley Wright’s Weblog

Twice a week I work out at my friend Dan’s house. Earlier this week, during conversation between weights, Dan shared with me the following story from the book Your Money Counts by Howard Dayton.

An American company opened a new plant in Central America because labor was plentiful and inexpensive. The opening of the plant proceeded smoothly until the workers at the plant received their first paychecks. The next day none of the villagers reported for work. Management waited . . . one, two, three days. Still no villagers came to work. The plant manager went to see the village chief to talk about the problem. “Why should we continue to work?” the chief asked in response to the manager’s inquiry. “We are satisfied. We have already earned all the money we need to live on.”

The plant stood idle for two months until someone came up with the bright idea of sending a mail-order catalog to every villager. Reading the catalogs created new desires for the villagers. Soon they returned to work, and there has been no employment problem since then. (Howard Dayton, Your Money Counts, pp. 46-47.)

This is a fascinating story on many levels (economics, culture, work ethic, outsourcing, etc.), but it clearly shows how advertising can create discontentment leading to increased spending. The tribe’s story is almost a microcosm of the consumer culture that has developed in America. Now of course the answer to all this is not to stop working or to stop purchasing all products. Both of those solutions would bring the economy to a grinding halt. But we should be aware of the market forces that drive us to spend so that we can make better choices and manage our money more wisely.

Dayton finishes off the story with these three helpful facts about spending:

• The more television you watch, the more you spend.
• The more you look at catalogs and magazines, the more you spend.
• The more you shop, the more you spend.

Please don’t wash my sneakers! This girl won $2,500 in the 32nd annual national Odor Eaters Rotten Sneaker Contest. Now she can afford to buy a new pair. The prize-winning sneakers will be enshrined in the Odor Eaters’ “Hall of Fumes” in Montpelier, VT.

Unidentified Flying Snowflakes. For over a century people have reported seeing giant snowflakes, some as large as frisbees. Scientists are interested in the stories and have begun collecting data. The largest snowflake ever reported was during a storm in January, 1887, when a Montana rancher claims he measured one 15 inches wide.

$1 million dollars only goes so far. More and more people are becoming millionaires, and yet some still worry about whether they will have enough money for the future. These people should pay a visit to the Global Rich List.

How rich are you compared to the rest of population earth? The Global Rich List will help you find out. Just enter your annual income, click, and you will be ranked accordingly. The list works with U.S dollars, Canadian dollars, pounds, Euros, or yen. It is also fun to enter in different income amounts to see how you would rank if you earned, for example, $1,000,000 a year or just $1,000.

The list does not take into account such things as cost of living or a host of other economic factors, but it is helpful in gaining a better perspective of the distribution of wealth throughout the world. It should also encourage us to be more generous with the money that God has entrusted into our care.

Of course, this list only ranks your riches according to monetary terms. As Christians, we know that true riches are found elsewhere. “The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower.” (James 1:9-10)

Note: If you are interested in helping people around the world who have less resources than you do, here are some great ministries you can support.

• Compassion International
• Samaritan’s Purse
• World Vision