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How Much Is Your Mother Worth This Mother's Day? Edelman Index Says: $841,900!

For Immediate Release
May 07, 2009

Fairfax, Va., May 7 -- The job-market may be getting tighter, but your mother still deserves a raise. The job-market value of the role of a mother has increased by nearly 5% to $841,900, according to financial advisor Ric Edelman’s Annual Mother’s Day Index™.

Now in its 11th year, the Index reflects the adage “a mother’s work is never done” by compiling the salaries of the 17 different jobs frequently performed by the typical mom. Edelman uses average annual compensation data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics and totals up the average salaries for those 17 key occupations to arrive at each year’s Index number.

“Of course, no one can truly place a value on the love and affection that mothers give to their families,” said Edelman. “My Index is designed to help us appreciate them: Think of what you’d have to pay someone to be on duty 24/7 and complete 17 jobs.”

Edelman noted that the average multi-tasking mom routinely:

• raises children 
• dispenses medication and nursing care 
• assists with homework 
• cooks meals 
• attends meetings and functions 
• provides transportation 
• keeps house
• listens to and resolves family problems 
• manages family finances
• cares for pets
• maintains family order and harmony
• keeps family on schedule

The total of the 17 average annual salaries in 2009 is $841,900, an increase of $39,210 over last year.

Since it was first compiled in 1999, The Mother’s Day Index has increased by 66%. During that same time, the Consumer Price Index has grown by 29.23%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Every mom should know that over the past decade her value has increased at more than twice the rate of inflation,” said Edelman.

The occupations which compose the Annual Mother’s Day Index and their corresponding median annual salaries are:  

                   
Edelman, whose firm manages billions of dollars in assets for individuals and families nationwide, said the Index is actually a conservative number since it does not include the value of the retirement, health and insurance benefits that workers in these positions typically receive.

“So if you haven’t given much thought to the benefits of having a mom, try finding the money you’d need to pay someone to do everything that she does,” Edelman said. “Don’t forget to put the check in the Mother’s Day card -- one for $841,900.”

Founder and chairman of Edelman Financial Services, Edelman is the author of seven books including recent bestseller Rescue Your Money. His newest special, Rescue Your Retirement can be seen beginning this June on public television. Also tune in to The Ric Edelman Show, broadcast nationwide each week by Citadel Media (formerly the ABC Radio Networks).

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