My ability (most days) to support and show up for my career and family is thanks to a set of beliefs I established years ago, well before I became a mother, or even before I met my husband. Some of these beliefs — about the need for independence and self-protection — date back to the days of my mum’s stern warnings and the threats about strange men in our neighbourhood who would steal me if I got too close. (I was five and she was probably right.) But I started making professional and financial moves long before I decided to have kids, and it set me up for success during this busy, sometimes challenging, always rewarding phase of my life.