Mamafinanzen: Financial Strength as a Role Model

TEXT: CORNELIA BRELOWSKI

Mamafinanzen helps women and mothers to discover their financial strength, make smart decisions and realize their life goals.

“Finances have the power to change our lives for the better,” explains Margarita Pillwein. financial expert and mother of two. With over 15 years of experience in the financial sector, the former banker specialized in the topic of mothers and finances several years ago – because women with children have to accept career breaks and thus have different issues, goals and requirements for their financial planning: “My offer has a very high practical relevance and is tailored to the needs of moms – a unique selling point in Austria. What further makes my offer special is the combination of practical financial education and individual investment advice.”

Mamafinanzen serves women who want more out of life and are no longer willing to accept financial disadvantages due to motherhood. They are generally educated and want to set a good financial example for their children by doing things differently, explains Pillwein: “They want to show: Look, mom knows her finances, she takes care of herself – something that most women haven’t experienced in their own family. Basically, it’s an act of self-empowerment, and I am helping them with that.”

For Margarita Pillwein, working in an environment of like-minded women creates a special atmosphere of mutual understanding – for example, when one child is sick yet again, the baby needs breastfeeding during a workshop, or a sibling storms into the room to look for their favourite toy. Consequently, Pillwein started Mamafinanzen four years ago as a playground project during her maternity leave: “I noticed how desperate and sometimes even ignorant moms can be when it comes to finances – during maternity leave, but also in general.”

The financial expert began offering online workshops while she was on maternity leave, sometimes from the nursery during the pandemic lockdown, and launched her Instagram channel at the same time. Today, she has more than 3,300 followers, with rising numbers. Mamafinanzen also soon became known through powerful media outlets such as Krone, Welt der Frauen and Woman. Thus, the playground project grew into a real business and in 2024, she finally gave up her part-time job at the bank: “Now I am dedicated full-time to my mission of empowering women and supporting them on their path to financial independence.”

Margarita Pillwein, Mamafinanzen. Photo: © Jacqueline Pröll, www.jacquelineproell.com

Pillwein’s offer for women who live in Austria is based on existing, comparable offers in Germany: “The systems are very different in terms of pension provision and taxes, which is why my customers are specifically looking for this offer for Austria.”

In April, Pillwein will launch a brand new ‘baby’: The Mamafinanzen Academy – a program with 6 modules on the topics of private financial management, retirement planning and investment training with ETFs, over a relaxed period of 20 weeks: “There are lots of learning videos and materials that my customers can work through at their own pace. Meanwhile, I support them with weekly live calls and individual consulting.” The consulting consists of an individual analysis on the one hand and the design of a holistic investment strategy on the other – to achieve financial goals and cover the pension gap.

Margarita Pillwein also plans to become more active as a speaker in front of live audiences: “I made my speaker debut last fall for around 100 financial experts from Austria and Liechtenstein, at the Financial Planners Forum”, she recalls proudly. Furthermore, she is working on a book entitled ‘The Financial Compass – everything women need to know about their finances when they become mothers’, due to be published in 2026. A publisher has yet to be found, but it certainly won’t get boring for the consultant in the meantime: “It is clear to me that I want to continue making my contribution to financial education and further empowering women in Austria. It is more than just my job – I feel that it has become my vocation and is a talent that I can put to use. And I am very grateful for that.”

You can still register for the Mamafinanzen Academy until mid-March, and a non-binding initial consultation can be booked directly via the homepage: www.mamafinanzen.at