Being a single parent, particularly a single mom, is a demanding and strenuous job. Did you know? In the USA, approximately 20% of kids live with just their mother, while the number living with only their father is 5%.
As a single mother, not only do you need to take care of the entire household, the kids, and do chores, but you are the sole provider for the family too. This means that you are responsible for the family and finances. It is not easy managing both.
As single moms, you must shoulder the financial burden alone, so it helps to have a good budget plan to maintain a balance between income and expenses. Here are some effective budgeting tips for you.
With the right budgeting methods, single moms can improve savings to a great extent. Here are nine effective budgeting tips for single moms.
Try including a line item in the budget which aims towards making savings for you and your children. Save for college, school activities, school shopping, and so on. Set a small amount of money aside for as many of these items as you can. Even small amounts can make a big difference. Every little bit counts and can add up to be an education fund for your children.
The best single mom's financial advice is to try to live a frugal lifestyle. Stop spending on things that you can do without. This will help in stretching your budget quite a bit. Try purchasing things in bulk for reduced spending, enjoy coffee at home instead of splurging at a café, try purchasing things second-hand for lower cost, etc.
When you are making a budget, don’t forget to include the expenses for your kids. You will have to spend on your kid’s school supplies, clothes, school activities, excursions or trips, and so on, and there should be a budget for each one of these. While budgeting as a single mom, you will have to take into consideration things like your child’s health insurance, child care, insurance premiums, and so on as well.
Kids' outings and activities are expensive, with pricey tickets for entertainment and amusement parks. Buying food and drinks adds to those expenses. Look for activities that are fun but free at the same time. Local libraries offer free events and activities for kids. First Saturdays are free in many museums. You can go on a picnic or camping or hiking. Carry your homemade food and drinks with you to save further.
Understandably, as a single mom, you are super busy with your life, having to handle everything by yourself. By automating finances, bills get paid on time without the fear of late fees and penalties. Set the bill payments around your pay dates. This can eliminate the risk of overdrawing your account. Keep provisions for automatic transfers to your savings account, too, even if it is a small amount.
If you are planning to purchase something for yourself or your kids, look out for deals, discounts, and coupons from stores. Items on sale are often given at discounted rates, and you can save money. Just double-check if the deals and coupons are valid while you do your shopping. You should also check out thrift stores and garage sales for affordable items.
Uneventful incidents do happen, and you must stay prepared, at least financially. Even if you have a tight budget, make sure that you put a little money aside for an emergency fund. Building an emergency fund will reduce your stress when an unexpected auto repair or similar expense occurs.
Credit cards trap you with a false sense of security of having money in your account until you fall into a vicious cycle of borrowing. Avoid credit cards at all costs and only depend on what you have at hand. Credit card interest rates are often very high.
When you receive your monthly or weekly paycheck, make sure you keep aside a certain amount for savings, e.g., $20. If you start spending first, you will rarely have anything left for savings.
Hopefully, some of these practical tips, single mom financial advice, can help you create a super budget plan. Making little financial adjustments here and there and cutting out unnecessary expenses helps in building savings and emergency funds and creating more security for the whole family.
Emergency expenses for your family or a child can crop up at any time. If you don’t have enough money to meet these expenses, you can check out Emergency Payday Loans. You can use the money from the payday loans for meeting emergencies like medical payments, utility payments, repair work, bill payments, etc.
These small loans should not be your first choice but can be a lifesaver when you have run out of options. Never get a loan if you are uncertain about paying it back on the due date!
With high approval rates, these payday loans have no hard credit checks, and the loan application process is simple and hassle-free. There are no hidden charges either. Apply for payday loans at LoansinaDay today!
Content Source: United States Census Bureau, ASPE
