All the Single Ladies…Put your money up!

Money Saving Ideas for Single Mothers

Let me make a disclaimer. What follows is a brief glimpse into my life. This is my perspective and while I realize that my plan may not appeal to most people, I love what it is doing for my family.

Single mothers have a unique set of financial challenges. We are the primary caretakers for our children. If we are blessed to have our parents with us, many of us have an unspoken fear that we will shoulder some responsibility for their care as they grow older.

B.C. (Before Children) I was a social butterfly. Foot loose and fancy free. I was at just about every event and smiling with everyone in attendance. Then it happened. You know ladies…you meet HIM. You start your journey together and then one day the journey ends. When my journey ended, I had been unemployed for about three years. I had to build systems that would ensure my children and I were taken care of. I’d like to share a few things that work for me.

“It takes a village to raise a child” is more than a cliche’ just because it sounds good. A few girlfriends and I started a child care coop. The purpose of the coop was to provide free childcare to members in our group. Each mother was asked to commit a couple of hours on their selected day. By doing this, I saved about $200 a month. If you are living in an area where you don’t know anyone, get out of your comfort zone and connect with people. Who’s in your village ?

Another concept that I take full advantage of is coupons. I’m not talking about clipping coupons from the Sunday paper, I’ve done that and I only use about 2% of those coupons. When I was pregnant with my first child, I discovered a line a frozen pizzas that I fell in love with. I would eat at least one pie a week. This diet got a little pricey at about $6 a pie so I sent an email to the company asking for a few coupons. Guess what? I got about $30 worth of coupons many of them for free products. I thought if it worked for one company what not others. I looked in my pantry and started emailing companies of products that I regularly use and asked them to send me coupons and they also obliged. Now, I send out emails every 6 months.

Now that I have coupons that I actually use, I pre-plan my meals. This cuts down on shopping time, and almost eliminates the compulsive purchases. By pre-planning our meals, I can spend more time with the two people who matter most to me. I challenge you to plan a month of meals, and involve your children. We have theme nights. For example, Monday is pizza night (it used to be Friday but the kids voted for a change). The point is to make it fun, inclusive, and stress free ! Here’s another way I save money. I share membership to Costco with another single mom. We share the cost of some items, such as toilet paper. (Really…. how many rolls does one house need ?)

Having trouble paying your mortgage or rent ? Check out www.coabode.com. One of my best friends introduced me to this site and although I’ve never used it, I think the idea is great ! Co-Abode offers a unique matchmaking service that provides single moms the opportunity to share housing, pool resources and finances with another single mom of their own choosing. Not only can you save money on your shelter, but you can develop a great friendship as well.

You can save money for your goals, whatever they be, if you’re willing to forego the five-bedroom house for a more modest three-bedroom older home or apartment, and if you cut your food bill by cooking at home, and buying generic brands. If a single mom can do this, you can too.

By Golda Smith