In my last article titled “When Will the Ends Meet”, I described how to begin to create a budget. Of course one key to financial success is creating the budget and sticking to it. For single parents many times the expenses consistently exceed the monthly income. When this happens debt will occur that is sometimes nearly impossible to get out of. Credit cards can be useful in some situations, but not in helping meet the month to month expenses on a long term basis. The finance charges can really affect your financial health for the rest of your life.
For single parents who have a negative cash flow each month or would like to try to save for something special try the following money saving tips:
Housing-Keeping the family home after divorce might just not be possible, the mortgage and other expenses might be just too much for a single income. Consistency for the children would be nice, but keeping the family home is not the only way to give your children what they need. Consider moving to a smaller less expensive condo, or apartment that might even include some of the utilities in the rent. If you decide to keep the family home and you are a single mother, remember to figure in the additional cost of upkeep and repairs that your husband may have taken care of in the past. Or plan on taking some home improvement classes at your local home improvement store.
For tips on how to do more on your own around the house, visit the Families.com Home & Garden Blog.
Child Care-If at all possible ask a trusted family member or friend to care for your child when you are at work for a lower cost than you might normally pay a professional. In many parts of the country child care can cost in the neighborhood of $125 to $200 per week, per child. If family or friends are not available and you work non traditional hours, try a co-op or trading child care responsibilities with another family. This is a difficult area to cut back on costs, and you certainly do not want to let just anyone care for your children. Fortunately there may be tax savings for your child care costs. Also, ask your employer if they have a dependent-care flexible-spending account, which uses your pre-tax dollars to help pay for your child care costs. For more information on these types of accounts go to http://www.smartmoney.com/tax/homefamily/index.cfm?story=dependentcare.
Transportation costs can be slightly reduced by spending a little to make sure your car’s scheduled maintenance tasks are performed on time and at the correct intervals. Find a good mechanic who can help you with this schedule. This can save you a lot of money in the long run and even show minor problems that can be taken care of before they become major problems. If your region has a good mass transportation system, consider taking that bus or subway to work or even to run errands. With the price of gasoline rising 30% or more over the past year, walking, riding a bike or almost any other practical form of getting around can help cut back on expenses. Consider keeping your current automobile for a longer period of time. Cars are built better today than they were ten or so years ago, and they can last longer if properly maintained. Shop around for insurance to make sure you are getting the best coverage for the price. A few online companies such as Progressive will perform a comparison based on your needs and save you a lot of time, and hopefully money too!
Food costs can be kept under control with a lot of self-discipline. Did you ever notice you buy more at the grocery store when you are hungry? Don’t go shopping when you are hungry. Buy generic whenever possible. Use coupons. Write out a list beforehand and stick to it. Exceptions are when you are shopping the sales-meaning if they have a can of tomatoes on sale and it is not on your list, but you may need it within the next week or two-go ahead and buy one can. Better to buy it on sale now than pay full price in two weeks. Be careful that you do not overbuy using this method thinking that eventually you could use every item on sale in the store. Try to shop for a full week at one time, as this will cut down on unplanned purchases.
For hot tips on where to find coupons, visit the Families.com Deals Blog.
For entertainment, trade movies with your friends. Once you go through your own movie library, coordinate a rent a movie night where you rent one video and your friend rents a video and you either watch both together or you watch one the first night then trade to watch the one they already viewed. Be sure to rent the video for more than one night for this to work. Be creative in the entertainment category. You can have family game nights instead of going out. Invite some friends over to join in the fun.
For great tips on Family Fun without the expense, visit the Families.com Family Fun Blog.
There are many more ways to cut down on costs. What have you other parents done to help keep your finances under control?