Lately I have had money on the brain…mostly the lack there of. If you are a single parent, you know what I’m talking about. It seems like there is never enough money to go around and just when you start feeling like you might actually make it this month, mother nature throws in some kind of catastrophe to keep you in check.
This month naturally was a tight one for me. Logan’s birthday is coming up on Saturday. I usually start getting presents fairly early so that I’m only spending a little at a time, but even then it starts to add up quick. I breathed that sigh of relief as the last present was purchased, and then a big old rock came flying out of the sky and landed right on my windshield. What would I do without savings?
I recently read a blog about a woman whose family of six literally lives on less than $28,000 a year. At first I didn’t think it was possible, but as I read and looked at the way they broke down each of their paychecks I found just how wrong I was. Money is still tight for them, but they’ve learned how to spend quality time together without spending a lot of money. They’ve divided their needs and wants and after carefully budgeting are able to provide for all of their family’s needs on a salary that is less than half the national median income. They have found their own little ways to save money and believe it or not extreme couponing has nothing to do with it. They simply have learned how to carefully plan and stay within that plan. Like all of us, she has weak moments when she decides to order take-out after a long day, but because of the way they have things set up in their family, they are able to recover from those weaker moments with some minor adjustments to their budget.
As a single mom I’m always looking for ways to save a little money. I’m definitely not where this family is yet when it comes to saving, but someday I would sure like to be.