Financial Tips for Single Moms

A good financial plan is essential in reaching your money goals and ensuring a stable life ahead. While money cannot buy you happiness, lacking money can be stressful and cause many people, particularly single moms, anxiety and worry.

Here’s how to survive financially as a single mom. 

1. Maximize your earning potential 

The sad reality is many single moms are raising their children without any financial support from the fathers. This puts all the financial stress solely on your shoulders. That’s a lot of responsibility, unfair as it is. When making professional decisions, don’t do so “as a single mom.” Take the leap and ask for that raise if you know you deserve it. Enroll in advanced degrees so you qualify for higher positions. Put up a side business if you can and have the time.

2. Know what you can and can’t afford 

There’s no shame in admitting you can’t afford some things. Because you are the sole earner in your family, you need to save up as much as you can for necessities including rent/housing, utilities, and tuition fee. You and your child need to live within your means, save for emergencies, and any unforeseen events in the future. If there’s anything the pandemic taught us, the world can turn over in a snap so it’s better to be prepared for the worst at all times.

Sometimes, this will mean saying no to a toy your child really wants or missing out on a trip with family or friends. Feeling jealous of what the people have around you is normal but trust us, it feels worse to have to scramble for money in an emergency when you really need it. You’ll be thankful you decided to save up now.

3. Invest/Protect your family 

Leaving your savings in a bank is not the most efficient way for you to grow your savings. Instead, you’ll want to invest it in insurance. Insurance companies have different policy types to suit your needs and budget. You can choose to invest in an education plan to secure your child’s future college tuition fee, a life insurance plan that steadily grows your savings through bonds and equities, or a health insurance plan that can cover all your medical insurance with an option to get your money back in the event that you don’t use your insurance.