6 Ways to Make Your Money Do More For You As a Single Mom
Being a single parent is a struggle. There are lots of single parents out there, but the majority of them are single mothers. Moreover, many single parents are single income households, or work two-three jobs and still barely make a subsistence wage. So, with the new year upon us, we thought it would be helpful to give you some tips on how to make those pennies stretch with the help of some advice from financial planner Jason Vanclef. So, without further ado, here are Jasons X tips to make your money go further as a single mother.
Start building credit with your doctors and dentist’s office
With the corona virus and the flu season in full swing, even the most well insured person has to pay something at the doctor’s office. If you do not have insurance -and the kids don’t have Medicaid- then Jason recommends putting $5-$10 each week on your account to help you cover your co-pays. This is a wiser choice than having a credit card, and it helps you to build a positive relationship with your healthcare professionals while teaching your children how to budget.
Pay your bills every week
Whenever you get paid, you should put aside money for food, gas, and any school trips or activities coming up, then take 25% off what is left and put that into a savings account. After which divide the money you have left between all of your bills and pay an equal portion (or the balance owing if it is less) to your bills. In reality, you should be focusing on rent/mortgage, food and gas for the car first, but this is not always doable, or you may be lucky enough to not have a mortgage.
Embrace payment arrangements
If you can’t pay a bill by the due date; don’t sweat it! Most companies let you pay later, they just charge you a late fee which is never more than $10 on utilities. If you have a sick child, or you are disabled, you can apply for level billing and no matter how much electricity you use, the bill is capped at a certain amount.
Make sure your landlord is not ripping you off
Your monthly house payment, whether it be rent or mortgage should account for about 30% of your monthly income, but if utilities are included then that’s another ball-game. When utilities are included, do not be afraid to ask to see a copy of the bill. It is your right as a tenant to have an accurate breakdown of your rental payments. You never know, the landlord might be over charging you for the electricity and water.
Open a dedicated bill account
If you think managing finances is too hard for you, why not open up a dedicated bills account and have all of your bills debited from that account? This is a great way to build up on bill money because sometimes you will be depositing more than you need and this will help in the winter when the energy bills are higher.
Talk to a financial planner
If you are really struggling to make the pennies stretch or you are too overwhelmed by the prospect of budgeting, why not seek a consultation with a financial planner? They can assess your budget and let you know where you can cut the fat.
Jason Vanclef is committed to seeing single mothers be a success and raise their children to respect and understand the concept of money. With financial planners like Jason standing behind single mothers, this world will be filled with brighter smiles, one penny at a time
