(edit end of 2024: Originally written when I was seeking to coach Christian single moms around stress, money, and feeding their kids a healthy diet. The advice here is applicable to everyone however, so it stays posted here)
The three heaviest spending seasons I’ve observed, seem to be Christmas/Black Friday, September/back-to-school, and Summertime/holidays. As a single mom, strategic spending is paramount to ensuring limited funds go where they need to go so that you can figure out what is left for anyone’s wants you might be able to turn into a special occasion. Getting a handle on your expenses is necessary to know what you have available for saving and/or for building a strategy to get out of debt as well.
I’ve personally met single moms face to face in times past who would simultaneously complain they had no funds for their kids’ birthday coming up while holding a slushy they just bought from the local 7-Eleven store. They’d complain about the cost of kids clothes but stand there wearing something from The Bay while talking about how only designer labels will do. My kids would be near those conversations sometimes and would be shaking their heads and commenting later about how those mothers didn’t make sense. I actually had to teach my kids to wait till they were farther away from some of those moments because their outburst could have been easily heard by the parties they were talking about.
It is SO important to know where your money is going and why it is going there! This is the first step to learning how to live within your means whether you are a single mom, married, have kids, no kids, or even just living alone. If you find yourself wondering why your income isn’t going the distance every month, it is time to sit down and assess your spending habits. Once you know where your money is going, you need to assess what is and isn’t absolutely necessary. The unnecessary nice-to-have/want spends are more than likely where the missing funds will be found. A second place they will be found is in higher-than-necessary fees for expenses that are necessary. These show up in the grocery cart, in the phone bill, in the gas tank, and other essential bills. When these have been trimmed down to necessary levels, more “found money” will surface.
That “found money” is integral to making life easier around the home whether it’s finally being able to buy the groceries household members need, or finally getting on top of that never-ending debt load, or planning that child’s birthday party 3 months from now. “Found Money can even help make holiday seasons easier to afford and ensure a surprise in the child’s lunchbox that first full day back at school.
Strategic use of your monthly income can mean the difference between feeling broke all the time to being more generous and giving than you thought you could in the past. When you discover what your actual household expenses NEED to be, you can surprise others, build that savings account, get out of debt, pick monthly charities to support, and more.
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It is SO important to know where your money is going and why it is going there! This is the first step to learning how to live within your means whether you are a single mom, married, have kids, no kids, or even just living alone. If you find yourself wondering why your income isn’t going the distance every month, it is time to sit down and assess your spending habits. Once you know where your money is going, you need to assess what is and isn’t absolutely necessary. The unnecessary nice-to-have/want spends are more than likely where the missing funds will be found. A second place they will be found is in higher-than-necessary fees for expenses that are necessary. These show up in the grocery cart, in the phone bill, in the gas tank, and other essential bills. When these have been trimmed down to necessary levels, more “found money” will surface.
