How Single Mothers Can take Control of their Financial Future

Single mothers have undoubtedly mastered the art of multi-tasking.  Working, paying the bills and taking care of the children is just a snapshot of a single mom’s normal routine.  But often single mothers – who are able to manage so many things for so many others – feel overwhelmed by the time and effort it takes to manage their own financial futures. Following are 5 steps Single mothers can take to get a grip of their finances.\r\n\r\n1) Set some goals.  It’s essential that you carve out some time – even just grabbing 15 minutes here and there – to really think about what you want for yourself and your family.  Then set some short-, medium- and long-term financial goals for you and your family.  Writing those goals down will provide you with a constant reminder for why you’re saving money (when it gets really hard and tempting to give up) and a game plan for how you need to invest it to be successful.  For example, if one of your goals is to be able to help your children go to college you could try to set aside even $5000 from each paycheck and deposit it into a college savings fund. If you get into the discipline of setting goals while your children are still young, your savings can earn a significant amount of interest and you can make real progress toward your goal.\r\n\r\n2) Establish or improve a credit history. You may not have yet had the opportunity to establish a credit history by wisely using (and repaying!) credit or loans.  Or you may have had some credit experience with student loans, credit cards or personal loans and not done so well in repaying them.  When you don’t pay more than the minimum amount due on your credit cards on time, or meet the loan repayment terms, your creditors will notify the two credit bureaus currently operating within Jamaica.  Those notices will go on your credit report and could affect your ability to get a loan in the future. If you haven’t established a credit history, talk with someone at your bank, about getting a secured credit card.  With a secured credit card you make a cash deposit into an account and the bank (or credit lender) issues you a card to make charges up to that amount.  As you repay the amount charged over time your creditor will most likely increase your credit line and you will be establishing a good credit history.\r\n\r\n3) Create an emergency savings fund.  Most single mothers live on a thin financial edge.  One unexpectedly large bill, cutback in work hours, illness or accident can mean the difference between being financially squeezed and being pushed over the edge.  You need to create a financial cushion, an emergency savings fund.  Look over your budget and identify places where you can cut back or think how you might save to build up enough cash reserves to meet at least three, and preferably six, months’ of expenses.  Then consider meeting with a representative from your bank to discuss options of where you could save and maybe even invest that money wisely, so that the money is working for you and there when you need it.   Don’t spend it unless you have an emergency; if you have to dip into the fund, replenish the amount as soon as possible.\r\n\r\n4) Budget for your sake—and your kids.  One of the keys to successful single parenting is to make decisions in advance and act on those decisions so you’re not feeling like you’re constantly making choices as things come up and circumstances change.  That includes managing your finances.  One way to begin moving in that direction is to create a realistic budget that you can really stick with.  Budgeting—setting categories in advance as to what you’ll spend money on and what you will save money toward-- can help ease your stress by making a lot of your daily decisions in advance.  It can also alleviate some of the stress when managing kids’ requests.  It’s easier to explain that you, as a family, have already decided what you will and won’t spend money on instead of having to make a “yes or no” decision in response to their demands in the middle of a store aisle.  Budgeting gives you information, enables you to act on your priorities, and gives you a framework to work within to create some financial order in your family’s life.\r\n\r\n5) Find support systems and resources.  Just because you’re single doesn’t mean you have to go it alone.  There are support systems and resources to help single moms manage their money.  If you are having difficulty making ends meet or managing your money, you may want to look for seminars or subscribe to a YouTube channel that offers substantial advice on this matter. You can also take advantage of obtaining a free copy of your credit report from CRIF  NM, to keep track of your credit history . After all life is always better with good credit.\r\n\r\n Retrieved from: http://www.tomorrowsmoney.org/Templates/tm/Content.aspx?id=352\r\n\r\n