Single Parent's Guide to Stretching Your Budget

One of the biggest challenges that families face every month is how to pay their bills. If you’re a single parent, this can be particularly difficult. Trying to run a household on a limited income and a seemingly infinite number of expenses often forces single parents to live paycheck to paycheck. However, with a little planning and ingenuity, you can find ways to save money. Below are some helpful tips to stretch your budget.

Prepare a Budget

For many of us, putting a budget together isn’t fun. In order to stretch your budget, you need to know what you have to work with. This starts with preparing a monthly budget. Gathering receipts to show where you spend your money may be a cringe-worthy task, but it’s a necessary one. Whether you use a pen and paper, a spreadsheet, or one of the many of the apps that are available today, identify how much money you make and what you spend it on each month. You will quickly see if you spend more than you make, as well as where your money goes. From there, you can decide how much you should be spending each month. Creating a budget creates accountability, which can go a long way to making the most out of every dollar that you make.

Cut your Expenses

Once you’ve identified where you spend your money, you can go to work on cutting your expenses. A few key areas that can help you stretch your budget dollars include;

Technology and communication – Review your phone, cable, and internet bills for services that you may not need. Perhaps your cell phone plan provides more coverage than what you use or you are racking up movie charges through your cable provider. Consider contacting your providers to see if they have a better plan that meets your financial needs. Since these are recurring monthly expenses, saving as little as $25 each month in unnecessary charges can go a long way.

Food - We all know that coupons can be a great way to save a little money on purchases for food and personal items. While many of us may not have the time to do extensive searching for coupons, there are coupon websites where you can quickly find coupons and print them out. Other helpful tips include.

Planning your meals –Typically, larger packages or quantities of food will cost less per ounce than smaller packages. By planning your menu each week, food can be purchased in larger quantities and used for multiple meals. Not only will this save you money, it can save time in the kitchen.
Loyalty programs - Many stores offer customer loyalty programs that award points for purchases. Loyalty programs may offer special promotions or discounts and even knock a little money off your next purchase.
Shop at discount or dollar stores – Some great deals can be found on items that you purchase every day. The key is knowing how much other stores charge to determine if you’re getting a good deal.
Government and state assistance – Depending upon your income level and the state you live in, you may be eligible for programs that provide funds for fresh fruit, vegetables, milk, eggs, formula, as well as other eligible food. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) programs can offer some financial relief to families that qualify. You may also be eligible for free lunch programs offered by public schools throughout the country.

Pay bills on time - Avoid unnecessary late charges and finance fees by paying your bills on time. Late fees on credit cards can average $38 per month. Paying this bill on time could put almost $500 back into your pocket.

Minimize recurring payments - Often ranging between $5 and $25, monthly subscriptions that are automatically deducted out of your bank account or credit card can add up. In some cases, we may forget about them entirely. The gym that you haven’t visited in months continues to deduct $25 each month. Get rid of monthly subscriptions that you don’t use.

Income on the side

As a single parent, your time is taken up by kids, work, and household chores. Finding the time to make a little money on the side may be challenging, but well worth it. Garage sales can be a great way to generate a little bit of extra money and help you declutter your house. Depending upon your living situation, renting out an extra room in your house may be an option to bring in a little extra cash each month. If you have a specialized skill, you may be able to pick up a side job on many freelancing websites.

Know the difference between a need and a want

One of the best ways to stretch your budget is to focus on your needs, not wants. In some cases, this is easy. Your child needs clothes, but is it a need or a want when they ask for designer brands? In other cases, it’s not so simple. Cell phones, high-speed internet, a new car, or even that cup of coffee that you grab every day on the way to work are all great things to have, but are they really needs? This may mean making some tough choices and scaling back your monthly purchases to focus strictly on needs and not wants. Know the difference between a need and a want.

As a single parent, raising a family on one income is tough. By preparing a monthly budget and sticking to it, you can take control over your finances. Finding ways to cut expenses and generate additional income can go a long way to stretching your hard earned dollars to support your family.