According to Meriden's housing statistics for 2008, there are 4914 single-parent households. That's a lot of people that are trying to make ends meet on their own. It's difficult for a married couple to hold down two jobs, be able to afford their mortgage and keep up with all the household work that needs to be done. On top of that add children into the mix. Now take one of the partners out of the picture and you have us. That's right, the single parent who's doing it all: bath time, making dinner, cleaning, providing the roof over their cute little heads. How we have done it up to now we don’t know. We just plod along, cut corners and somehow make it work.
Even if you don’t keep up with the news, you’d have to have been living in a cave this past year to not be aware of the spiraling economy. It’s impacted everyone and everything. Groceries have gone up, gas is more expensive and our salaries (if you’re lucky enough to have not been laid off by now) are still the same. So how can you make it work when it was barely working before? It’s not easy, but we just have to cut more corners and be smarter with our money. It’s a very challenging time for everyone, but even more so for single-parents trying to raise and support their children on their own. The bottom line is a very basic economic rule, either make more or spend less.
Spending less can seem impossible at first. It takes some practice and maybe some creativity, but it can be done. If you go out for lunch, start buying and making your lunch at home. A medium coffee from a coffee shop can cost you about $2.00 - that’s $10.00 a week if you buy one every day. All those things add up quickly. It’s more cost effective to buy a thermos and make coffee at home. Start clipping coupons and buy only those items that are on sale. If you don’t know where to start, keep a journal of everything you buy and what it costs for at least a week. At the end, analyze the amount of your income that goes to frivolous purchases and then stop buying them. Some good ways to decrease your bills are to cut down on the little extras. For example, do you have the gold star phone plan on your home phone and cell phone? Why? Most cell phone basic plans include caller id, call waiting and free long distance. Cut your home phone plan down to the bare minimum and save $10-$20 per month. The same goes for your cable, do you really need 75 movie channels? The answer is, “No, you do not!” Get rid of the expensive package and get basic cable. You can rent unlimited movies from NetFlix for as little at $9.00 a month with no late fees.
If you’re not a good saver, you’re going to need to earn more money. As single-parents, we hardly have the luxury of picking up overtime because that would probably warrant child care…or your sanity if you’re already working full time. One option is a home-based business. There are a lot of home-business opportunities out there, but you have to wary of those that claim to make you $1000 per week for making a couple of phone calls. Those with a hefty start-up cost are not attractive either. Ideally you want something that you like to do and has the potential to make you some extra cash. Some valid home-based businesses that I have been involved with are sales/consulting business such as Usborne Books & More. They won’t make you rich overnight, but you can do most of the work while your kids are asleep. The best part is that you make your own hours and can work as little or as much as you want.
There are ways to keep your head above water during the coming months, just dig deep and set your mind to it.
