How To Budget for Single Moms: Financial Freedom Is Possible

Learning how to budget for single moms can be daunting. Whether you’re a single mom by circumstance or by choice, you know the struggle is real.

Not only are you having to do all the things (hello sports season…ugh), but then you pile the overwhelming bills on top of it and it can be a real recipe for disaster.

Image by Magnet.me from Pixabay

I get it! I’ve lived it for the past 14 years of my life and by the grace of God He has taught me how to manage money and budget in a way that builds wealth and glorifies Him. So, if you’re ready to take control of your money instead of letting your money control you, you’re in the right place.

In this blog post, I’m going to teach you how to budget for single moms with three simple steps.

In 2012, I went through a grueling breakup that left me hopeless, homeless, and struggling with my (then) 3-year-old little boy. For roughly 6 months survived by living with friends until I was able to rent out the basement of a family friend. I found a job a few months in and was able to “get by” making a barely living wage of $11 per hour.

While I’ve come a long way from there, I am now a single mother once again after my husband passed away in May 2022. Truth be told, I was barely married for 6 months when we lost him, so I’ve been a single mother longer than anything else.

Actually, my journey in single motherhood is what made me want to become a money coach. God showed me that the skills I’ve learned along the way can help others to not make the same mistakes with money that I have.

Without further ado….

Here’s how I’ve learned to manage my money, pay off thousands of dollars in debt, build savings, and even buy a house at the height of the pandemic.

Learning How to Budget for Single Moms Starts with Understanding

The first step of learning how to budget for single moms is understanding where you are right now.

More often, people start from a place of “where do I want to be?”. But the truth is, you cannot know where you’re going without understanding where you are.

I cannot stress enough the importance of being intimately aware of where you stand financially.

Often times, when we are afraid of the truth, we avoid it. But if you want to learn how to win with money you have to know where your money currently stands.

If you’re ready to assess your situation but don’t know where to start, here’s what you do:

• get a sheet of paper(or a blank spreadsheet if you are techy)
• write down your income weekly, biweekly, or monthly depending on how often you are paid
• gather all bank account information (balances, interest rates, etc.)
• list all expenses (utilities, phone, daycare, rent, etc.)
• collect and write all debt information (credit cards, loans, car loans, collections, etc)

Or if you’re looking for an easier all in one solution, check out this Financial Health Assessment, which can help you get a deep understanding of where you are right now, so that you can get to where you want to be.

With this information in front of you, you can get a clear picture of where your money currently stands, allowing you to then make wise plan to take you to where you want to be.

Your Budget Is Your Plan for Success

Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay

With the information at hand, you can evaluate and set goals to get where you want to go.

Now, I ALWAYS recommend my clients create SMART Goals when creating their financial plan.

What’s the difference between smart goals and unsmart goals?

See the difference?

SMART Goals tell you the who, what, when, where, and how. I mean, you could even throw in the why …. “So, I can stop relying on my credit cards when unexpected expenses come up.”

Protect Your Budget with Your Emergency Fund

One of the first things I did as I started to understand money and how to create financial success, was to start pumping money into my savings account. Why?

So many Americans struggle to cover emergency costs because they don’t have an emergency fund set aside to protect them.

As the saying goes, “rainy days will come, don’t get caught without an umbrella.”

It is not a matter of if an unexpected expense will come, but rather when. And having the financial security to know that when it happens you will be prepared and won’t have to worry about what bill or expense is going to have to suffer or be put off to cover it or have to rely on credit cards for security.

Don’t get me wrong, credit cards are a useful tool, however, they can make your money situation quite complicated when the charges become more than your budget can handle.

Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay

As you can see, the most important aspect of getting and KEEPING control of your money is to:

1. know where you stand (financial health assessment)
2. know where you want to go and how you’re going to get there (set smart goals), and
3. have an emergency fund or savings account that will protect you when times get tough.

But most importantly, remember that no matter how tough things feel or how tough they get, you WILL get through this.

This is a precious season that the Lord often uses to grow us and refine us so that we are prepared to step into the next season of blessing and abundance.

Links & Resources for You! 

30-Day Money Makeover – Ready to align your finances with God’s plan? Join us on this transformative 30-day journey to financial freedom guided by biblical principles! Let’s steward our resources wisely and watch God’s blessings overflow! 

Budget & Bill Planner – Take control of your finances with our Budget & Bill Planner! Organize your expenses, track your bills, and honor God with faithful stewardship! Let’s manage our finances with wisdom and glorify Him in all we do! 

For more FREE RESOURCES, check out our resources page here >> Faithful Fortunes Free Resources

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