If not planed properly, managing finances can be tough. And if you are a single mother, then the task sometimes seems impossible. You may be coping with the loss of your spouse or divorced, but you must be managing your finances well to raise your child in a proper way.
Start with a Clear Vision: When you are a single mother, you must have a clear idea about your requirements. You may be going through a personal crisis, the credit card debts, some unavoidable expenditure can only add up your stress level. So start by saving only a bit. A $20 can give you a smile and a lot of confidence during your hours of need.
Plan Daily Budget: Ensure that you are not buying unnecessary items which are not included in your budget list. Once you lose the track, you will come out from your savings plan. Never keep aside your saving plans for the upcoming months as it will keep on becoming as a recurring thing every month. This will add to your worries where the plan will never get materialized. The daily budget will ensure that you stick to your plan even if you are on a shopping spree.
Create Separate Envelopes: Though it may seem childish, you can make separate envelopes for maintaining the funds properly. The envelope may contain the bill and the required amount for paying that. This will keep you ready with your payment without bringing some unnecessary hassles. Those envelopes must be kept in safe places so that the payments are not missed beyond the due dates.
Prioritize Things: You must learn to prioritize your things properly. For example, the most important expenditure can be for food, education, medical requirement and other household bills. You must try to keep a healthy diet for your kids and other family members. Pay attention to the necessities like electricity, water, telephone bills, school fees which will come one by one.
Decrease Your Budget for Less Important Things: When you know that you have to manage everything single –handedly, try to keep a clear idea of the necessary things for your family. You must know about all the things which are less important and can be avoided. For example, you can remove toys and clothes from your daily budget. If your kid loves dining out every weekend, make him understand that you really cannot afford every weekend. Try taking him to restaurant once in a month instead. You must share your problems with your kids so that they can understand and relate to it properly.
Avoid Procrastination: Procrastination is a disease of paying late and it must be avoided immediately. As soon as you receive any bill, keep the required amount of money with the bill in the envelope. If you start postponing the payments, it will become a habit which cannot be repaired in the future easily. Therefore, try to keep a smooth flow of the payments so that the undesired tensions can be erased much faster in your future.
Savings Are Necessity And Not Optional: As a single mother, you should not consider savings as an optional matter. It requires proper planning and self discipline to keep you steady during the times of your need. It keeps you steady in situations where you know that you will not get anyone beside for supporting you.
If you want to secure the future of your child, you must start saving from right now. All the planning must be done right from the scratch so that you never stumble in the middle. When the family responsibility is on you, you must know the importance of budgeting well.
Author Bio: Tom Becklaham is a professional financial analyst in www.leasequit.com. In this article, he is providing tips for the single mothers for managing their finances properly.