MONEY

A SINGLE PARENT'S GUIDE TO BUDGET PLANNING

There are a lot of single parents who face the everyday challenge of managing their finances. Having a single income makes it difficult to maintain a budget. Single parents often find themselves in some sort of a financial predicament and so planning and committing to a family budget may prove to be a BIG TASK.

But if you are struggling to make ends meet, it is best to analyze your financial situation. Sticking to a family budget means having discipline. Here are some suggestions on how a single parent can accomplish this.

Monitor Your Income and Expenses

When making a budget plan, the first thing you have to do is to have a list that breaks down your income and expenses according to a time period, amount and category. This will help to identify whether any cash problems arise due to timing differences. By making a  list  family’s income and expenses for about 3 months, you will understand how your money is spent. Your budget will also help to ascertain whether your expenses exceed your income. If so, you need to balance your budget by a combination of increasing your income and  reducing expenses.

As a single parent, both these choice may seem difficult. It requires saying no to yourself and your children. It may require cancelling tempting credit cards and buying only with cash and debit cards.

Increase Your Family Income

If your income as a single parent consists of a regular pay check and child support payments, you may want to consider having a second job. However this is not advisable if you have kids who need be in day care while you work.

Look around your home. You can also raise additional fund by selling items that you don’t need anymore. You can sell these items thru online sites or by having garage sales.   

If you have some skills, use your talents to earn extra money by offering services or teaching such skills to others. If you have an entrepreneurial nature, you can set up a small store or sell products you’ve made to your co-workers, friends, or neighbors. From hand-crafted items and cake decorating to music, art and writing, there are many avenues that you can explore.

Curb Your Family Expenses

Take a closer look at the expense side of your budget. Do you have high utility bills? Do you tend to eat out more often? Check on every area and  make an effort to control such expense.

Make a weekly meal plan and identify food items that you can eliminate from your list to avoid impulse buying. Search for easy to cook recipes. You’ll save time and money and avoid eating out as well.

Scout places where you can buy food, clothing or school items at much lower prices. Look out for sales and or special events. Use coupons and bulk shop for consumables when they are on sale. Factory outlets and online auctions can be good alternatives to buying quality items at reduced prices. Look to ways to reduce your energy and transport costs. Use public transit whenever possible.

Seek out a support network

Managing a family budget or caring for your kids is not a responsibility you can undertake alone. Ask for help from family and friends. They will willingly do chores and help with taking care of your kids. More importantly, they provide emotional support to you and your family.

Think of yourself as well

Many single parents tend to forget about themselves and concentrate all their efforts on raising their children. Set up a personal fund for yourself that you can use to pursue education, hobby, entertainment or a fitness routine. Keep yourself physically and mentally active. Making a family budget includes making a long-term goal for each member of your family and that includes you as well.

Be Optimistic

At first, living within your means may seem difficult. But with a positive disposition and a can-do attitude, you are better equipped to manage your family’s finances and help make those choices that seem to be difficult at first. Keep in mind that a well-planned family budget is essential to having a happy family. 

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STARTING A 52 WEEK MONEY CHALLENGE PLAN

The 52 WEEK MONEY CHALLENGE PLAN is becoming increasingly popular among people who are dead serious about saving and are really eager to take control of their finances. This plan is really designed for those who know they need to save but are dealing with tight budgets.

So, how do you take on this challenge  On this 52-week plan, your goal is to be able to save a specific amount that you can eventually use as either emergency fund, travel fund or other personal plan. You monitor your savings on a spreadsheet that has weeks 1-52 which is actually equivalent to one calendar year. You save the amount of dollars that corresponds to that week’s number like, for example, on the first week you have to save Php 1;  then on the second week, you save Php 2; and so on and so forth. This is to encourage the person to save on a regular basis. You can, of course, deposit a bigger amount if you want to, but the main idea is to start with a realistic amount that will ensure you realize your goal. If one week you find yourself with extra cash, you can also add it to the pot. You’ll end up with a bigger sum by the end of the challenge or you’ll have created a bit of a filler for weeks that you don’t have any extra cash left over.

 There are some who do this challenge in reverse, meaning they start with the big amounts first. The reason why they take on the heavy lifting early on is to feel the impact on the early stages of the challenge and they can relax a bit on its latter part.

You may check the chart below so you can get a visual idea of how this plan works. And if you have other members in the family who earns, ask them to do the same. As they say, it is always better to surround yourself with people who have the same goal.

While these are tiny amounts, as the chart above shows, they add up to a big difference. Whether you want to earmark these savings for something special or saving on an emergency fund or small business capital, it'll be gratifying to see your savings grow each week. 



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LEARN 9 WAYS TO SAVE FOR EACH MONTH

Everybody knows how important it is to save for the rainy days. How many times did we say that we'll start saving this month or this coming month and yet we failed to keep that promise? Sometimes, the urge to buy things that we don't need is so strong that we just give in and spend instantly all the money that we've worked so hard for a month or two. Worse, there are times we find ourselves in debt because of these of decisions.

Don't you think it is about time that we take better control of our finances? The less we spend unnecessarily, the more money we are able to save for our future needs.

Join me now as we begin our road to financial freedom. Now, if we really are serious about getting on this journey, the first thing we need to know is how to save more effectively. With that in mind, here are 9
tips that can help us:

1. LIST DOWN EXPENSES. In order to control our spending, we have to know where all our cash is going every month. To tackle this you have to make a budget plan, and from there cross out the things that you can actually do without.

2. AVOID EATING OUT. Most often than not, the biggest chunk of our monthly budget goes out to our food expenses. We can actually save a lot by bringing our home-cooked packed lunch to our offices instead of buying from the canteen or eating in a fastfood chain or some fancy restaurant.

3. DON'T GET A LOAN. Unless it's an emergency or the loan can be used to make you more money, getting a loan is always not advisable considering the interest that you will have to pay on top of the principal amount and the psychological stress that comes with it. Think about the more important things that you could have bought with the interest amount that you'd be paying.

4. IF YOU HAVE A CAR, DOWNSIZE! With the rising oil prices, you might consider trading your SUV with a more fuel-efficient wheels. You can save on fuel cost. Also, if you don't really need a car, sell it. You save on the cost maintaining it, you help decongest the road, and most of all you help save MOTHER EARTH!

5. CUT BACK ON UTITLITY BILLS. If you want to save, start at home. You can actually control expenditure by saving on your electricity and water usage. Turn off and unplug appliances when you are not using them, this includes airconditioning units, electric fans and room lights/bulbs. You might also consider replacing your light with energy saving bulbs, or your LCD TV with LED TV.

6. MAKE A LIST WHEN DOING GROCERY. Make sure that you go with a prepared list when you go on shopping for grocery items. Buy only things that you are going to consume until your next grocery shopping. This will ensure that you don't over-spend. Make a wise list and stick with it.

7. BE WITH FRIENDS THAT HAVE SIMILAR BUDGETS. It's hard to keep up with the Joneses especially if you can't afford their lifestyle. Hang out with peers with similar budgets. But if your friends happen to be free-spending, at least be honest enough to lay down your spending limits. If they are your true friends, they will understand and adjust their activities for your sake.

8. DITCH THE CREDIT CARD. Unless you are responsible enough in using it, keeping a credit card always spell T-R-O-U-B-L-E. It encourages one to spend beyond their means, which is a BIG NO-NO when it comes to money management. If you have an existing credit card bill, pay them off to avoid more interest and other charges. When doing shopping, it's always better to use your cash or atm card.

9. FORCE SAVINGS. One way to save is to force yourself to save. Either you make it a habit to allot a portion of your salary to your savings account or you can always ask a bank for assistance on how you can transfer a specific amount to a savings account or an investment fund that you can't get your hands on so easily. Knowing that you have less money in your pocket will force you to control your spending and gradually increases your savings or investments over time.