As a single mother things can get rough financially. I’ve dealt with those moments pretty well but I got tired of working hard and still living check to check. So I decided to do something about it. One day I just looked at myself in the mirror and said, “Okay it’s time to get my money right!” So I decided to do 7 things to do just that!
Here are 7 Practical Money Tips for Single Moms:
Stop speaking negatively over my money
People love to say things like: “I’m broke” and “I ca’t afford that” I’m choosing to make a conscious effort to speak wealth and prosperity into my life. So instead of speaking negatively about my money I will speak positive words. I will speak those things that I want to occur in my life, into my life. I will speak what I seek until I see what I’ve said. Instead of speaking disaster, I will activate prosperity into my financial situation with my words.
Set income goals
This is something I love to do. At the end of each month, I look to next month and decided how much I need to make to live comfortably. I look at al the bills and obligations I have and set a number. After that I break down all my income sources. The very first thing I determine is my primary income. That’s the money that I get from freelancing. The second thing I determine is my secondary income. For me, that would be my blog. Next I estimate my supplemental income. Usually that’s from side gigs and opportunities.
Set a Budget and Track my Spending
One of the biggest things that used to keep me broke was not using a budget for spending. I would swipe my card whenever and however I wanted to. I have learned better. Now I think it is extremely important to have a budget to tell your money what to do. I have been using Dave Ramsey’s Guide to Money and it has been working really well for me. I’ve been learning to do his zero base budgeting and it has been great!
Cut Cost
If you know anything about me, you know I can save a coin! I will shop around for things I need and even ask a store to price match if I find the item elsewhere but really want to get it from a specific retailer. I absolutely love to use savings websites and cashback apps too. Ebates is my absolute favorite for shopping online. The thing I love about it is the Chrome extension. When I am shopping at any store, if there is a savings or a coupon at that store the Ebates Chrome extension will tell me immediately. I never miss a deal. I also love Dosh. The cool thing about Dosh is, it links to your debit card so anytime you spend money at an approved retailer you save money without even having to remember. Genius!
In addition, I will be reducing the cost of my bills or eliminating them completely. I recently reduced the cost of my cell phone bill by switching to a prepaid plan? I’m going to look into reducing the cost of the cable and taking a different approach to shopping for groceries. So I’m going to look at all of my expenses and cut cost where I can.
Commit to a savings plan
I’m getting better at this. I have been terrible in the past on it. But committing to a savings plan for me means starting at as little as $20. I will take $20 every single check and put it in a savings account. I will have it automatically transferred from my checking account into a dedicated savings account that I won’t touch. I want to look into opening an online savings account so that I can have the money out of sight and have it less accessible.
So I am committed to consistently saving money.
Pay Bills on time
I am committed to paying my bills on time. I can be honest and say that, I’ve had some struggles with this. Being a single mom, it can get hard sometimes and I’ve had to make payment arrangements just to get by. But I’m going to be very strict on myself with this from now on. Because at the end of the day, the late fees and interest I’ve paid could pay another bill. Basically it’s giving away money and ain’t nobody got time for that.
So paying my bills on time has become one of my biggest priorities.
Monitor my Credit Report
I need to pay more attention to my credit. I have been making sure that negative things aren’t being reported, and making sure that my on time payments are being reported properly. But I still have some work to do on my credit. I am going to dedicate a lot of time this year to working on the things I need to work on. A lot of stuff that’s on there is old and I know I can negotiate payment or have it removed completely.
Those are the seven things that I will be doing to get my money right in 2019 because it isn’t cute to be out here looking fabulous and your financial situation is in shambles. OK? Ok!
