The financial burden a single mother bears is a heavy one. Single mothers are responsible for maintaining the household, paying all of the bills, feed and clothing the kids, and trying to save whats left. Sometimes it’s hard to determine how much money you should be saving. There are no set rules and the amount that a single mother is able to save will vary in different situations.
How to Determine How Much Money to Save
If you don’t have a budget then the first thing you need to do is set one up. It doesn’t need to be anything fancy. Just look at your past bank statements and group like expenses into categories. All you are looking for here is how much money you spend every month and where it goes.
This will give you an idea of how much you need to get by and the areas that you are spending too much money in. Once you know your monthly expenses calculate your monthly take home pay. If your expenses are more than your income, your goal needs to be getting the two in line. You need to either cut your expenses, earn more money, or do both.
If you are in the green then you need to set a savings goal for the difference. Then each month as you get better with budgeting you can gradually increase that goal.
If you have quite a bit left over or are up for a challenge, then consider trying to save a certain percentage of your income. For instance right now with my savings goals combined I should be able to save 25% of my gross income. Shoot for a number that you think you can hit but will still be somewhat of a challenge.
Making Individual Money Saving Goals
Now comes the fun part where you get decide where your hard earned money will go. I highly recommend that you do save for emergencies, after all your are depending on yourself. I think it is a good idea for a single mom to have an emergency fund that will cover one years worth of expenses .
After you have some sort of emergency money then you decide where to put your money. Your money saving should be aligned with your priorities.
Possible Savings Goals
- Vacation Fund
- Car Fund
- Retirement
- Down Payment for a house
- Business Savings
You are the one working hard for your money and responsibly saving it so make sure you are putting in the place that makes the most sense to you.
Make saving fun and be proud of yourself for what you can do. Don’t feel the need to compare yourself to anyone else. We are all in different financial situations and different places in our lives. As long as you are doing the best that you can do, good things will come your way.
I agree that establishing a budget will help you find at least 10-20% in extra money to apply to savings. Why because then we can find all the areas where our money is being wasted. I currently have a car savings goal right now, but I really dont want to replace my old ride. Kind of attached and I hate having car debt.
Oh yeah without a budget you don’t even realize how money gets wasted. I’m with you I will drive my car until it doesn’t run anymore
I like individual savings goals! Makes it nice to reach each individual goal so that I don’t feel like a complete failure
Me too! It’s alot easier for me to concentrate on goal at a time! Makes me feel accomplished
I just read you guest post on MSM and even though I am not a single mother, your writing made me want to vistit your site and check you out!
While I may not be a single mom I do understand having to completely turn around my outlook on finances. My husband and our 4 children used to live in Maine. We owned a fine dining seafood restaurant. We lived in a huge house up on a mountain overlooking the town. Life seemed to be perfect.
Bad choices in business partnership had us closing our restaurant within 4 months of even realizing the place was struggling. We had enough money to live off of for 6 months. We took in ZERO income those last 4 months. So when the doors closed we knew we had 2 months left.We had no family, no more savings, and even with new jobs we would NEVER be able to afford the house we were living in.
We made the choice to move to South East Texas (the stink armpit of the south) and move in with my parents while we got jobs and a cheaper everyday living. We both instantly picked up jobs, got our own place, and now I am a stay at home blogger mommy while my husband runs a country club.
I had to learn how to shop, eat, act, and live frugally! I had never had to think about this before. I used to spend $175 a week on groceries. HOLY COW!!! I had to learn to plan, shop, and cook on around $75 a week.
We moved to a not so pretty part of town to save on rent. We live frugally now and save the difference for later. After being down here, miserable and missing home, we are now using that savings on our “for later”. We are moving back home in 2 months!! Home being Maine of course.
After our 2 business partners have claimed bankruptcy and now work as bartenders in that same town, we made the SACRIFICES needed to work our way out of “failed business debt”.
We left town with a good name and now have 4-5 job offers a piece for when we return.
I’m sure you have budgeting on LOCKDOWN, but if you ever are in need of new frugal healthy and delicious recipes feel free to come visit me at http://www.sweetherseykisses.com!
I usually find that every “frugal mommy blog” I visit has something new to offer me!
Thank you so much for sharing your story! It gave me chills! It’s really great to hear how you made short term sacrifices for the long term. Congratulations on moving back home thats so exciting!
And of course I will stop by and visit your blog I could definitely sharpen up on my cooking skills! All the best of luck to you!
You’re right a budget really isn’t that difficult. I think some believe it’s difficult because it involves numbers but it’s harmless. We can’t imagine our life without a budget as that is literally what has put our savings into high gear the past few years. We now have enough savings to pay off our mortgage one of our individual goals so it does work. You mention the emergency savings and although everyone has their personal opinion on the ES we feel comfortable knowing there is something liquid hanging around in case of an emergency. Great post Alexa!
That’s amazing to be able to pay off your mortgage! I am sure that you worked very hard for that! Everyone does have different views on the emergency fund but I know mine helps me sleep better at night!
You are living proof that being a single mom doesn’t mean you can’t save money.
Thank you Kim!