You all know I’m a single-stay at home-mom and I homeschool. I’m sure you also wonder how in the world I’m able to pull this off.
There’s no way I could do it on my own…I have my very supportive parents and friends. They have been a shoulder to cry on, they watch my kids, they encourage me when I’m feeling down.
I’m sure many people thought and still think that I should put my children in school or daycare, get a 9-5 and keep it moving. That just won’t work for us. I guess I could make it work if I tried really really hard, but I’m not much for following the mainstream way of doing things. I like going against the grain.
Here’s a short list of the things I do to keep the cost of living down for us.
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I work from home doing several things – I work as a virtual assistant, helping to mange social media networks. I also make blog buttons/badges. My two main sources of income are writing and being a Independent Distributor for Itworks Global.
I’ve always wanted to earn an income doing what I love and feel blessed that I’m able to.
I‘m on government assistance for insurance and receive food stamps. The food stamps don’t last the entire month and they aren’t meant to. They supplement us. There have been a few months where the kids were sick for a week and didn’t eat much, so they lasted longer during those times.
I don’t cook a lot of big meals. My kids graze throughout the day, so I keep lots of fruits, chips and salsa, crackers, etc in the house.
Grocery shopping usually happens once a week and I do my best to stick to my list.
My parents help me out financially when I need it, and honestly there have been months where the ends didn’t meet. We’ve never gone hungry, always had a roof over our head, and clothes on our backs. I have faith in God and believe that he is sustaining and taking care of us.
I do a lot of thrift store shopping, and also shop sales and clearance racks at the malls, department stores.
If you think you can’t shop at the mall because your on a tight budget then you need to get on your favorite stores mailing lists!
Some of mine are Old Nay, Forever21, NY&Co, Payless, Children’s Place. These stores always have great sales and will take coupons from your phone.
We don’t do a lot of outside activities/sports. My kids are content to play at the park, visit friends, take a trip to museums every now and then. I get a discount for teaching two classes at our homeschool co-op and that allows me to have all three children attend. I do sign them up for an activity once a year, which usually runs about a semester and they’ve been happy with that
I drive a midsize car that is pretty good on gas. Grocery shopping at Krogers has helped with the cost of gas, and I recently filled my car up for $30 by using my Kroger card. One time I filled up for less than $30…I had fifty cents off per gallon!
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My ex doesn’t help us out much financially and it has been very rough at times, but things are getting better for us. I work hard to make sure we always have everything we need. It hasn’t been easy and I know it may not be the most traditional choice for raising children as a single mom, but it’s been soooo worth it.
I’m so happy that things are starting to pick up for me and I’m able to earn an income doing what I love. I’m very happy to be able to stay with my children and work from home.
If you’re a single mom, how do you make ends meet?