As a single mom I think one of the most important things about maintaining finances is budgeting. From the first month I found out I was pregnant I devised a financial plan for me and my child. Here are a couple tips to head start the pre-planning and budgeting process before the baby is born. Also some of these tips you may find helpful in other aspects of your life.
TIP 1# STARTING THE BUDGETING PROCESS
The budgeting process should always start by taking a look at your finances and how much income you incur in a month. I would start by taking the last 6 months and breakdown how much you spend within each month. That means rent,bills,going out to eat,shopping,student loans,ect...should be included. Once you come to a consensus of how much you spend a month calculate the average. An example: If the past 3 months the money you spend fluctuates for instance 1000 one month,600 the next month,800 the last month. Add the three sums together and divide by 3 your average for the past 3 months would be 800 dollars. So knowing that the minimum amount of money you need a month to maintain your current social and economic status is $800 you can look at your income and determine whether that is to high or if it is sufficient for the new expenses that are soon to incur.
TIP 2# A CHILD IS EXPENSIVE
According to a 2010 USDA report, the average middle-income family will spend roughly $12,000 on child-related expenses in their baby’s first year of life. By age two, parents are up to more than $12,500 per year. With that in mind you have to find ways to pre-act instead of react. I think it would be a smart choice to create a separate savings account just for your child. I created mine in my second month and have a set amount of income that goes into that account each month. With that said that does not mean stop saving on your own. The second savings account will only be for emergencies or should I say when the storm comes. A lot of us cannot predict where we are going to be within the next year as far as finances are concerned and having that extra backup system goes a long way.
TIP 3# CUTTING DOWN IS NOT ALWAYS BAD
With budgeting you may find that you need to cut down on some of the things you used to love to do. Cutting back can be painful for some but in some aspects you may find that it is necessary. Does that mean cut out what you love all together absolutely not. It just means that instead of getting your nails,toes,and hair done every week, you can aim towards getting them done twice a month. That way your still doing the things you love and can still reap the benefits of saving money.
DISCLAIMER:
This blog post is based solely on my opinion and what I am currently doing. Does that mean you have to do the same thing, No. I am just simply showing you that their are ways to do things on your own and as a young single parent I know that it is not easy. I am simply laying the foundation for a brighter and less stressful future.
I hope you enjoyed this post bombshells,
I will admit that it is a little long but I think you can implement these same budgeting tips in your life in other aspects as well, not just for a child. I can see using these tips in trying to buy a house,car, or whatever else your heart desires. So as always BE FIERCE and FABULOUS and for my preggers stay PREGNANT AND FABULOUS! Ciao :]
