Tips for Single Mothers: How to Survive Living Paycheck to Paycheck

Growing up I didn’t realize how hard my mother really had it. Raising three girls on her own, my mother faced many of the same challenges single mothers still face today. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, single mothers head about 10 million U.S. families and that number is growing at an alarming rate. A recent report stated that the number of single parent households has actually tripled in just the last twenty years. So as you can imagine there are many single mothers who live in a world full of stress and face unique challenges. These challenges are largely due to the attempt to survive from one paycheck to another, which is a burden many single mothers must carry. Many times single mothers find themselves in a catch 22 situation, they may earn just enough to carry them over the threshold for qualifying for welfare, but not enough to help them provide their families with basic needs such as, housing, medical coverage, utilities, food and childcare. With a limited amount of income and resources single mothers are overwhelmed and exhausted making them high risk for depression. From finding adequate childcare, dealing with child support issues, handling a recent divorce the list could go on and on; single mothers have multiple problems, including some that they cannot solve alone.

The most important thing for a single mother to realize is that there are other single mothers like themselves working full-time jobs and being full-time parents. That’s quite a load to say the least. However, single mothers must remember that they do not have to take this journey of single motherhood without support. Fortunately, there are many resources available to single parents to help them along their journey. It is essential for single mothers not allow pride to keep them from reaching out to these valuable resources.

A Single Mother’s Survival Guide-