I am a single mother, and I was wondering what kind of ways other single parents save. I get the food stamps, so you dont have to pay for food, you can get hundereds of dollars a month that also goes for baby food, also WIC, which gives you things like milk and juice, and you can get 200 dollars worth of baby formula a month, which is GREAT. also, in some area's you can enrole in parenting classes, which are located usually at churches, and you can talk about your child and parenting with love and logic (which is also a college course but this is free) . each time you go, they give you a voucher, and you can go to a little shop where you use the vouchers for diapers, clothes, maternity clothes, everything you would need for your baby. Parenting classes are great, cus you can talk with other parents and discuss anything that you want. I also know that you can get the government to pay for most of your daycare as long as they are certified with the state, which the private ones arent, unfortunately. These are the programs im aware of that help out alot, I was wondering if anyone is aware of any others ones that could help make it easier for single parents.
where i live there is a program called family self suffiiency and it is set up to help single parents save up for things like school books for college or a car to get to work and things like that . ours is located in the local housing authority building. which brings me to that, housing vouchers help a lot and they are worth the wait. they help you pay rent so you can afford to work and maybe go to some schooling or not. finding out what services you can get is easy when you go down to your local dss office (dept. of social services) have you ever heard of TANF? it is temp. assistance for needy families. this is for situations when you cannot work or attend school.like me because i am on maternity leave. have you checked into child support? i hope this helps.
I'm glad you can still get some help in MO. My mom recently lost her medicaid benefits from the state, which is really crappy. She is disabled and can't work or even drive a car. And she has a degenerative disease, so it's not likely that she can get any other type of health insurance. The governor (Blunt) is really screwing with funding for all sorts of programs. Anyway, that's why I don't live in Missouri anymore. Sorry, I don't want to cause you any undue stress, but just be aware that the state is cutting many programs. Anyway, best of luck. It seems that you have done some work finding out what's available. When I was a single parent in MO, I didn't get much help, just WIC. I also had to deal with some pretty rude comments. Just keep your chin up.
I thought this was nation wide, but at least in Illinois, you are only allowed Public Aid for 18 months total, lifetime. Meaning if you got PA for the first 18 months of your life, you can never get it again. Now, WIC is a different program, and you can get that for longer. A suggestion. Baby formula is not only substandard food for your baby, it is VERY expensive for the state, and if you were to breastfeed, YOU would get more food from WIC for yourself. It was estimated in Illinois, that is ALL moms on WIC breastfed for a month, 1 million dollars a year could be saved. Also your child is 2/3 less likely to need medical care if you breastfeed, so there are savings there. I understand that in VERY rare situations some mamas can't breastfeed, but more than 99.9% of the population can. You may one day be paying INTO this system, so it is best to have it work for everyone. So that there will be a system there for the destitute mothers who come after you. In some state these systems actually have run out of money (Illinois came VERY close) so caring for the mothers in the future who will need the system is the responsibility of everyone who uses it now. Breastfeeding saves your baby misery and also saves the state a great deal of money, so that other mamas and their babies can also use the system.
Have you looked into subsidized housing, like section 8? I don't know what I would do without it because I can't work. I have known people who did work, but didn't make much money, who still qualified. It can be a hassle, though. You have to find landlords who will cooperate. Your house gets inspected regularly and if they aren't pleased with it, you lose your certificate and you're out of luck. Still, I personally don't know what I'd do without it.
thanks guys, youve been helpful. I have alot of friends that are single mothers and one of my best friends is having a tough time, since she left her husband. I know that it is really hard to be able to manage rent, and full time work , paying for child care, AND going to school. do you know anyone who found a way to make it work easier? I'd like to spend as much time as i can with my son, but I dont think that I can squeeze in college too.
spend as much time with your litle one whilst they are young...they will be big and independant soon enough...I am not sure at all of how it works in America however I think that here in Aus if you want to study whilst your child is small they actively encourage that so that you might be able to work once they are at school. Maybe the saving side of it goes on hold for a few years whilst you get the qualifications for the opportunity to save a whole lot more in the future...lots of luck with it! by the way the post earlier by the rayni person is so rude and not necessary, if you have a problem with single mothers rayni how about taking it up in a thread specifically about that rather than being so obnoxious in one where someone is just asking for information?
I finished college when I was a single parent. It's not easy, but it is possible. Lots of schools have day care centers that you can take advantage of when you are in class. They are usually fairly cheap and mostly staffed by education majors. When I was going to school, I had a campus job where I could bring the baby with me sometimes. That was a help. Then I worked part time in an outlet store.I always woke up at 4 am to do homework while the baby was sleeping, so I could spend time with her in the evenings. I managed to graduate when my daughter was about 2. I did accumulate some debt, but really student loans are much nicer to deal with than credit card companies and the payments aren't too high. It was not the easiest thing I ever did, but it was definately worth it. A college education can help you an awful lot in the long run. You CAN go to school!
i dont think that my college has day care, its a private school. I know that most of the public schools have them. I'll check with them to see. --and yeah, it was rude of what that person said, especially when they dont know the story, its not like single mothers are sluts or something. things happen, and sometimes taking the responsibility of being the only provider is overwhelming for new single mothers, being afraid of not being able to do it all, and getting an aspect on what others have done helps give me ideas and a sense of relief. thanks.
every week make a menu for yourself and go shopping once a week according to the menu. cut out coupons manufacturers and store coupons the clerk accepts both. try to but the store brand of diapers, food and hygiene stuff it's all the same. budget your money so you only allow yourself a certain amount of money to spend on yourself ( buy new clothes or whatnot). look for the best deals on food (buy one get one free). i know i have saved alot of money by doing so. good luck
