With today’s economy and property prices, it’s really difficult to raise a family and have a stable home on just one income. Single mothers are constantly struggling to look after their children and themselves through no real fault. These women often work and raise their children alone without child benefit. It’s a lot and can take a mental toll.
You are solely responsible for paying rent / mortgages, groceries, utilities, cars, insurance, daycare and general child rearing expenses (food, doctor, clothing, toys, entertainment) and more. Single mothers are also solely responsible for their children’s emotional and physical needs, and provide all of the love, care, and hard work necessary to raise babies and children.
Many don’t often plan on becoming single mothers. Relationships don’t work, people leave and decide that parenting is not for them, and unfortunately, sometimes our partners die. However, a mother becomes single, a woman who has children but does not have a partner to help with her children or finances can often feel alone. When bills go unpaid, everything falls on you and the consequences are very real. Homelessness and food insecurity for children are just a few of them.
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Single mothers often need to get creative to make it work financially. According to The Life of a Single Mom, there are 15 million single parents in the United States, raising approximately 22 million children. 80% of these houses are run by single mothers. Not only are single mothers achieved all of this, they are also exposed to many negative stereotypes. There are beliefs that they are single mothers because they were teenage mothers or slept too much. People assume that they are single because they cannot keep a husband or because for some reason they made their husband leave them.
Single motherhood is most common in wealthier countries like the UK, the US and Denmark in the top 3 of the top 5 countries with the highest number of single mothers. All of these nations are highly industrialized and treat women more or less the same as men. It is believed that these counties have the most single mothers because divorce is socially acceptable here, and that goes for working women as well. Households with a female head of household have less money and less stability, but it’s not the single mother’s fault. How do single mothers live?
Single Mothers Budget Everything
The life of a single mother is about doing the work of two people alone. Single mothers need to budget to ensure that their only income is used in the best possible way. While discussing single mothers and finances, USA Today points out that household expenses are likely the largest part of a single mother’s budget, about half of her income.
They also report that single mothers are more likely to be food insecure and classified as poor. It is important for single mothers to know what money is going into their home and where it is going. Every dollar is billed and used for the house.
Single mothers seek government support
There is a huge stigma against anyone who relies on food stamps or WICs. These programs exist for a very good reason. Without them, children would starve to death or become homeless. Single mothers often need these perks to get more money out of their money.
The Single Mother Guide states that the median income for single mothers in 2019 was $ 48,098. By comparison, families with two incomes had a median income of $ 102,308. Single mothers fall into the poverty category in 31% of cases, compared to 5% of families with two parents.
62% of single mothers rely on food stamps to feed their children.
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Single mothers need child benefit
Without sperm donation, these women would not become single mothers on their own. The fathers who fathered these children all too often forego any financial or emotional responsibility that negatively affects both mother and child. Child support would be very helpful to single mothers if they were given it. The Guide for Single Mothers reports that only 1/3 of single mothers who are supposed to receive maintenance will receive it. On average, they get $ 286 a month, which is not much and covers food for maybe two weeks.
Single mothers seek (and need) grants
Single mothers need childcare in order to be able to work, to house, clothe and feed their children. If they don’t have a village of their own, these women have to pay thousands a month to look after their children while they work. Single mothers look for subsidies, but they are rare. Those in need of financial help are great and many in need of subsidies. Waiting lists for childcare allowances can be up to two years long. In many states, a single mother must raise more than half her income to care for children under the age of 3.
Source: The Life of a Single Mother, USA Today, Pew Research, Single Mother’s Guide
About the author
Larissa Marulli
(405 published articles)
Larissa Marulli has been a housewife for eight years. Shortly before the birth of her first child, she completed a degree in journalism. The proud mother of two is from Colorado and loves the mountains, the changing seasons and hot coffee all year round. Larissa saw it all and struggled with the challenges of motherhood. She gets better with age and takes pride in using the written word to entertain and educate others. Larissa loves books, naps, people in small doses, and her family.
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