If you are a single mother and landed with the responsibility of running your home and taking care of your children, there is nothing to panic. There are several women out there who have taken up the challenge and have successfully done their bit. All you need is proper planning and trust your abilities. However here are a few financial tips to help you manage your finances better:

Keep an eye on every spending’s:

It is important to make a note of expenditures. Make a budget and stick to it strictly. You might face various bills every month hence be prepared for emergencies. You have to decide your priorities and should act accordingly. Child care, house rents and electrical bills are unavoidable hence ensure that you pay them immediately and other things such as mobile recharge, connections can wait. Set your priorities and fix yourself targets which you need to achieve. Every penny counts hence spend wisely. 

Have insurance:

Get a life insurance so as to protect your children and your future. Emergencies may spring up at any time hence it is advisable to be prepared for such situations. This is a must especially if you are the bread earner in your family. This protects you from any disability or death. You can be assured as your children would have some sought of financial support to help them grow independent.

Protect your financial future:

This is a very essential step to be considered. It doesn’t matter how much you save but make an effort to secure your finances. This helps you a lot during difficult situations. You can start off with savings and later enter into investments and other forms. Try to save as much as you can. It isn’t necessary to save heavy amounts but remember something is better than nothing. Hence start saving today. You can easily secure your financial future for example; take payment protection insurance along with any loan you apply for. This pays your loan premiums when you are disabled or suddenly find yourself without a job. You can later compensate this amount by making PPI Claims through claiming companies.

Save for college and retirement:

Even if it is a small amount, try to put aside some money for college and retirement. This, as you pile up becomes a composite amount which is very helpful in your later stages of life. Try to draw the amount from the paycheque and put this aside. This helps in your child’s future and even you do not have to depend on your children as you have your retirement funds.

Talk to your children:

It is a good idea to confront your children about the financial situations. This enables them to understand and even might help you to run the house smoothly. This removes a lot of burden from your shoulders and strengthens the family bonds. This enables the child to understand the circumstances in the house and might even lend a hand in saving or curbing financial crisis. 

About the Guest Author: 
My name is Evita.  I am a tech writer from UK.  I am into Finance. Catch me @financeport