Some offers on this page are from advertisers who pay us, which may affect which products we write about, but not our recommendations. See our Advertiser Disclosure. Creating and following a budget is hard for most people.
But it can be particularly challenging for single parents. Between housing, groceries, childcare, transportation, and all the unexpected costs that come with raising kids, there may not be much room for error. Plus, the burnout you experience from solo parenting might lead to bad financial decisions and neglected money management.
But a realistic budget can help you make the most of your income, prepare for surprise expenses, and make steady progress toward your financial goals. As a financial educator and former NFCC-certified credit counselor, these are my tips for managing your budget as a single parent. The starting point for creating a budget is to pinpoint your monthly income and total monthly expenses.
It's normal for both of these figures to vary, so I recommend looking for your monthly averages. If your income varies by a lot, use the most conservative figure you expect to earn. For your spending, the best way to pinpoint your total monthly expenses is to review at least three months' worth of your financial statements and note what you spend in each category, such as food, utilities, gas, etc.
Note that if you do any significant spending with cash, you'll also need to track those costs separately. Try writing down information for each of your cash purchases for 30 days to make sure you're not missing anything. For your income figure, you'll also want to go by monthly averages.
For example, if you receive a paycheck every other week (which comes out to 26 pay periods per year), you'll want to multiply your take-home pay by 26 pay periods and divide the result by 12 months. So if you net $3,000 per paycheck, your average monthly income is $6,500: ($3,000 x 26) / 12. A budget lets you quickly compare your income to your expenses, and assign each dollar a job.
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