Single parent budgeting tips: balancing short-term needs and long-term goals
/In late 2021, I was faced with becoming a single parent to my two boys when my husband passed away. It’s something you’re never truly prepared for, especially when it happens suddenly.
Being a parent comes with many challenges and when I was faced with doing it solo, I thought deeply about single parents all over the world that are faced with this challenge. The financial responsibility of planning was always something I worked on with my husband, with him taking the lead. When I was faced with taking on the responsibility of planning for the future of our family, our savings, and our kids’ education, it was overwhelming and scary to say the least.
Luckily, with Coast Capital, I have been able to budget, save, and find ways to reach my family's financial goals. Coast Capital has given me access to different financial advice and resources that fit my real goals and challenges today, and for the future. Since I have had to start from scratch and go back to the basics, the Managing Money with a Baby section on their blog has been particularly valuable for me as a single parent. The resources cover a wide range of topics, from saving for education to navigating childcare expenses, and even ways to still carve out allowance for my own dreams.
If you’re a single parent, and especially if you’re like me and are having to go back to the basics based on a change in your life, I want to share these tips with you with the hope that they will help support you through your challenging real-life experience. We’re in this together!
In this blog post, I’ll delve into three aspects of family financial planning that have been the most beneficial for me.
Lifestyle shift
One of the biggest shifts that I made was around lifestyle. Whether you are a new parent navigating the financial impacts of parental leave, or you’re in a similar situation to me and are adjusting to being the sole financial provider for your family, you’re most likely needing to reconsider your lifestyle habits and reprioritize your spending.
For me, this included things like more structured meal planning that brought grocery costs down and more effectively and intentionally budgeting for meals out and other entertainment/activities. The key for me has been to stick to these budgets and plan for not just the week, but the month ahead. I found taking advantage of budgeting tools really helpful when I put together a household budget. Tools like Coast Capital’s Money Manager can show me all my accounts in one convenient place and I can easily compare my monthly spending to my budget which is helpful to proactively prioritizing my spending.
One thing I’m trying to prioritize is saving for a travel fund. Travel has always been something I have enjoyed, and as parents, we both wanted our kids to see different parts of the world. To make this possible, I’ve set aside a certain amount per month in a travel fund. This is where I found household budgeting to be so important. By doing so, I was able to manage finances and allocate money for family vacations.
Planning for the future as a single parent: RESP contributions
My knowledge on RESPs (Registered Education Savings Plans) was very limited before I had kids, but since having kids, I have started to realize the importance of planning for their future. Whether it be in the form of RESPs and/or additional savings, this area was always of importance to the both of us and is still one of the main priorities for me as a single mother. I want to make sure my boys have all the opportunities in the world, including having the option to pursue their higher education goals. But, post-secondary fees are so expensive, especially for a parent on a single income.
Coast Captial’s website and trusted team of advisors have endless resources on how to maximize the power of RESP’s. I learned that RESPs also gives me access to the Canadian Education Savings Grant (CESG), where the federal government will match 20 percent of any RESP contribution, up to a maximum of $500 annually per child. This really maximizes the government grant, and with inflation and general rising cost of living, we should be taking advantage of all the “free money”, right?
Prepare for the unknown: setting up an emergency fund
Preparing for the unknown is another responsibility I’ve kept in mind. Whether that be a situation like mine, a medical issue, or something else unexpected, having a financial plan to fall back on is critical. One approach is to set up a contingency or emergency fund with parameters in place like budgeting monthly how much you will save and put into the fund and setting committed rules around when and how to access these funds. Doing so can relieve not just the financial burden of these emergencies, but also alleviate some of the stress that comes with unexpected life-altering events.
I recommend everyone build an emergency fund as it truly makes a big difference when unexpected circumstances arise. The fund should be out of immediate reach, but still be accessible in case of an emergency. Coast Capital’s High-Interest Savings Account has no monthly fee or minimum balance requirement, and you can access your funds anytime from a branch, ATM, online, or by phone.
Whether you’re about to embark on parenthood independently or with a partner, or even just having to go back to basics like me, Coast Capital is the real financial partner to help you achieve the goals you want right here, right now.. For a limited time, you can get up to $400 cash* when you become a Coast Capital member! Apply today with my affiliate link. Offer ends June 30, 2023. *Conditions apply.
