Teaching Brave

Teaching Brave

We are all feeling the pinch. There are words that are getting thrown around in the media as well as amongst our circle of family, friends and work colleagues that are forcing us to look closely at our cost of living, our budget, expenses and income.

 

Inflation

Recession

Rising Interest rates

Global Financial Crisis

Rising Cost of Living

 

For some, it’s a real, everyday concern.

For others, it may be fear-mongering.

For most, it’s a reason to closely look at and re-evaluate where are money is going and how we can make sure we don’t end up struggling financially but rather put ourselves in a position where we have money for a rainy day and we know how we’re going to pay our bills.

As a single mum, most things are harder; Parental responsibilities, maintaining our own personal health and well-being, and managing our money.

So here are 10 ways to cope with the rising cost of living as a single mum:

  1. Sit down and track all your expenses.

You’ve got to know exactly where your money is going! There are Apps that can help you with this, such as WeMoney and Nerdwallet, and you can also use the Budget Planner on the Government’s Money Smart website, but it’s not necessary to use these tools. You can just sit down with a notebook, and write down all your bills and expenses in all areas. Once you have done this, you will have a better idea of where all your money is going, in what areas you might be able to save or cut back, and in what areas you might be wasting money.

You can’t start budgeting and saving money effectively until you have tracked all your expenses, so your spending, your saving and your progress is measurable.

  1. Audit all your bills

Look at ALL your bills. When they arrive, are they debited automatically, do you blindly pay them without question, or are you looking at what’s being charged, asking for better deals and comparing with different providers? I recently saved several hundred dollars by switching car insurance providers, and I pay about $16 per month on my phone using a prepaid Boost card, which uses the Telstra network, rather than blindly paying Telstra $60 per month. I also decided I could cancel a couple of my bills, saving me another few hundred dollars over the year.

Sure, there are some bills we can’t avoid or change, but there are many times we can use the opportunity of auditing all our bills to find ways to save money by switching to another provider, asking for a better deal (yes, you can simply call up your car insurance provider, your internet provider, your bank, or other providers, and ask for better prices), or cancelling certain bills altogether.

  1. Prioritise building an Emergency Fund and paying off bad debt

Bad debt is consumer debt. Think credit cards, personal loans or car loans. This kind of debt comes with nasty, no good interest repayments. These interest payments are literally money down the gurgler. If you prioritise paying off bad debt (I did this aggressively until I was no longer in consumer debt), and building up an Emergency Fund of several months worth of expenses, then the idea is that you can fall back on your Emergency Fund, rather than have to rely on going into more bad debt in the future (and throw more money down the drain).

We all have rainy days, so we all need a rainy day fund. How much you keep in your Emergency Fund (or rainy day fund) is up to you.

As a single mum, I’m not comfortable unless my Emergency Fund is at least above $20,000. This number will vary, depending on your personal circumstances.

  1. Look at unit prices when grocery shopping

Unit prices, not packet prices. Inflation means prices are rising, but the contents of packets we are buying is reducing too! When grocery shopping, try to look at the price per 100g, or per 100ml on an item. Most, if not all items in a supermarket will have a unit price, as well as a packet price. If you are comparing prices, make sure you look at the unit prices when comparing, as sometimes, sales and discounts can be very misleading. Sometimes, an item at a 30% off discount may not be cheaper than buying the same product in a larger quantity, at full price.

I have come across this many times, so I never buy anything without comparing similar products at their unit price (price per 100g etc), to make sure I’m getting the best VALUE, rather than the best PRICE.

  1. Grow your own food

You don’t need to be discouraged by having a small space, and growing your own food can honestly save you a LOT of money on buying the same items in the supermarket. I live in an apartment and have a small balcony, but I have been able to grow many fruits, herbs and vegetables on my balcony garden, just in large black pots. I only grow foods I know I regularly consume, and as long as I look after my plants, it means I no longer need to buy: basil, chives, spring onions, snow peas, lettuce, baby spinach, lemons, rosemary, endive, beans, mint and chillies. I also seasonally grow cherry tomatoes, beetroot, cucumbers and strawberries.

I’m not always successful and sometimes I need to start again, but gardening is a learning process so I just keep trying!

  1. Use Gumtree, FB marketplace and Op Shops

Can you honestly say you use and need every single item in your home? No? Take a picture of it, chuck a quick ad up on Gumtree and Facebook marketplace, and sell it! Multiple items? Books, kids’ shoes they grew out of? Appliances, furniture, home furnishings, kitchen dishes, tools? What about that scarf you never wear? Or the kid’s toys they never play with, or the gift you received that you’ll never use? Sell it! Sell it all! I have 17 tips on how to sell your stuff successfully online, as I have done this hundreds of times. At one point, I had about 250 active listings, and I was making anywhere from $20 – $300 per week, cash, on items I no longer wanted or needed.

Do you ever Op a shop? It’s an underrated way to shop but huge savings can be made. Admittedly, it can be very hit-and-miss with Op shops, but on successful visits, I have come away with brand-new clothes (tags still attached) for about 10% of the brand-new cost, and I have also flipped items and made huge profits.

  1. Cash back Apps

Heard of CashRewards or ShopBack? They are affiliate websites that allow you to shop at your regular online stores, and receive cash back after your purchase. I never shop online anymore without checking to see if that store has a good discount or cashback offer through CashRewards or ShopBack. Sometimes you need to wait a few months to get the cashback approved, but once it is, you simply withdraw the money straight back into your bank account.

  1. Get the kids involved in money conversations

I didn’t grow up with basic financial literacy and I want things to be different for my son. So I make sure I educate him on basic money matters. I explain to him what inflation means, and why credit cards can be so dangerous. I explain to him why my mortgage payments are increasing and why this means it’s getting harder to pay bills. He asks questions too which is great. It’s so important to involve kids in these basic money conversations so that when they go out into the big wide world, they have good financial literacy. It also helps them to understand why we may not be able to go on that fancy holiday or have expensive dinners out on a regular basis.

  1. Educate yourself

Free blogs, free podcasts, and personal finance books from the library. You can educate yourself on personal finance matters and improve your own financial literacy without forking out any money. I have used many different finance blogs – the government’s Money Smart website is a great place to start! There are also heaps of podcasts that you can listen to in the car or while doing chores, and books to read. I thought I was pretty financially savvy until I started educating myself further, and realized how much I didn’t know! About investing, superannuation, taxes, interest, and the list goes on. I am certainly not an expert in any of these matters but I am committed to continued learning so that I know I’m making the best financial decisions for my family and for our future.

  1. Boost your income

There are many ways you can boost your income – one of the best ways is to ask your boss for a pay rise. Make a list of the reasons you are so valuable to the company or why you feel you deserve a pay rise and just ask! The worst they can do is say No and at least you would have given it a shot. In the past, each time I have approached my boss for a pay rise, there was some negotiation and I was granted a pay rise with a discussion of some of the conditions or extra responsibilities I may need to take on, which I was willing to do.

You could also take on a second job, or a side hustle. There are many different side hustles you can try such as starting a blog, doing online surveys, doing some babysitting, creating T shirts to sell online, dog walking, etc etc etc and the list goes on – try googling ‘Side Hustle Ideas’. You will find a multitude of ideas.

These ideas can be for anyone, not just single parents, and hopefully, these ideas have helped you to re-evaluate and change your money situation for the better!