...and suddenly you are single with kids.

This blog is for every parent, but focuses on my experience of being single with two beautiful children.

I am a full time, single mother of two, and have been for the past 6 years. I have a low paying, seasonal job with no benefits and my own business. I am fortunate in that I have managed to buy my house from my ex and that I am surrounded by a positive community of single parents. I am lucky in many ways and I will discuss and share them through the coming months.

I have also faced being balanced on the edge of security, barely making mortgage payments, living in my bank overdraft for over a year, underemployed without child support for months, or years on end. These challenges have given me much to think about. In overcoming some of them I realized I have things to share with other people in the same position. I am in a process of becoming financially secure, and I am starting from a precarious place. If you are in the same place, lets find security together. Pooling our resources, supporting one another, I think great things can happen.

I began writing this blog, because I didn't see my experience reflected on the financial websites and blogs I researched and followed. Often, I read suggestions redirect money spent on lunch outings or morning lattes to debt. I couldn't afford lunch out, I wasn't stopping at Starbucks each day. Yet, these were the tips offered for saving money.

Resources are often gained in exchange for time. When you are parenting on your own, time is a limited resource. I want to thrive, I want to teach my children healthy financial values, and want savings for my retirement and their future schooling. I wanted to take vacations.

I also want distance from the strain of waiting for my ex to ante up child support. It is clear to me that the emotional energy I spend waiting for him to take financial responsibility for his children is draining me of energy. I need that energy to make my life better. I am not saying I stopped seeking payment, I am saying I work every day to figure out how to empower myself, whether or not he steps up.

So here you are, single, with kid(s). Whether you are gainfully employed, own your own business, or have been focusing on raising your children, your life just changed. In most cases, this change is a huge financial adjustment.