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single moms

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Singlemom.com - The meeting place for single mothers. SingleMom.com hosts a wealth of information, tools and resources that help single moms with their needs, ranging from moral support to help with educational aspirations and basic needs. The up-to-date resources available on SingleMom.com aim to support single mothers in their unique role as sole providers and educators.emerged as an organization dedicated to support single mothers. The SingleMom.Com Community provides additional moral support. read more...

SingleMom.Com hosts a comprehensive list of resources on grants, government and non-government organizations providing support with housing, food, and other areas.

 

Advice for Single Mom

Cutting Grocery Costs without Cutting Nutrition

Simple, healthy, and affordable ways to weather the rising price of food
by Karen Collins, R.D., American Institute of Cancer Research

Grocery prices are projected to increase again in 2008 – that’s following 2007’s highest annual increase in 17 years. But surviving these tough economic times doesn’t have to mean sacrificing good nutrition. Some simple strategies can help you cut food costs and eat more healthfully, too.

To get started, look over several weeks worth of grocery receipts and see where you spend the most money. Changes here will likely offer the most savings. Meat is often one of the largest grocery expenses. Save money by adding a couple of bean-based, meatless meals each week. It’s easy: Simply substitute kidney, pinto or other beans for the meat or poultry you would normally add to a favorite casserole or stew. For more ideas, check recipes at health-focused Web sites like the American Institute for Cancer Research.   read more...

     Busy Moms - Staying Afloat

 Most American moms juggle work and family, and those with full-time jobs do more household chores than their male counterparts, according to federal statistics. Meanwhile, millions have their hands full as stay-at-home parents. Take a breath, take it all in stride -- and take a few moments for yourself with these tips from CNN.com and our partners.
      Read about topics of interest such as "De-stressing in 5 minutes or less", Make the Most of Your Weekend", "8 Things No One Tells You About Being A Mom", "What Does It Take To Simplify Your Life?", "How Bad Is It? Common Parenting SlipUps Analyzed", "How to Handle 5 Sticky Parenting Situations", and many more...

10 Tips for Improving Your Family's Eating Habits

With today’s busy lifestyles, families don’t always eat as healthfully as we would like. But by practicing healthy eating habits at home, you can make it easier for your family to eat right. Try these 10 tips designed to encourage healthy eating habits:

1. Be a good food role model. Telling children to eat nutritious foods is one thing — showing them is better. If you offer nutritious foods regularly — and if they see you eating them — your children likely will learn to like them.
2. Serve a variety of fruits and vegetables daily. In addition to bananas and apples, try something new like kiwi or papaya. Add vegetables to stir fries or casseroles.
3. Schedule a snack time and stick to it. Space snacks at least two to three hours before a meal.
4. Involve kids in meal planning and preparation. Children often will eat foods they help plan and prepare. At the same time, your child can learn how to handle and prepare foods in a safe, healthful way.
5. Keep less-healthful foods on a higher shelf where they won’t be noticed as much.
6. Eat as a family. If possible eat together at least once a day. If it’s breakfast, set the table the night before for less effort in the morning.
7. Don’t eat in front of the TV. Have your family eat around a table, not side by side at the counter.
8. Encourage your family to try new foods. Trying new foods expands your food knowledge, experience and skills. Kids will like some, but not all of these foods. That’s OK.
9. Let kids stop eating when they say they’re full. Encourage your child to eat slowly and pay attention to feeling full. By learning hunger and fullness cues, your child will learn to eat enough, but not overeat.
10. Enjoy your food. Avoid fussing, nagging, arguing or complaining at the table. A stress-free meal that is neither rushed nor prolonged promotes family bonding and helps everyone enjoy what they’re eating.

91 Ways to Save on Almost Anything

by Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine
Here's how to stretch your dollars -- and pinch your pennies 'til they scream -- while you feel little or no pain.

Want to save a buck? How about a few hundred or a couple thousand?

We took a look at eight spending categories in your budget and identified dozens of ways you can keep more money. Whether you need to plug leaks in your spending, learn where to find the best deals or even trick yourself into shaving expenses, we've got something for everyone.

And here's a bonus tip: Before you even start looking elsewhere in your budget to cut costs, start at the source with your paycheck. If you get a tax refund, that means you're overpaying Uncle Sam from the beginning. Boost your take-home pay today by adjusting your tax withholding with your employer. read more...

Courage: You Have It

by Sue Patton Thoele
This is an excerpt from The Courage to Change by Sue Patton Thoele. Printed with permission from the author.

Are you often filling the wants and needs of others without having your own met? Do deadlines and difficult people leave you feeling frazzled? Do you feel overworked and under-appreciated? Do you grapple with self-limiting fears? Are you more an enemy than a friend to yourself?

Despite the tremendous changes of the last fifty years and the new vision of ourselves we’ve been given, many women will still answer “yes” to the above questions. Often we are caught in a tangled web of emotional dependence, afraid to express who we really are. read more...

  10 Bad Habits That Lead to Debt Disaster

Little things add up fast. Learn from these mistakes and try these tips to start paying off your debt.

Sometimes the only way to stop a snowballing problem is to go back to the top of the hill and find out what started it. If you're up to your eyeballs in credit card debt, take a step back and recount your money missteps. Knowing your weaknesses could help prevent you from falling back into the bad-credit pit and show you a way out. 
Bad Habit No. 1: Misusing balance transfers: Try this: If you can't refrain from charging, balance transfers won't get you out of debt.
Bad Habit No. 2: Not checking credit reports because you can't change them anyway: Try this: You can request one free copy from each of the big three credit reporting bureaus, Experian, TransUnion and Equifax, every year. Why bother? Errors on your report, such as a payment marked late that came in on time, could raise your interest rates, lower your credit score and affect your ability to obtain credit in the future.
Bad Habit No. 3: Failing to alert creditors about a financial hardship: Try this: The best time to negotiate is before the problem spirals downhill. Call the credit card company and explain the problem you're about to have.
Bad Habit No. 4: Thinking of 'budget' as a dirty word: Try this: To find out what's draining your finances, keep track of where your money goes for a month.
Bad Habit No. 5: Using retail store credit cards to make use of discounts: Try this: If you must charge your purchase, use your general-purpose credit card. If you can't pay off the balance, at least you'll pay a lower interest rate.
Bad Habit No. 6: Procrastinating on creating an emergency fund: Try this: Maintain an emergency fund of at least three to six months' worth of living expenses, and keep your insurance policies up to date.
Bad Habit No. 7: Paying bills in no particular order: Try this: Pay for living expenses first. After the house or rent payment, necessities such as utilities, groceries and medical care should top the priority list. Next comes the car payment -- you want to avoid repossession, obviously. On down the line, secured loans and co-signed debts follow in importance, then unsecured loans and credit cards.
Bad Habit No. 8: Charging purchases instead of paying in cash or with a debit card: Try this: Make a habit of paying for purchases under $50 with cash, debit or check.
Bad Habit No. 9: Making credit payments late: Try this: On a calendar, mark upcoming paydays and payments that should come out of that paycheck.
Bad Habit No. 10: Making the minimum payment only: Try this: If you can afford to pay more or in full, go ahead and pay as much of the balance as you can.
read more...

  75 Tips to Survive a Down Economy

Some of FrugalDAD's tips:
- Just say no to social events, or agree to meet after dinner. Peer pressure can wreak havoc on your financial plans. It’s never fun to turn down a chance to go out with friends, but there are ways to say yes without spending a fortune.
- Consolidate errands into one trip. If you have to get out try to consolidate all of your errands into one trip away from home, instead of driving back and forth several times from store to home.
- Don’t be afraid to buy generic. Forget brand loyalty when trying to save money. When we buy ketchup, we look for the lowest unit price, regardless of brand. Same with other foods and household supplies. There are a few exceptions, but for the most part generic items are just as good as name brands.
- Use a drying rack or line dry heavy clothing. Pick up a drying rack or install a clothesline to dry heavy garments and towels. When nearly dry, place items in dryer with a dryer sheet for just a few minutes to complete the drying cycle, remove wrinkles, and soften clothes.
- Brown bag it. Can you believe how much a combo meal is at a fast food restaurant? And don’t get me started on dine-in restaurant tabs for lunch. You’re lucky to get out of there for less than $10-$12 including the tip. Multiply that times four or five times a week and we’re talking $200 added to your food budget each month.
- Sign up for medical flexible spending account (FSA) at work. Estimate carefully as unused portions of FSAs are not refundable. At a minimum, account for the amount of your family’s health care plan deductibles plus any over-the-counter medical supplies you must purchase during the year. As an added bonus, FSA contributions are pre-tax, which lowers your taxable income for the year.
- Quit smoking. Besides being an incredibly unhealthy habit, smoking is expensive! Many pack-a-day smoker could easily trim $200 from their budget by kicking the habit. If you can’t find any other motivation to quit, use finances.
- Shop for clothes on eBay. Add”NWT” to your search query and find many clothing items listed as “new with tag.” These items can be purchased for a fraction of their retail cost.   read more...

  Women Not Saving Enough for Retirement - Study

Longer lives and lower pay mean women need to save more for retirement. But a study finds a widening of the financial gender gap.

Women may not earn as much as men or fly up the corporate ladder as quickly, but they get the last laugh since they live longer. Right?

As it turns out, women probably aren't saving enough to bankroll those extra years in style. They invest more conservatively, start saving later and are more likely to be in and out of the work force, according to a study released Wednesday by Hewitt Associates, a human resources consulting firm.  read more... 

    Your 5-Minute Guide to Credit Cards

Up to your ankles, knees or neck in debt? Try these two dozen tips to help get your finances back on track.

At some point in our lives, most of us have borrowed too much. If you're in over your head, don't despair. But make no mistake: You must learn to live on what you earn.

First, stop making excuses about why you're in debt. Don't blame the credit card companies or your parents. Put that energy into reducing your debt. read more...

 

Be Healthy - 100 Life Saving Food Tips

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