5 Things Single Moms Can Do Today To Kick Ass Financially Tomorrow

But Anderson, who says she was tutored by a financial coach prior to taking steps to become one herself, says there are five tips she passes on to clients to help them get out of the red and into the black.

1. Get a financial education. Why fly by the seat of your pants when you can get your financial education for free? asks Anderson. Whether you take a class offered at your local church or library, enroll in one online or listen faithfully to podcasts like the one Dave Ramsey offers, single moms can do everything from learning to maintain a workable budget to paying off debt in just minutes a day.
2. Accept the child support, if you can get it. “There are lots of reasons single moms don’t accept or pursue child support,” Anderson says, “everything from shame or pride to fear of drama with the ex, or a belief that it’s too little money to fight over in court. But the average of $330 per month that custodial single parents receive adds up,” she says. “$330 x 12 months x 18 years is $71,280,” she says. “If you don’t need that money to make ends meet, investing it in a financial vehicle like a 529 college savings fund will be putting it to excellent use.  So if you invested that $330 a month in a 529 at a rate of let’s say 8 percent rate when your child is born, that will net you close to $85,000 when it’s time for him to go away to school—enough for him and his sister to get through all four years.
3. Follow the money—online. Forget the old-school paper and pen budget: track exactly where your money goes from month to month through apps like Mint.com (a free, online tool that allows you to combine your banking, credit card, brokerage and investment accounts to get a complete picture of your money all at once). Automation of bills not only bodes well for your credit score by eliminating potential late payments,  says Anderson, it allows you to see where you may be overspending in one area—and where you can better save/invest in another. Plus after you’ve set it all up, it gives you hours of your life back—a major win for single parents.
4. Eliminate credit card debt. “Quite simply, eliminating credit card debt increases your financial stability,” says the mom of one. Instead of throwing money at problems you free yourself to throw it towards long-term solutions like a robust, emergency-savings account to protect you and your children in a financial crisis. It also:
   • reduces the number of bills you’ve got to pay,
   • puts you in control of your assets,
   • increases your future earnings and
   • teaches your children good money habits.

Win, win, win, win. Moms can learn how to do it, dummy-proof, here.

5. Invest in life insurance. A good cash-value, life-insurance policy doesn’t just protect your kids in case something happens to you—it’s an affordable vehicle for building multigenerational wealth over time. Still, says Anderson, a recent survey revealed that nearly 70% of single-parent households don’t carry life insurance, compared to 45% of married-parent families. Purchased in your 20s or 30s with a good bill-of-health and maintained over time you could be a millionaire by the time you retire, at no more than $50 - $100 a month depending on the face amount of your policy, she says. That money, with continual investment, could go toward anything from paying for college tuition to helping create a retirement nest-egg.