Sometimes the words single mom and struggle seems to mean the same thing. It’s hard to say one without thinking about the other. Everyday I read/hear about single moms who are struggling to make ends meet. I have been there and know how hard it is to look my kids in the face, knowing there is no money in the bank, no food in the cabinets, and no gas in the car. I know what it’s like to have the lights turned off and bill collectors calling. You may be facing this now, so I really want you to read the story below. A single mom sent this powerful testimony to me and wanted me to share it with you. What do you do when you are a struggling single mom? Pray…
God’s hand on a single mother…Karen’s Story
I will never forget Saturday morning January 12, 2013. I woke up with no money in my pocket, my bank accounts were negative and my fridge was so empty you could hear the echo if I stuck my head in it. I was on day 6 of reading my bible for 90 days and could feel the strength of God on the inside of me growing but the outside seemed hopeless.
I decided months ago that just paying my tithe every pay period wasn’t cutting it so I signed up for a program at my church called “Money Wise”. A part of this program is to have you meet up with the director so she can ask you some questions and pray to see which one of the many volunteer counselors she would be able to match you up with.
Well this Saturday my counselor was coming to meet me to discuss my finances which were just a mess. We sat down for 2 hours as I displayed the part of the bible that says “ my people perish for a lack of knowledge” because I didn’t know anything. All I knew was that I was in so much debt all built from being a single mother and not trusting God . You see, I was a survivor and never living or experiencing God as my Jehovah Jirah but today that was about to change.
That morning I woke up and prompted by a vision I went downstairs to explain to my children how the money I made came in and out of the house by demonstrating with monopoly money. They seemed to understand so we moved on to have some family time when my daughter said, “mommy what’s for breakfast?” I literally had nothing but a can of corn. Thank God she loves corn because that day that is what she ate a can of buttered corn, while me and my oldest ate nothing and my two youngest went to ask one of their friends for a package of noodles.
I told my kids that I was not being a good manager over the 90% that God was letting me keep and that the bible says if you’re not a good manager of the little, even the little would be taken. So I told them from this day they had one of two choices either get on the bandwagon with me to serve God by surrendering or get out. By their silence I believe everyone chose to get on the bandwagon with me. My oldest son said a simple prayer, “ God we don’t have anything, we need something, take care of us. Thank you. Amen. We continued on our day reading the bible, praying and just praising God we had forgot that we didn’t have dinner that night.
As I said earlier my counselor was coming over to discuss money management. She showed up and for 2 hours we discussed, planned, budgeted, set goals and I repented for my lack of knowledge, faith and no seeing God as my source. As we finished praying and my counselor was about to leave, she said to me, “We don’t normally do this but I am feeling led by the Lord to ask you how much gas do you have in your car? I said it is on “E” only enough to make it to the highway to pull over and wait for the local roadside assistance to give me a gallon of gas.
She said, “follow me”, and we went to the gas station where she put gas in my car. She then proceeded to tell me to follow her to the store and there she made me go up and down every aisle picking up the things I needed and wanted in multiples of two. By the time we got to the register I had two carts full of groceries!!!!! God is good but he didn’t stop there…
I went home, put those bags on the table, and me and my children took a moment and said, “Thank you God”. I asked each one of my children how they felt and one by one they expressed how amazing it was to see God’s hand move first hand. We had tacos and pizza that night and the only reason we had pizza was because it wouldn’t fit in our fridge.
Sunday came and we did our normal routine went to church, volunteered, and enjoyed the day as a family when I received a call from my counselor again asking me to meet her at a nearby Starbucks. Once I got there she handed me an orange envelope with my name on the front of it inside of the envelope was 200.00 of gas cards and 200.00 of groceries cards… Are you serious God!!! Ephesians 3:20 says God will do exceedingly and abundantly more than you can ever think of or ever ask. And God still was not finished.
On the outside of the envelope were the words “electric”, “water”, and “lease”. It meant that I would not have to worry about my electric bill that was behind a month, my water bill that was behind a month and my rent for next month would be paid as well.
God is good!! Awesome, amazing and he loves us. Here I am a single mother of 5 children, 4 that actually are home with me, one income that is being garnished at 35% for an upside down car note because I had to buy from a “buy here ,pay here” place. I had to just throw my hands up and say God I surrender. The moment I did God said, “thank you for moving out of my position”, and did the unthinkable.
I don’t know where you are as a single mother but I know it can be frustrating and embarrassing at times but trust me God wants to do things for us if we would only surrender and let him. It was so hard for me to throw up my hands up, but I am so thankful that I finally did and thank God because that was my last can of corn.
I am excited to finish in my journey of the money wise program to see how God is going to move on all of these debts and my one crave that I am asking God for daily is to get rid of this horrible car note that I got myself in to do the unthinkable again and have this $10,963.45 balance removed from my life.
Thank you God for looking down on a single mother and being faithful!!
Do you believe in the power of prayer? How has it helped you during the times you struggled the most? Talk about it in the comments below.
Making 2013 the year of living fabulously does not require jumping through hoops. Personally I hate jumping through hoops, walking on eggshells, or any other kind of extreme, anxiety-producing acrobats. Making this year phenomenal is about setting simple goals (no more than 3 please) and doing something each day to make it happen.
So here are a few steps, plus an example of what I did to set myself up to have a fearless and fabulous year.
How to Create a Fearless and Fabulous Year
Step 1 – remember, write, give thanks for 2012’s accomplishments, breakthroughs, and successes
Step 2 – think about, write down, give thanks for what you will try, achieve, and succeed in 2013
Step 3 – get a guide or partner to cheer you on through each goal
Step 4 – do it and document each accomplishment, success, and breakthrough
Example from the Pages of my Journal:
Step 1 – I am thankful for writing my book, No More Crumbs. It was a combination success and breakthrough for me. I’m thankful I’ve lived my goal for the year which was love and liberation. I learned what it means to truly love and live in freedom. I’m in the process of reconciling past relationships even though the process was painful.
Step 2 – I’m thankful for the wonderful cruise, cross country trip, and world travel my kids and I will take. I’m thankful for all the people I will help in my coaching programs. I’m thankful for the classes I will teach to help people succeed. I’m thankful for completing my certification course. I’m thankful the love of my life will manifest.
Step 3 – My guide is willing and available to me. I will get a coach to cheer me on and check in twice a month. I will start or join a mastermind group to keep me accountable.
Step 4 – I will do it and document it on my blog and in my journal.
Now it’s Your Turn
You can outline your year of living fabulously the way I did or in a different way. Some ideas include:
Making a list
Creating a vision board
Journaling
However you decide to do it, make it something you will enjoy and follow through with.
Are you ready to declare 2013 as your year of living fearlessly and fabulously? Want to chat with me online for a free planning session? Leave a comment below and let me know the best day and time for you.
During the planning session I will take you step by step through the process again and answer your questions. Bring your question, a pen , and paper. I will also be available to be your cheerleader through the year to keep you motivated so you can live fabulously all year long!
Samantha A. Gregory is an author, consultant, and speaker. She’s a single-mom lifestyle, money, and parenting expert featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Essence Magazine, HuffPost, ABC News, and Mint.com.
Samantha founded the award-winning RichSingleMomma.com™, the first online magazine featuring personal finance, parenting, and personal development content and courses for single moms.
She aims to inspire women who are ready to thrive and not just survive in their single motherhood journey. Connect with her on Instagram @richsinglemomma.
Having and maintaining good credit is extremely important. It can make or break you when applying for a loan, buying a major purchase (like a house), applying for a credit card, and sometimes can be a determining factor for the job you applied for. Credit can be determined by how well you make on time payments, or how well you maintain your credit cards, for example. To keep up with your credit, follow these steps below.
First, get a free copy of your credit report each year. Sometimes your state can provide a free credit report, but if they do not, you can go to freecreditreport.com and pick up one. Some banks offer credit reports as well, but there may be monthly fees attached to it. Second, make sure there are no accounts that do not belong to you on your report. Sometimes common names, both first and last names, can be linked to others with the same name. Third, check to see if there are any accounts still open in your name but did not authorize, especially if you were married or had a joint account with someone. You have the right to shut down an account or dispute any detail that is inaccurate on your credit report. The last step is to familiarize yourself with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Knowing about your credit score and how to find and use your reports can be a lifesaver in many ways. When getting a credit report, remember that your social security number is your key identity. Monitoring your credit report can become obsessive after a while of keeping track of it, so it is best to make it a yearly check-up, so to speak.
Today many people turn their thoughts to New Years resolutions. They plan to lose weight, find love, make more money.
The gym is packed in January with well meaning people, but by February it’s back to life as it always is. That may be your goal but I want to suggest an alternative.
I want to suggest that this year you plan to lose fear and failure. I don’t know about you but it was my companion for a time in 2012. I complained at times but I had to go through the process of letting it go.
In 2013 I am committed to living fearlessly and fabulously. What that looks like to you and me may be different.
When I was a teen and young adult I was not afraid to take calculated risks. I learned that is how I accomplished many things. It was scary sometimes but mostly fun. I want to get that fearlessness back this year.
I used to feel bad and ashamed about some of the things I did and went through. (*cough* being a single mom) I thought it would always be seen as failure.
But I had a revelation or aha moment recently. I realized that every so-called shameful, bad thing, or failure was a chapter or experience in my amazing life! It has added color and depth, not to mention memories for my golden years. I have lived my life and I have no regrets.
Each experience was a lesson and I’m grateful for each moment of agony, excitement, and risk-taking. It made me who I am today…a perfectly imperfect person.
So I’m looking forward to the adventure that awaits me in 2013.
It will be filled with crazy, sexy, delicious, lovely moments. It will be fearless and fabulous. Educational and risky at the same time. But that’s life. It’s not perfect but I’m not perfect either.
Living life is what we do. Live it.
Make the best choices possible to have great quality of life. But I hope and pray you will just live.
The past is over. You can’t go back and fix it. You can only live each moment with all your strength.
Samantha A. Gregory is an author, consultant, and speaker. She’s a single-mom lifestyle, money, and parenting expert featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Essence Magazine, HuffPost, ABC News, and Mint.com.
Samantha founded the award-winning RichSingleMomma.com™, the first online magazine featuring personal finance, parenting, and personal development content and courses for single moms.
She aims to inspire women who are ready to thrive and not just survive in their single motherhood journey. Connect with her on Instagram @richsinglemomma.
Saving is something that everyone should do regardless of how much money you make and what your status is socially and professionally. As talked about in the previous article “Rainy Day Funds” and other articles, it is always a good idea to save money for times that you cannot foresee from now. It is also a good idea to save for the little things that you have deserved over the year, or have wanted for a long time.
To get started on saving your money, get creative and buy a piggy bank, change jar (one that can track how much you deposit), mattresses, PayPal.com, etc. Being creative can make it fun to save, and easy to store it away from yourself. Sometimes people wait till their change jar, piggybank, or whatever container they use to overflow and deposit it. Another good way to save is to take out a 401K with your job (if they have one). They’ll take it out before your pay is taxed and deposit it into an account for you. Other things that can go into savings, whether an account or a container, is student loan refunds, stimulus checks, birthday money, and even your lottery winnings!
Whichever way you choose to save, make sure you always add to it, and not subtract from it. Saving money will always come in handy, and it will make you feel a lot richer than you might have been feeling before.
Hi! Welcome to RichSingleMomma.com. I started this website almost a decade ago because I couldn't find any blogs back then that helped single moms with money. I was having some success in that area so I decided to share what I knew about side hustles, making extra money, and managing money. Read more...
On the outside of the envelope were the words “electric”, “water”, and “lease”. It meant that I would not have to worry about my electric bill that was behind a month, my water bill that was behind a month and my rent for next month would be paid as well.
On the outside of the envelope were the words “electric”, “water”, and “lease”. It meant that I would not have to worry about my electric bill that was behind a month, my water bill that was behind a month and my rent for next month would be paid as well.
