From that first ride home together from the hospital, parents will spend many hours in the car with their children. However, what many parents fail to realize is that a vehicle can be an extremely dangerous place for a child. In fact, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children between the ages of three and 14 in the US.
So, what can you do to make sure your child is as safe as possible while in your vehicle? Well, if you follow the Georgia car seat safety guidelines, you should be in good shape. Georgia law requires that children under 8 be restrained in an age and weight appropriate manner while in a moving vehicle. So, what does this look like for different ages?
Here is a quick guide:
Birth to One Year
Up until the age of one, your child should be riding in a rear-facing car seat only. Why? This type of car seat helps to protect a child’s neck in the event of a car crash. Even a sudden stop can cause injuries in children this young if they are not in the proper type of safety seat. If your child is in this age range, you can choose from several types of rear-facing car seats. You could pick a seat made for infants only, or, if you want a seat you can use a little longer, you could pick a 3-in-1 or convertible option.
One to Three Years
Most pediatricians recommend using a rear-facing car seat for your child as long as possible. These car seats simply lessen the overall chance of injury in the event of a car crash. You can check the labeling on your child’s seat for the weight and height limits, and keep your child in his or her rear-facing seat until they outgrow these limits.
Four to Seven Years
Once your child has outgrown his or her rear-facing car seat, you will need a forward-facing seat with a harness. These types of seats still provide a lot of extra protection for your child in the event of an accident. Once your child outgrows the weight or height limit of their forward-facing seat, you will need to get a booster seat.
Eight to Twelve Years
When a child is in this age range, many parents stop bothering with car-seats. However, this is a mistake. A booster seat should be used until your child has grown enough that a seat belt fits properly and snugly across their shoulder and chest. A booster seat helps the seat belt to do its job and restrain your child if an accident occurs. Booster seats should generally be used until a child is around 4’9”. Until they are at least 12, children should also be in the back seat. Riding in the back seat lowers the risk of injury or fatality in the event of an accident.
When used correctly, safety seats can reduce the chance of injury by 71 percent for infants, 54 percent for toddlers up to four, and 45% for children between four and eight. By simply following GA car seat regulations and making sure your child is properly secured in the right safety seat, you are helping to ensure the safety of your child. If you are unsure about which seat to pick for your child, ask your pediatrician or visit a GA child safety seat fitting location, where an expert can make sure your child is secured in the safest manner possible.
Being a mom is a full-time job. This is especially true when you’re a single momma! Between work, taking care of the kiddos and keeping the home from being a disaster zone, it can be pretty exhausting. That’s why it’s incredibly important to take a break from the regular routine and go on a vacation.
Yes, vacations can be expensive. But, if you plan them out in advance, you can save quite a bit of money. Here are some single mom travel ideas to help you have fun without burning a hole in your pocket or your bank account.
Use the buddy system
Between lodging and gas prices, going away for a week or even a weekend can really add up. One easy way to cut the costs while still managing to go out of town is by doing the trip with another single mom. This way, you can share the hotel and gas costs.
Another advantage of this plan is having another adult around to help wrangle the kids. Sure, you’ll have their kids there, too, but you’ll have the support of another mom to help lay down the law when the kids start to get unruly.
If you plan on leaving your kiddos with family, getting a group of friends together will help you cut the costs even more. Just think, if you can get three girlfriends to come with you, you’ll be able to split the hotel and gas costs four ways.
Travel during the off-season
If you’re thinking of going to a beach town or a ski town, you may want to consider going during the “off-season”. Hotels and other local attractions often mark-up their prices during the most popular months to increase their annual revenue. On the off months, these businesses are looking to increase their cash flow, so they offer the same amenities for a lower price.
Don’t worry, you don’t have to be stuck with poor weather to get better prices. You can visit these popular destinations during what is called “shoulder season”. This is just before or after (think weeks instead of months) the heavy tourist season. By delaying your trip by just a week, you could save big while still being able to enjoy the optimal weather for your destination.
Take advantage of rewards
Whether it’s a rewards credit card or a membership discount program, be sure to take advantage of the discounts and points that you have readily available. Rewards programs used to be tricky to use for vacations due to blackout dates. But nowadays, these companies are straying from the restrictions and making it much easier for you to cash in on your points.
Rewards programs also often allow their members to redeem points toward amusement parks and other attractions, so research what’s available to you when you’re determining where to take the kids on vacation.
If you have a particular hotel chain or airline that you like to use, you may want to see if they offer their own rewards or frequent user program. This especially pays off if you ever have to travel for work.
Another discount source is AAA. If you’re already a member, be sure to stop in and see what travel discounts they have available for you or your kids. If you’re not a member, you may want to still research the discounts. You may find that the discounts you can get for your vacation pays for the membership fee.
Look for single parents month promotions
Many resorts are now offering single parents promotions. These resorts often charge a per person price for their rooms. When there is just one adult in a room, they often will charge one of the kids at the adult price. But during single parents promotions, they charge just one adult fee and the kids are all charged at the kids rate. This can be big savings, especially if choose an extended stay.
Another bonus to single parents promotions is that you will be vacationing at the same time as other single parents. This helps build instant camaraderie with the other vacationers.
House swap
If you are willing to open your house to strangers, a house swap vacation may be a great option for you and your kids. In a house swap, you stay in someone’s house when they stay in yours. This is a nice solution when you have kids with you because you have access to a full kitchen. Also, if you find the right house, everyone can have their own bed and you can score your own bathroom.
While this option does mean opening your house to a stranger, it cuts out the lodging costs from your vacation. This enables you to allocate more funds toward fun activities and excursions for your kids. It may even make it possible for you to bring a babysitter with you on your vacation to help with the kids.
Contact the Chamber of Commerce
Virtually every town has a Chamber of Commerce office. These organizations are available to help you plan your trip. Contact them in advance for family friendly travel tips and recommendations. They may also be able to help you locate deals and discounts for the area.
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A reader had a question about how to deal with her single mom dating frustrations. She wanted to know how to find a great guy who is not needy and expecting her to do all the emotional and financial work.
She also wanted to know how to find a man who is strong, professional, and not looking for a needy woman (which she is the complete opposite of). She’s tried online dating but that doesn’t work and she wants a different kind of man but keeps attracting the same kind as the one she dumped.
This lady has several things going on in her head and her emotions are very high. I can understand her dilemma and hopefully I can offer some insight to at least give her hope and peace.
I want to start with this caveat. Everybody is looking for love and looking for relief from the loneliness they feel. It is universal and deeply heartfelt. As humans we can’t get around this because we are all born with a hole in our soul that yearns to be filled with love.
First – Decide What You Want Out of Life and Single Mom Dating
Having said that, I want to encourage this woman to take a deep breath and really think about what she wants. She might use the time after her child is asleep to list all the good things she wants out of life. She will benefit from imagining her desires by closing her eyes and seeing those good things happening to her. This visualization is key to getting what you want out of life.
If she wants a strong, professional man she should imagine herself with that kind of man. Sometimes we focus so much on what we don’t want we end up attracting those things into our lives, over and over again. She mentioned that she keeps running into and attracting the same kind of man.
Second – Be the Kind of Person You Want to Attract
The next step is to look into her own life and heart and see if she is the kind of person she wants to attract. We are like mirrors and magnets. We see in others what we see in ourselves and we attract to ourselves, just like a magnet, the kind of people we really are on the inside.
Despite her saying she didn’t want a needy man, she is portraying neediness in desperately wanting to date, find a good man, and hold on to her strong, professional mask. Yes I said mask, because this is what she is hiding behind.
Remember I said that every person longs for love and has a space in their soul that needs to be filled? Often we hide behind one or several layers of masks to avoid being hurt or because we want to appear a certain way. This mask protects us, we think; but in reality it imprisons us and keeps us from the very thing we want. Love.
Looking deep within and seeing her character and personality is much more important than feeling strong and wearing the “I’m a professional” badge. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter if you cannot connect to others on an intimate level.
Forth – Look Deeper Into Your True Needs
I’ve gone a bit deep, I know, but the issues are deeper than they look on the surface. This woman thinks she wants a man who is different from what she’s dated, but what she probably really wants is deep connections with others, period.
She cannot attract the kind of man she wants until she is content with who she is as a person and gives up the search. She is not ready to receive the gift of a great relationship because she hasn’t accepted the gift of her own beautiful soul.
Fifth – Start Living Life and Open Your Heart
What if she looked around and started befriending people who need her love and support.
What if she took her daughter to volunteer once a month at her favorite charity?
What if she signed up for a sports league in her neighborhood?
What if she offered her professional services to the local networking group?
In each one of these scenarios she could meet the man of her dreams. When she is open and receptive because she is opening her heart to causes, the right man will come into her life.
Sixth – Focus on What You Want (Not What You Don’t Want)
As a whole, single moms are probably worn out because they have to do it all. I know I am, but I’m learning to take care of myself and giving myself a break. I am focusing on what I want and not on what I don’t want; and guess what? I am getting more of what I want out of life.
This ability to focus does not happen overnight. We do not wake up one day and discover our lives have done a complete 180 degree turn. We usually begin to notice our frustrations and pain in life then begin to seek answers. In our search we may find the problem we thought we had is very different than the one we actually have.
So the woman who is frustrated about the lack of date-able men and wants to find the perfect man may soon find her problems could disappear if she will only look a little deeper and refocus her problems.
Opening her heart to new opportunities in the areas of giving loving support, volunteering once a month, playing in the neighborhood sports league, or networking to share her professional skills will open the door to quality, date-able men.
Are you still reeling or healing from a toxic relationship? My book, No More Crumbs, can help you build up your resistance to future bad relationships. You deserve to be in a healthy relationship. To do that you have to be healthy and know how to spot unhealthy men who will take you down a screaming roller coaster ride of terror. Pick up a copy of the book and begin healing your life.
Single Mom Dating Frustrations: 6 Steps to Getting Your Heart and Mind Ready for Love
Emotional pain is built into the fabric of life. It shows up in multiple forms: anxiety, loneliness, feeling rejected, overwhelmed by the stresses of life and the list goes on. In the midst of these challenging experiences, we naturally look for ways to change the way we’re feeling—to alleviate the pain.
If we don’t have healthy ways of coping with emotional distress, we’re susceptible to relying on things like food, alcohol, shopping and Internet surfing to get the soothing and relief we seek.
To protect your wellbeing, it’s important to be equipped with tools and a game plan to address the challenging emotional experiences that show up in life.
Here are 6 steps to diffusing intense emotional symptoms:
Step 1: Take a deep breath, relax your muscles, and feel your feet on the ground.
Step 2: Remind yourself that thoughts and feelings come and go like a weather pattern passing through; I won’t always feel this way.
Step 3: Instead of fighting what you’re feeling, move into emotional acceptance, allowing the painful feeling to breathe. Say to yourself, I can live with this feeling right now.
Step 4: Describe out-loud or on paper what you’re feeling and the thoughts you’re having, almost as if you were taking on the role of an impartial commentator. Label the emotions and describe where and how you feel them in your body.
Step 5: Engage in a five-minute grounding exercise. First, listen to all the sounds in your environment intently for 1 to 2 minutes. Then pick out a visual anchor in your environment, something pleasing to the eye, such as a painting or picture, and study it visually for a couple of minutes. Next notice how your body feels on the cushion or chair or run your hand under warm water noticing the sensations (1 to 2 minutes). Lastly, grab a spice or something that has a pleasing aroma and engage your olfactory sense. Study the smell for a minute or so. This process of grounding is highly effective in both bringing awareness into the present moment, which is incompatible with internal spinning, and decreasing emotional intensity.
Step 6: Engage in meaningful action. Instead of turning inward and focusing on how you’re feeling, place your attention and concern on someone else. Engage in an act of kindness or if you pray, pray for someone you know is struggling. Take some action that reflects the best part of who you are.
Next time you find yourself emotionally overwhelmed or in a painful feeling state, implement the 6 steps you just reviewed. Especially with time and practice, you will notice that this approach reduces the power and presence of emotional pain in your life. You can’t always avoid the emotional challenges that come your way but you can develop a set of responses that protect your wellbeing and keep you fully engaged and present with life. Give it a try!
If you watched Beyonce’s Homecoming documentary on Netflix, you know she spent 8-12 months working her body to the bone to get ready for her show at Coachella. I’m betting she got massages and other pampering services weekly, if not daily to soothe her aching muscles.
I’m also willing to bet she went on a spa retreat after the show to get some much needed “me” time to recover. She can do that since she is rolling in the cash, but what can a single mom with not much disposable income do when she needs to be pampered?
Getting a massage can easily cost $65 per hour per session. If you don’t have that kind of money to splurge it sucks when you just need your body cared for. But wait! There is good news! You can get pampered and treated like Beyonce’ but for far less. Stick with me and I’ll tell you all about it.
Years ago I learned about how to get luxury services for less for me and my family, mostly because of my mom. My mom went to cosmetology school when I was a teen and I learned about the discounted deeply discounted services including hair care, nail care, and facials.
The students were under the supervision of a licensed cosmetologist so their work was done carefully and meticulously. Granted it took a little longer but the results were good.
Much of the time we feel that because we have a limited amount of money we can’t (or won’t) pamper ourselves because. Despite the perceived limitations, there are ways to get luxury services at an affordable price.
There is more than one way to get what you need, whether it’s spa services whether is beautician services, whether it’s healthcare, car care, by simply visiting a training center.
You can go to a beauty school and receive deeply discounted hair care. This includes shampoo and set, blowouts, chemical treatments, or deep conditioning.
These services start at $5 or $6. Can you really can’t beat a $5 shampoo?. If you want to add a set, you can probably add five more dollars. If you want to get a color that might be $25.
Compare that to going to a regular beautician and paying $40 to $45 for a simple washing set or paying $100 to get your hair colored.
How do you find these services? You can search online for a list of beauty schools in your area. It’s that simple.
Manicures, pedicures, and gel nails are a pampering ritual many women practice weekly, monthly, or on special occasions. We love getting our nails done because it makes us feel pretty and pampered.
My favorite nail treatment is the SNS nails because it lasts for weeks and looks brand new every day. You can go to the same beauty school like the one you went to get your hair done to get your nails done.
A basic manicure can be as low as $5, a pedicure for $5 or a mani-pedi spa treatment for around $20. All the services are completed under the supervision of a licensed cosmetologist so you don’t have to worry about damage or poor service.
The next thing is facials which are one of my favorite beauty treatments. When I get a facial it is like I’m in heaven because I’m getting my skin cleansed and massaged, my neck massaged and my scalp massaged.
When I go through that process is so relaxing, especially with the warm towels and wonderful fragrances. You can get your facial through an esthetician school or cosmetology school.
You can get a facial for $20 or $25 which is really inexpensive compared to going to a private company. You can also get your eyebrows while you are there if it is a service the esthetician offers.
Another place to go for us to get a luxury experience for an affordable rate is a massage therapy school.
My best friend went to massage therapy school and she said that they had their clinic open and they would actually work on patients. Clients came in and paid $20-25 for a one hour massage.
Now you surely can do that right so what it takes really again is doing the research to find out if there’s a massage school in your area. Call them up, make an appointment, and actually go get the work done at a deep discount. This is luxury for less.
I’m a big fan of all these little ways to get what you need. I think once you start doing the research you will find there’s a lot out there for you and you don’t have to break the bank in order to get the services.
I don’t know if you realize it or not but if you need health services you can go to a community or technical college to get checkups, dental care, and etc.
Programs that offer physician assistant, dental assistant or dental hygiene, even phlebotomy schools often have a clinic for students to practice.
Call the school or visit online to see if they have a clinic, hours of service, and number to call to make an appointment.
Then the next thing I want you to kind of tap into is dental services. So if you happen to have a dental school near you, you can go to their clinic and get dental work done for a deep discount.
It may be a dental hygiene school, a community college or technical schools with a dental program. You can go to the associated dental clinic to get teeth cleaning, teeth whitening, or even x-rays all at a deep discount.
You can pay a very low price and get quality service because these students are more than likely going to be advanced students. They will give you quality service because their grades depend on it.
They are under the supervision of a licensed and certified instructor who guides and checks the student’s work. Definitely check it out and make sure that you are tapping into these resources near you.
So far we’ve learned about beauty services, we’ve learned about luxury spa services like facials and massage and we’ve learned about health services.
The last thing I want to talk to you about are mechanics services. If you need a tune-up, spark plugs change, or a diagnostic test on your car because you don’t know what the problem is, you can go to a Technical College.
Find the school that has a program for auto mechanics or auto body service. Don’t be nervous about taking your car there because the instructors are licensed and certified mechanics and they know about the car and they can help you.
Go Ahead and Get Your Pampering On. You CAN Afford It!
Isn’t it exciting to know you can get all these typically expensive services for less? Now it is time to go try these different services out. Look for schools in your area. Search for the community colleges the technical colleges and find out if they have the services that you need.
There are lots of schools out there who provide massage therapy services, health care service, and car care service. It may cost you less than $50 to pamper yourself vs. $250. I’m sure you can find a way to spend $50 on yourself, right?
BONUS TIP
Another place to get health and beauty services and even car care service is Groupon or other group buying apps. I see massage, dental, and chiropractic care all the time on these sites.
You might be able to get gift cards from family or friend for your birthday, Christmas, or other gift-giving holidays. Sometimes all it takes is asking.
What services have you gotten from a school, a tradable or technical school, or any other school and pay rock bottom prices for?
Note from Samantha: I’m bringing this guest post because I was married to a narcissist. It was the most painful, confusing, and soul-sucking experience I’ve ever had. It feels impossible to get out with your sanity, but it is possible to breakup with a narcissist, recover, and feel a sense of normalcy again.
You’ve tried everything to fix your relationship. You started with marriage courses, tears, anger, and now you’re finally had enough. But getting over a breakup is a difficult thing to do, especially after dating someone with a narcissistic personality.
Many often-associate narcissism with Greek mythology. The myth states that Narcissus was a hunter and the son of the river god Cephissus. He was a handsome young man who many people fell in love with, only to be turned away and treated with contempt.
While out hunting, Narcissus caught sight of his reflection in a pool of water and fell in love with himself. When he realizes he will never be able to be with the reflection in the water, he takes his own life.
Based on this story, it is no surprise that a narcissist is characterized as someone who is self-loving, egotistical, and has an inflated idea of their own importance.
On top of this already difficult personality, narcissists also commonly lie, violate boundaries, become highly aggressive when criticized, use emotional invalidation, gaslighting, and other invalidations to get their way.
Trying to raise your children while being treated like second-banana by your spouse creates emotional baggage and unresolved feelings that can be difficult to get rid of. Here are 6 ways to start.
1. Focus on Self-Love
In the study Empathy in Narcissistic Personality Disorder: From Clinical and Empirical Perspectives, researchers found that “clinical presentations of NPD suggest that empathy is not simply deficient in these individuals, but dysfunctional and subject to a diverse set of motivational and situational factors.”
Simply put, narcissists lack genuine empathy for others unless it serves their own purpose.
Having a partner who lacks empathy, especially while you were trying to raise children together, is extremely frustrating. Your former spouse’s lack of seeing things from your perspective or having sympathy for you can leave you feeling unloved and unremarkable after the relationship is over.
Therefore, it’s important to focus on self-love both inside and out.
Remember your worth. A study published by Berkeley found that cultivating gratitude and developing self-compassion can help you through a difficult breakup.
Start feeding your body good food that’s nutritious. Exercise daily. And start building yourself up with positive self-talk.
2. Disassociate from your Ex
One of the biggest suggestions for getting over a breakup with a narcissist is to cut off all contact you have with them. This means blocking them on social media, deleting them out of your phone, and refusing to stalk them online/check their email/asks friends about them.
Your primary focus right now should be you and your children, not worrying about what your ex is up to.
Do not fight back if they try to engage with you. Keep a record of their bad behavior, in case a custody battle should ever occur, but do not respond to it.
If you still share custody of your children, then it’s important to maintain communication as parents, but only about matters regarding the children. Furthermore, you do not have to see or speak to your ex in person or be friends with them. All you have to do is keep each other updated about your little ones.
3. Have a Support System
It can be embarrassing to tell those close to you that you are no longer with your partner. You may feel guilty or ashamed. But there is no need for these negative emotions when it comes to your separation.
Utilize your support system. Call them to chat, vent, or to let them cheer you up. Make social outings a regular part of your week for both you and your kids. And don’t be afraid to call a friend when you’re feeling down. It will do you good not to shut people out.
4. Take Back Your Power
A narcissist can make you feel incredibly powerless in your own life. They feed off of manipulation and control. Don’t let that narcissist continue to rob you of your power or individuality after you’ve broken up.
Get back in the game. Take the control back in your life by:
Practicing acceptance. What happened to you was awful. You could spend night after night replaying the worst ways you were treated and cringing about your abusive, narcissistic spouse. But don’t. Allow yourself a mourning period and then accept what happened and make it your goal to move forward.
It is also important to be productive after your breakup. Your little ones will make this an easy task for you. However, many women also find it helpful to make to-do lists or take up bullet journaling. Not only is this a great way to schedule out your days and routines, but it can also give you physical proof of the hard work and accomplishments you’re making in your life.
5. Take a Marriage Course
Whether you’re looking to get back into the dating game or are trying to deepen your knowledge of healthy relationships, taking an online marriage course can help.
Online marriage courses can be done from the comfort of your own home – and they aren’t just for married people.
These courses can teach you great communication strategies, learning compassion, relationship building, and navigating financial challenges – all of which can do wonders for both your relationship with your children and any future romances you have.
6. Stop Judging Yourself
How you would react if your best friend had been the victim in a controlling, narcissistic relationship? Would you say such things as: “You were so stupid not to realize what was going on!” or “I can’t believe you let your kids live in that environment”? Hardly! You would be kind, loving, and supportive of your friend.
So, why are you treating yourself any different?
Be understanding and kind to yourself about your past relationship. Don’t berate yourself. Instead, focus on the future and promise yourself never to let something like this happen again.
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Author Bio:Rachael Pace is a relationship expert with years of experience in training and helping couples. She has helped countless individuals and organizations around the world, offering effective and efficient solutions for healthy and successful relationships. She is a featured writer for Marriage.com, a reliable resource to support healthy happy marriages.
We are told we need a budget to manage our money. You go online and find a single mom budget worksheet that gives you a headstart (I hope) for your income.
Even with a budget, you might still be feeling the crunch of more month at the end of your money.
I’ve heard many financial experts say you need to cut back and trim your spending to cure the money crunch. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always work. With the cost of living, inflation, and the rising cost of everything in general, the recommended cure hardly works.
I personally believe the cutting back, trimming, scrimping and saving creates a mental block to financial freedom. The solution I found that work for me, and will hopefully work for you, is to increase your income.
The million dollar question is HOW!!
If you are already working a job and are raising the kids, trying to juggle schedules, household tasks and all the things that go along with being a mom, employee, and community member; a second job feels overwhelming. But you are not making enough to cover all the bills and have a cushion. So what do you do?
Go Back to College or Get a Side Hustle?
You have two choices:
Option 1. Go back to school and get training for a higher paying career
Going back to college is a long game because if you are switching careers, going to college for the first time, or are undecided on your major you will spend a few years figuring it all out.
I went that route. I enrolled in college for Organizational Management then switched my major to English. I was also juggling parenting my two young kids, getting them to school and daycare, working, and doing homework.
It took me three years to increase my income going the back to college route. It was noble but it was a lot of time, a lot of money (can you say student loans), and an interesting climb up the career ladder.
Option 2. Get a side hustle
This option has opened up tremendously in the last 10 years. You can make extra money from your phone, without leaving your house, or going into debt.
The side hustle route has its problems and benefits. I personally think the benefits outweigh the problems if you set it up correctly.
Finding the right side gig that fits your lifestyle and financial goals is the first step. You may have to invest a few dollars to get started and/or market your business. Don’t let that discourage you. Let your main job finance your side gig.
A rule of thumb I like to follow is to stick with your side gig until you make $100. Then evaluate if it is the right fit for you before you move on.
Side Hustles Add to Your Budget
Adding to your budget is easier than the stress of taking away what you already don’t have. Deleting is harder when you have established a lifestyle. Sure you could cut the cable and opt for streaming services. You could make your own coffee instead of getting Starbucks. You could even buy off-brand foods at the grocery store. All of those tactics work but they make you feel poor which creates more poverty.
A side hustle or gig will help you add money to your bank account which will make you feel richer. This rich feeling will create a wealth mindset and allow more money into your life. Of course, you want to manage your money so you can give to charity, save for your goals, pay your bills on time, get affordable medical care, legal help, and have money left over for the fun things in life.
7 Side Hustles for Single Moms
Here are seven side gigs you can do that doesn’t take away from your hectic life or overwhelm you:
1. List your extra bedroom on Airbnb
If you have a spare bedroom you can list it on Airbnb and begin making extra money. There are a few steps you should take to prepare the room. Great pictures, description, and competitive rates will add at least $1000 to your budget. Here is a checklist to prepare your home for becoming an Airbnb host.
2. Write or edit articles
If you have a knack for words and love research, you can write articles for the websites and blogs online. Sign up at UpWork, Textbroker, or check out Problogger jobs. You can make good money as a freelance writer especially if you have a specialty. My specialty is personal finance and technical writing. Both of these niches pay well because of the complexity of the topics. If you have a specialty consider getting paid to write in that area. With the right company or enough gigs, you can easily make thousands a month which is not bad for the budget.
3. Rent out your car
If you have a nicer car and don’t’ really use it on the weekends you can rent it out to travelers coming to your city. Sites like Turo and GetAround allows you to list your car and set your rates. Use the Carculator to see how much your car could rent for and see the monthly amount you could add to your budget.
4. Social Media Management
Your social media habit could pay you handsomely. But your talents to work for a small business, realtor, or local celebrity. With all the social media scheduling tools on the market, you could plan and upload images for posts for future dates. If you think this is something you want to explore check out this social media management course to get trained. I’ve heard of social media manager making $1500 monthly. One lucky lady makes $10,000 a month. Just think about how that much money would add nicely to your budget.
5. Create and sell digital products on Etsy
Use your creativity, productivity skills, or organizational skills to develop cheat sheets, checklists, and templates people can download and print. Sell those digital products on Etsy, PayHip, Selz, or Gumroad. Create your products once and sell them over and over again. It is a no-brainer. Sell hundreds or thousands of digital products without even having to set up a website. Your $10 product sold 100 time is $1000 and you didn’t have to break a sweat. Sounds like a stress-less way to stretch your budget!
6. Fiverr Gig
You can use your office skills, design skills, or imagination to create a gig on Fiverr. Head over and take a look at all the gigs people pay for. Create graphics, edit articles, transcribe videos, or turn pdf files into Word documents. The possibilities are endless. Typically each gig is $5 which doesn’t seem like much but when you think in terms of the number of minutes, pages, or other increments, the $5 can add up. You can also offer service tiers and charge more per tier. When you do more gigs you get more money and that’s amazing for your budget build up plan.
7. Teach an online class
Is there something people say you are amazing at? Do you get asked to cook, design, organize, or plan? That is your clue to create a class and get paid to teach. You don’t have to teach to a live audience every week but you record yourself teaching on video. Upload the video to SkillShare or Udemy and get paid when people watch your course. You can also put the course on Thinkific, Teachable, or other learning platform and price it any way you want.
Now you can see how easy it is to start a side gig and make extra money. You can add to your budget without being overwhelmed with going to a second job. What other side gigs can you think of where you can make good money without sacrificing time with your kids or energy for yourself?
Bonus: More Side Hustles for Single Moms
This list will grow so keep checking back to see what’s new!
8. Become a Notary Public and Make Extra Money
In my early career, I worked in the county Probate judges office. The head clerk was a Notary Public who regularly witnessed signatures on important papers. You have probably had to get paperwork notarized so you know what they do on a basic level. Well, guess what? You can become a notary too and start making extra money. You don’t need an office either. You can be a mobile notary who goes to clients at their home or meets them in public. What you charge depends on the type of paperwork and the volume. Get more information from the National Notary Association. You will have to find out how to become a notary from your county courthouse. They usually have the information online. You apply, submit your paperwork, get sworn in, then get your seal. Simple as that.
7 Side Hustles for Single Moms to Stretch Your Budget without Overwhelming Your Life
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...
