Money Saving Tips for Single Moms - Our Best Hacks • Singlemothers.us

Last Updated on January 15, 2024 by Lori Pace

Is it possible to save money in these unprecedented times? We think so. Therefore, we decided to base this article on our favorite money-saving tips to help single moms get by.

However, we know single moms are bombarded with advice on parenting, child care, how to get a date, how to study and get work, and most importantly, how to save money. Whew! It’s all a bit exhausting when you raise children on your own, feed your family, and pay grudge bills. So let’s give you a break with some handy tips. Before we start, let’s explore the problem we are trying to solve.

What is a grudge bill?

A grudge bill is the kind of bill that you know you have to pay, but you resent actually paying it. Almost everything that does not involve food, fun, and entertainment can fall into this category!

In this article, we will provide you with 10 great money-saving tips for single moms, which will help you spend less on grudge bills and save more so that you can use your money on things that make you happy.

Examples of Grudge Bills:

Energy Bills

Heat
Electricity
Gas

Water Bills

Drinking
Washing

Cleaning

Food Bills: (Not always a grudge bill: ice cream anyone?)

Basics

Treats

Housing Bills

Rent

Bond

Transport Bills

Public

Petrol and mileage for the car

Connectivity Bills

Cellphone

Home phone
Broadband internet

Healthcare Bills

Medicine
Doctors visits
Child care

Take a deep breath and try not to be overwhelmed. Help for single mothers to save money is at hand.

10 Best Money-Saving Tips For Single Moms

Consume Less

I am a great believer in visualization. Start creating scenarios in your head where you can see yourself saving a little bit every day and slowly building a nest egg that you can spend on anything you desire. Using less begins with being honest about how much you actually use. It’s the most radical money-saving tip a single mom can use. It’s like when you go to a dietician, and she shows you the portion sizes you should be eating when you always thought that your portions were great. (Read: triple!)

Please don’t feel guilty; we all consume too much and save too little. Since the 1950’s we have become a highly consumerist culture. Let’s really think about all that consumption and re-program our needs so that we not only consume less but save our beautiful planet from being swamped by our waste products.

Practice Energy-Efficiency

Buy energy-efficient electrical appliances
Switch lights off
Replace bulbs with LED

Install smart power strips
Monitor the thermostat on your geyser: it may be too high
Caulk and weatherstrip your windows

Unplug unused electrical appliances

Water is Precious

Take shorter showers
Use greywater to water your garden

Leaking taps are a no-no
Don’t leave taps running while you brush your teeth
Save water in JoJo tanks.

Divert rainwater into your veggie garden
Report burst pipes to the authorities immediately
Maintain water pipes and replace them where required

Use energy-efficient showerheads and kitchen tap nozzles.
Invest in water-wise plants

Money-Saving Apps

The internet has many gifts. You don’t have to buy them all, but there might be a few you want to download. There are some incredible money-saving applications out there.

For cashback, why not try: Ibotta, Drop, Rakuten, Shopkick, and Paribus.

For creative saving, try Long Game or Digit.

Zero Waste

Adopt a zero-waste lifestyle

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Ditch plastics for good.
Start with carrying your water in a glass bottle and NEVER repurchasing another plastic bottle.

Bring your own non-plastic grocery bags to the store
Make beeswax and cloth food covers so you can ditch the cling-wrap
Use a steel straw and refuse plastic drinking straws

Look After Yourself

If you are not ok, no one around you will be ok. Your health is your most precious resource. If you don’t look after it, it will cost you money. Do not let financial worries and stress cause you to get ill or depressed. If you need to lose weight, do it. If you need an added money-saving incentive, check out Healthy Wage, which actually pays you to lose pounds! Here are some other ways to keep yourself healthy and save money!

Exercise: This is a no-brainer.
Drink water: I know you are bored with hearing this, but seriously most people are dehydrated because they don’t drink enough water.

Try to worry less: Easier said than done, but it should be the first thing you read in your diary every morning. “Don’t stress; everything is going to be okay,” highlighted with a pastel pink highlighter!
Meditate: This takes some practice and helps your health and well-being.
Find your bliss, find your mojo, find what makes you smile and what energizes you, and do that at least once a day.

Avoid Impulse Buying

Impulse buying is the automatic action of buying something on a whim, whether you need it or not. This is super dangerous to your monthly budget. We have all been in a situation where we are hungry in the grocery store and buy a chocolate or bag of crisps when we could have saved money by not shopping on an empty stomach. It is important to realize that most of the things you want, you don’t actually need.

Plan your shopping trips: frequent trips waste money and petrol
Writing shopping lists and sticking to them help save money.

Control the kids when they ask for treats at the shopping mall.
Eat a snack before you hit the grocery store

Cook at Home

Ok, so the jury is out on this one. Some of my friends say that eating healthy food that you prepare yourself is more expensive than eating out. I think it is a question of balance. Eat out as a treat and mainly cook at home. My mom taught me the German tradition of “voorkochen,” which means cooking in advance in bulk and freezing. This has always worked for me and saves me a lot of money. It is one of the easiest and most useful money-saving tips.

Eating out is ultimately super expensive.
Impress the family with your culinary skills and creative flair.
When cooking at home, use the microwave rather than the oven

Be Laundry-Savvy

Run full loads of laundry to save water and energy.
Use cold water when washing clothes: hot water is really unnecessary to clean clothes thoroughly.
Hang clothes out in the sun instead of using the tumble drier.

If you must tumble dry your kid’s clothes in an emergency, use dryer balls.

Create a Money Jar

Oprah loves it, and it really works!
Put all your coins in a jar in your kitchen. The coins won’t clog up your purse, and you won’t use those coins to spend on unnecessary things.

Watch and wait: that money jar will fill up!

Finally, we truly hope this article will help you manage your finances better. If you’re looking for some more advice, take a look at our loans for single moms or budgeting tips article for more information.