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Budgeting Tips for Single Parents
Raising a child doesn’t come cheap. According to CNN, raising a child from birth until their eighteenth birthday can cost as much as $233,610. While astounding on its own, this number doesn’t even include the cost of college or the cost of adult children who choose to live with their parents well into their 20s or 30s. The financial burden can be challenging for a nuclear family with two parents. When it comes to a single parent, these challenges can be unbearable without the essential addition of child support to their income.
Of course, a household budget that prevents overspending is a wise financial decision, but no amount of budgeting will offset the cost of raising a child if there simply isn’t enough money to go around. If you’re finding it hard to care for your child, ask yourself the following questions:
- Are you fully supporting your child while your ex isn’t? Do they always have an excuse at the ready when they don’t share the cost of raising your child?
- Does the other parent want to be the fun one when they take the kid out on weekends but tells you they aren’t obligated to help make necessary household purchases?
- Do you know where you ex is and are you able to contact them in a financial emergency?
If you answer ‘no’ to the majority of these question, you know the issue isn’t with your budget but with the Non-Custodial Parent (NCP). Refusing to pay child support is unacceptable. If you’re tired of hearing excuse after excuse, it’s time to consider getting help from a child support enforcement agency.
You might think that going through the courts is your only answer, but that’s where you’re wrong. Public, state-funded agencies are often overwhelmed with cases and they don’t have the resources to devote the appropriate time on difficult cases. A private enforcement company can complement the work of the courts and get you what you’re owed faster.
By virtue of being private, this means you will have to pay their team. When money is already tight, paying for these services can be difficult, but a reliable agency will cater their assistance to your budget. Keep an eye out for those licensed and bonded members of the Child Support Enforcement Council, as this ensures you’ll have a contract without any hidden or unnecessary fees. This membership is just one of the many
