A Complete Guide for Single Moms: Everything You Need to Know about Raising Healthy, Happy Children On Your Own by Janis Adams

Author:Janis Adams
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: single mom, mother, pregnancy, support, child care, new baby, school, care, dating, financial matters, raise
Publisher: Atlantic Publishing
Published: 2012-05-07T00:00:00+00:00

Take Stock

The first step in putting your financial affairs in order is to have a clear idea of what your financial standing is. Take stock of your financial standing by determining how much money you have in the bank, and then take an account of what your monthly finances entail. To do this, you will need to take note of how much money you earn monthly, what amount you spend on expenses, and how much money you are saving. These amounts need to be accurate because the more that you guess and estimate on amounts, the less you will know about your financial standing.

Look at your monthly income — your take-home pay or spousal support check — and tabulate the exact amount you have as income. Then, calculate the amount of money you have currently residing in investments. For example, if you have a life insurance policy, include this within the amount of money you are adding up. After this, list your debts and monthly expenditures.

Make three separate calculations: one for income, one for expenses, and a third for ongoing debt. These are for your own personal use, so be honest with yourself. As you tabulate, when in doubt tend to underestimate monthly income and do not inflate your income, as this may leave you at a deficit each month. When you are counting up expenses, lean toward the most amount of money you will spend monthly, not the least. The third column, which is the one where you are tallying your current debt, will be addressed further along in this chapter.

Once you are aware of what your expenses really are, you will have the ability to make accommodations and to trim expenses that will help you save money. Managing your finances is an essential skill that can be learned.

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