Single Mom Live off $10 an hour?

[jacquelynrose]

Ok I am working towards a Goal to buy a Car and then later getting an Apartment.
Is it possible to live off $10.00 an hour between my daughter and myself?

I have been contemplating this because I feel I am now moving forward with my goal and if you add up all the expenses how will We ever survive?

I cannot live at home forever nor do I want to. Right now I am working towards making a budget and setting monies aside for a Car.

Any advice would be Greatly Appreciated.

Thanks,
Jacquelyn

[kashi]

I think it is possible, but you will have to be very frugal. have you researched the cost of necessities in your area?

how much would rent be? say, for a small one bedroom, assuming that is what you would move into?

the cost of groceries per month
electricity
laundry
diapers and other child stuff, depending on how old your daughter is
groceries
gasoline, if you will be driving
car insurance, if you will be driving
car maintenance (oil changes at the least)
telephone
medical insurance? dental insurance? is this offered by the job?
any prescriptions/medications you or your daughter may need
toiletries, household cleaners, etc
any loans you have to make monthly payments on
little things like occassional clothing purchases...postage stamps...etc.

will you need to pay for daycare for your daughter?

will you have help furnishing your apartment? or will you need to buy pots and pans, dishes, furniture? you could get a lot of that cheaply or free from thrift stores, yard sales, or friends.

make sure you calculate the taxes that will be taken out of your check...here in MN it is about 23%, but it varies greatly from place to place.

if you would like help with your budget, feel free to post it! there are also a lot of great books on being frugal, cooking frugally, living frugally...check out your local library for those. they may really help you decide if you can pull it off.

[Momof3grls]

Yes its possible I was a single mom with 1 daughter from the time I was 18 to 24 & I started out at 18 making $6.50 an hour & when I was 24 thats when I married my husband & became a sahm anyways at the time I was finally making a little over $10 an hour.

And that was just 4 years ago.

When I first moved out of my moms house I bought a trailer it was cheaper than renting. I got free water & cable & utilites were cheap & it was a nice trailer. Later on I saved enough to buy a house. I always bought used cars very cheap!


Another thing I would do is use your tax refund if you get like EIC & all that stuff & use that money to buy a car or maybe a mobile home for you & your daughter. I never moved back home either since I owned my own place & thats one thing I would never want to do LOL so I did whatever it took so I wouldnt have too I love my mom dearly but couldnt live with her again!

[MrsChambers]

GO APPLY FOR A JOB AT COSTCO... they START at 10 and hour. Make that 90 day probation period and you are GOLDEN. regular pay raises... you will "top out" on your pay in about 3 years and you will top out over 20 bucks an hour... then, you also get bonus' the first "tier" of bonus' is 2,000 twice a year.. I think that you top out on your bonus' at like 5,000 twice a year. If you have bad credit, after a year of employment- costco will give you a $500 line of credit (reguardless of your credit profile)
and once you make it past that 90 day probation period and they hire you on.. it practicly takes on act of congress to get you fired.
and Costco LOVES to hire single moms and people that are low(er) income...

GO FIND A COSTCO AND APPLY!

[Tree0164]

Jacquelyn
It really depends on your expenses and cost of living.

Do you have child care cost? What is your rent?

[jacquelynrose]

Thank you all for the replies.

I am definitly going to have to apply for more assistance and buy in bulk. I am also thinking I should sell on eBay again or get a part-time job from home.

Thank you all again,
Jacquelyn

[loveofpets]

Jacqueline: Another thing that both you and yuor daughter can do together is use coupons and rebates. I'm single (not a mom), and have been couponing and rebating for years. I've a stockpile of shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, dishwashing detergent, dishwasher detergent, and laundry supplies which I've gotten for free or for pennies using coupons and rebates. If you want to know more, email me and I'd be happy to answer any questions you have!

Regards
Kris

[amomof4]

My daughter moved out making $400 a month. Her apartment was $300 which included all utilities. Her food was subsidized by her employer--she worked at KFC. Of course this was 15 years ago, so you would have to adjust for inflation.

When I first moved out, I made $1.65 an hour plus about $5 in tips. I supported a family of 3 on this. My ex stayed home & babysat. But times were different then. I think the cost of living was cheaper then. We also didn't have cable, cell phones, enternet, microwaves, etc. They didn't exist, so we could live cheaper.

However, Dr. Laura says it is best for your child if you lived at home. I suppose it would depend on your relationship with your parents.

I would think that if you had to pay for day care, you would not be able to make it on your own. But do your research. Once you get a car, you will have additional costs of insurance, maintenance, and gas. Find out what apartments rent for & the cost of utilitities. If you do find a place, you can call the utility company to find out what the average charges were for that apartment. Realize that you are probably going to have to do without a phone & tv. When my daughter moved out, her computer days were over because she couldn't afford a computer much less the cost of the internet. I would also call your insurance agent to find out which cities have the lowest rates.

[seaar2000]

I make $9.00 per hour and have two girls. Yes, you can do it BUT you must be very frugal. Must determine what you get or buy if it's a need or a want. I shop at thrift stores, keep heat low, go grocery shopping at discount grocery stores, when look at grocery ads for meats I compare who has to lowest for that week than buy in bulk, pay myself first I don't care if you only save $5.00 out of each check it's a start, buy only used cars, furniture, and any expensive items. Why buy something brand new when you can get it second hand. Let someone else pay the full price. I get most of my furniture from estates sales. Do things for free with your daughter. Picnics, bike rides, walks, if you have a family that lives far from you vacation there and you won't have to pay for any hotel costs. Of course you would offer to buy some food or make supper for them for staying their free. Use what you have or go without. Let others know that you are looking for a certain item that you may need. Alot of times they have what you need and will give it to you for a lot less than you going out to buy it or they may give it to you free. Go to the library for your reading material. If they don't have what you want they will put it on hold for you. Stay out of malls. I give my girls an allowance of $10 every two weeks. If they want to buy something that I don't think is a necessity they have to save their allowance to get what they want. Also, if what you want is not at least 50 to 75% off don't buy it. Use coupons for what you normally use. See if they have a freecycle in your area. I don't do this but some people grow their own food. Hang dry your clothes. Wear your clothes more than once if they are not dirty. You may want to get a second part time job to help you out at times. Housekeeping, taking care of the neighbors house while they are gone, taking care of elderly patients. I do housekeeping on the side. The nice one thing is that the extra jobs I do take on helps with some of my bills and correlate with the girls being in school so it doesn't affect me being away from them. Where I work I am very luck that I don't have to pay a dime for my medical expenses as long as I use their doctors. I was using one of their doctors anyways. Also, the girls are on my insurance for free. Whatever their dad's insurance doesn't pay mine does. Do you get child support. I hope so. Also, even though the girls dad and I are no longer together he does help the girls if they have extra activities at school he does pay for that. I guess I am lucky that their dad is involved with their life and it does help. Also, cook by scratch. I know I'm kind of rambling but I want to let you know that I have confidence (sp) that you can live off of $10, but you must be very careful how you spend your money. Good luck!

[jmjj215]

I just want to say kudos for all the people who posted how they made it in pretty trying circumstances.

Take all of this frugal advice and live it - then try and find ways to improve your income long term.