ferrousland.com - news archives
Monday, November 13, 2006 - (see all news for this day)
short this week - 02:24 PM
(filed under 'single mumming')
hmm. new category, do you see? i'll repeat here what i wrote in the category description:
"i was initially resisting having a category which would be about me being a single mum, but i think that maybe one day in the future i'd like to look back & read all about it, so here it is."
so my first entry in this new category is about being short of money this week. i'm not loking for sympathy or help, i'm just recording my feelings & thoughts for posterity & for my own benefit.
i'm lucky enough to live in a country where the government supports a stay-at-home-mum. i certainly can't complain about the amount of money i'm getting, but while shroom is unemployed & not able to pay child support, i can feel the difference. mind you, now that csa (child support agency) know of his situation, hopefully they'll increase my payments a bit.
it's my own fault, really. i suppose i hadn't really thought ahead enough to realise that i'd not have a lot spare this week. you see, on a two weekly cycle, one week i get a bigger 'pay' than the next week. that's because one payment is the family tax benefit & the other is single parenting payment & some other thing of which i can't quite recall the name.
if i'd thought properly about it last week, when i got the cash back for my returned weather shield things for the car, i would have kept some for this week. oh well, i would also have missed out on getting the house set up well & would be very frustratated this week at not being able to do things properly & having stuff everywhere .. as well as being poor.
i have enough for groceries & petrol (as long as i don't make any long trips anywhere), but only because i reduced the loan repayments to my mum & audrey. fortunately, they're family & they love me anyway, especially if i let them know rather than just not paying them as much.
i'm not whinging or complaining. i'm just stating facts so that i'll remember this for next time & be more prepared. lol!! 
being a single mum is hard at first but once you get into the swing of things it does get easier :o)
starting a new budget scheme can be rough. i am trying to figure out mine as well. keep pencil, paper and calculator handy. you'll get a routine for expenditures down quick enough.
use your head, positive in the way
think twice before you make a dissision, and the important bills first
you can manage it, Corrie
does this mean you want 20 dollars hidden in the mens undies im sending you for xmas
Isn't it amazing how quickly family life reduces itself to survival, money? I'm with ya Corrie, we'll figure it all out together. Just imagine 3 children, in a country where the government doesn't take care of single mums. You find yourself reliant on the very person you can no longer rely on! Argh!
some text ads:
Mortgage Calculator - Mortgages - Guitar Books - Credit Card Consolidation
ferrous
gmail
com
we get our pay all coming in the same week now so it does mean that just before pay time we are running low often but i found that it helped to make a list of expenses and assign funds for each from one of the various sources of income we have. it might be harder for you since you won't know what your approximate normal bills for things like phone and electricity are for a while. and since both of those now come quarterly, i worked out what they equate to fortnightly and have an automatic transfer for that amount each fornight after our pay goes in, to a special "bills" account. so that way it's not a huge bill shock every few months and i've been 'paying' it as i go and i know the money will be there ready. the regular transfer even includes amounts for things like the car registration and car insurance which we pay annually but having put the fortnightly equivalent aside each time they are so much less scary when they do show up.