Practical eBooks for Money, Relationships, Parenting and Well-Being

Sarah stared at her bank statement for the third time that morning, trying to figure out where her money had gone. She knew she made $3,200 a month after taxes, but somehow, by the 20th of each month, her account was nearly empty. Sound familiar? If you’re nodding your head, you’re not alone. Most people, including many single mothers, live in what I call “financial fog”—they know money comes in and goes out, but they’re not entirely sure where it’s going or why it disappears so quickly.

Jessica had tried budgeting before. She’d downloaded apps, created elaborate spreadsheets, and even bought a fancy budgeting planner. But every budget she created seemed to fall apart within a few weeks. The problem wasn’t that Jessica lacked discipline or didn’t care about her finances—the problem was that her budgets weren’t realistic for her life as a single mother of two young children.

Sound familiar? If you’ve tried budgeting before and felt like you were constantly failing, you’re not alone. Most budgeting advice is created for people with predictable schedules, stable incomes, and the luxury of time to plan and track every expense. As a single mother, your life is anything but predictable, and your budget needs to reflect that reality.