How Single Moms Can Stave Off Mental Illness

Being a single mom can be difficult. ReadersDigest is looking out for you and has some helpful advice in this article!

A recent study based on the Canadian Community Health Survey by Dr. John Cairney, associate professor of family medicine at McMaster University, revealed that the rate of mental illness (such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder) for single mothers was three times higher than that for married mothers.

This group’s higher rates of mental illness aren’t necessarily the result of being single. (Single mothers are, after all, a diverse group encompassing teens, divorced or never-married women and single professionals, so experiences vary.) Rather, the increased rates are a result of specific factors, including economic hardship, caregiver stress and lack of community support. But help is often available to manage or mitigate these issues.

Games and Shows Teaching Kids About Money

Here is a really helpful article from TVO Parents giving some advice on educational shows to help children understand the concepts of money at a young age.

All TVOKids shows and game are based upon Ontario elementary school curriculum, making it your one-stop-shop for digital tools to support your child’s learning. Be sure to check out the hundreds of shows, games and apps TVOKids has to help you help your child succeed in school and in life.

• Carney The Coin Counting Cat Your kids can learn their coins and practice counting with this TVOKids show aimed at preschoolers.
• Tumbleweed Shops School-aged kids can learn about how far money goes watching Tumbleweed go on a shopping spree.
• Learning Decimals Teacher Troy teaches kids all about decimals in money numbers in this video lesson.
• Learn to Count This online game helps kids learn how to count up coins while having fun at the same time.
• Tumbletown Mathletics Your child can test his or her skills for math and fractions by playing Tumbletown Mathletics online.
• Coin Spot Game This online game teaches kids to recognize Canadian coins, after they’ve had to fun of searching for them hidden in a room!

Source: http://tvoparents.tvo.org/article/games-and-shows-teaching-kids-about-money

Top 10 Personal Finance Tips for Single Parents

 

Being a single parent isn’t easy, but it can be easier. Lifehack.org provides a great article with tips to improve your financial situation.

The economy always works in cycles, and with these cycles our perceptions about money, how we should deal with it, and what our responsibilities are towards accurately informing our children about it also change.

A March 2012 survey suggests that more parents are talking with their kids regarding money. Parents are discussing with children what they need to understand about it in order to make more informed choices on money matters as they grow older.

The current generation of students, or those who are in the initial years of their careers, are deep in student debt. I believe that one can avoid student debt if parents play their finances a bit more safely and carefully craft the financial future of their kids. Parents, though, can sometimes be poor role models when it comes to managing money and teaching the same to their kids. However, even if you are a single parent with limited means, it is still possible to take stock of things and enforce good financial discipline to achieve a secure financial future for your whole family.

Four Ways to Make Saving for Retirement Easier

Planning for retirement is never easy. Thankfully, the good people at the Globe And Mail did this handy piece on 4 ways to make retirement easier.

If there’s one thing to know about planning your retirement savings this year it’s this: it’s not getting any easier.

Apparently that’s what a growing majority of Canadians think. New surveys from both the Bank of Nova Scotia and Bank of Montreal show that a dwindling percentage of people plan to put anything at all this year into their Registered Retirement Savings Plans.

With RRSP investment season now under way and the March 3 deadline looming for 2013 tax filing and to get potential refunds, the Scotiabank survey finds that just 31 per cent of Canadians plan to contribute this year, compared with 39 per cent last year. BMO’s survey found that 43 per cent plan to contribute, but this, too, is down from 50 per cent in 2013.

Free Budget Calculator for Single Parents

About.com made up a really handy budget calculator that can help you single parents out there. Give it a try!

CLICK HERE!

Teens and a Budget: Is There Such a Thing?

Not only are young children expensive, but holy crap those teens can cost you too! I never realized how expensive I was back in the day, but now that I am aware I found this for you parents out there. Keep that wallet lined, my friends and thank Tamara Wilson from Mommyland.

If you have teenagers, then you know how expensive they are. The old saying that small children need small things and big children need bigger things certainly is true. But, can you successfully set a budget with your teenagers? Of course, you can. It may not be easy, at first, but it is certainly doable. There are a few tips and tricks to setting and keeping a budget when you have teenagers.

It’s All about Communication

If you are determined to set a budget and stick with it, be sure to include your teens in the conversation. Implementing a budget and not letting them in on it, is like pulling the proverbial rug out from underneath them. You cannot expect good results if everyone is not on the same page.

Start out by letting your teens know that you are implementing a budget. Sit down with them and your spreadsheets if necessary and show them what the bills of the house look like. If you do not feel comfortable showing them what the monetary intake of the household is, that is just fine.

Be certain to let them know how much money you need to make up at the end of the month and what your thoughts are as to what needs to be cut. Sit down and have a round-table discussion, letting everyone know you will have a meeting to discuss the budget.