Financial Help for Single Mothers: Learning the Ropes

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Financial Help for Single Mothers: Learning the Ropes

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There are differences in allowances and benefits given to them and apparently, they also have complaints due to insufficiency. But they are quite fortunate that the government recognizes their need. In some countries like Singapore, they have stricter rules and single parents get less support from the government.

It spells discouragement for single Singaporean mothers but it is something that they have to face. In the US, President Obama has allowed loan modification for their program “Making Home Affordable” to avoid foreclosure for those who have fallen behind in their mortgage payments.

Studies show that there are more single moms than single dads. Both are in need of single parent benefits but their situations usually vary. More often than not, single mothers cannot get a job that generates high compensation due to lack of education.

They also often work for a few hours so that they will have enough time to take care of their young ones. Others who have more children are not able to work at all due to the demands of time.

But whatever the situations are, whether they are planning to go to college, currently working part-time, or they are not working at all, it all boils down to one thing: they all need money.

Financial help for single mothers are being provided by most rich countries. In Japan, US, United Kingdom, Germany and Australia, single mothers are given financial support.

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Illegitimate children do not get any help because they are born out of wedlock. As a result, single parents are not entitled to any financial support.

The only way for them to get assistance is by legally adopting their own children and by paying for a huge amount to do so. Their belief that women should be married is something that they take seriously and it is hard to question something that is based on one’s faith.

Divorced parents with mortgage payment that is more than 1/3 of the monthly gross income are actually eligible for this modification.

The same goes for those who have suddenly lost their jobs or have suffered from medical illness causing them their payments to be delayed. This is a very big help for single parents who are doing their best to provide a home for their families but due to certain unavoidable circumstances, they are reduced to near-poverty situation.

If there is something that can be very useful for single mothers, it is knowing how to budget money effectively. Seeking advice from a financial coach or specialist can lead them towards a positive direction in managing their finances.

While most people do not see the importance of this, there is actually a connection between one’s knowledge in handling money and one’s incapacity to pay debts.

With all the single mothers’ busy schedule, they need to be educated financially to ensure that they are on the right direction and to ensure that they are indeed providing enough for the family.

Keeping track of the monthly household expenses as compared to one’s current income is a good way to start.

Through this, a parent will be able to know if she really needs to work more hours or find other sources of income for the family.

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Single Parenting Facts That Cannot Be Ignored

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Single Parenting Facts That Cannot Be Ignored

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Recent studies in the US show that the number of single mothers who have not gone through marriages is growing based on a 2010 Population Bureau’s report.

This may imply that a lot of women may not have a very strong belief anymore that marriages indeed work but may feel the need to respond to children who are badly in need of families, thus resorting to single parent adoption. This, however, needs further research.

Another significant fact is that single mother and fathers are, in fact, heading around 12.3 million families, based on the US Census Bureau.

It is amazing that more single parents are on the rise – and this does not necessarily mean that these are the divorced or the widowed only. This is also applicable to single women and men who opt for adoption.

More and more parents are courageously facing the challenges of raising children even without partners. But assuming the financial responsibility is much greater, as compared to married people.

In the findings based on the 2007-2012 Current Population Survey March, it appears that married mothers earn almost double of what single mothers earn. Single fathers earn more than single mothers but both still earn less as compared to married parents.

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One of the possible implications is that most single parents cannot work full-time because they also need to take care of their children. Since childcare is expensive, it can be one of the least options for single parents. As a result, they take jobs that entail less work time.

Part-time jobs rarely generate enough income and rarely result to a more rewarding career. Moreover, these kinds of jobs do not come with medical insurance and company benefits similar to full-time and regular jobs. This, then, leads them lower towards financial incapacity.

About 54% of single parents work full-time and around 30% work part-time. Only 15% of custodial parents are fathers, and this fact means that more single mothers take custody of their children.

Facts show that there are more single mothers than single fathers in the US. 30% of children who are 18 yrs old or younger also live with single parents.

There are also very significant single parenting facts in other countries such as Canada. Valerie Robins discusses more about these in her article, Single Parenting: Just the Facts, Ma’am, Just the Facts.

Between 2006-2011, studies show that the number of single parent families has increased by 8% while the number of single mothers has increased by 6%. The total number of single father households consists of about 20% based on Canadian statistics.

In the US, for the past 10 years, single father households have increased by about 60%.

The increase is indeed quite alarming.  More research must be conducted to determine the reasons behind this significant change. Problems concerning these must be addressed and dealt with, especially money concerns.

It is a fact that single parents are burdened with the responsibilities of taking care of their children and taking care of household expenses.

For this reasons, the government must take the necessary measure to determine the root cause of this growing number because this also greatly affects the government’s financial ability to provide help for these families.

Next Article:- Foster Care Adoption

Safe Ways to Enjoy Single Parent Vacations

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Safe Ways to Enjoy Single Parent Vacations

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Who would have thought that single parents will be given such importance, as they become the target customers of many traveling agencies particularly in the US and UK? It is absolutely a positive and amazing thing.

Years ago, they are not entitled to travel discounts because packages usually include a partner in order to qualify but now, there are more than exciting packages meant especially for them.

These are the concerns of a lot of single parents, who may have gone through a divorce, death of spouse or partner or single parent adoption.

In Matthew Link’s article Single Parents Travel: More Resorts Offer Deal, it is thought that the reasons behind the change are more than just to accept the idea that there are single-parent families who go on vacations.

It can also be because of the decelerating economy in the travel industry. As travel agencies find ways to generate profits, they have opened their minds to the idea of including single parent-families in their target market.

Brenda Elwell, author of the Single Parent Travel Handbook, realized this need to address the increasing demand for single parent vacations as well as the need to customize a convenient package meant specifically for them.

In 2000, she put up the first single parent traveling agency in the US, Single Parent Travel. Nowadays, there are a lot of traveling agencies for single parents. Although there are very little changes in terms of costs, there are quite helpful considerations.

Teresa Plowright, in her article, Single Parent Travel, discusses the difficulties that single parents experience when traveling with their children and also highlights some of the promotions they get.

Aside from the costs, sole parents also have other concerns such as not feeling comfortable in mingling with married couples – which is sometimes unavoidable. In light of this, more traveling agencies offer tours specifically for single parent families to ensure that parents do not feel awkward.

At the same time, this gives them the chance to meet other single parent families like theirs, with the company of their children. In traveling with children, single parents are in a more risky situation because there is usually just one adult to watch over the children and take care of them.

Plowright emphasizes the importance of being aware of the documents that need to be prepared when traveling to other countries.

There have been cases of abductions of children of single parents by another parent and for this reason, parents must be really careful and must take the necessary precautions to ensure the safety of their children.

When crossing from US to Canada or vice versa, single parents must bring and present copies of legal documents that prove that they are the custodial parents and are given permission by the non-custodial  parent to go out of the country.

Other documents that must be secured include identification cards, passports, birth certificate, citizenship card and permanent resident card among others. Prior to traveling, it is therefore advised that parents check entrance policies in the country where they are headed to.

This will help them avoid unnecessary problems that may further cause delay.  If parents are more prepared, then they will be able to ensure the safety of their children more.

Next Article:- Countries that Allow Single Parent Adoption

Help for Single Mothers: Is it a Must or a Burden?

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Help for Single Mothers: Is it a Must or a Burden?

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While it is already widely accepted that single motherhood is something not out of the ordinary, there are still some speculations about its long-term effects on children’s physical, social and emotional development.

It is true that help for single mothers are indeed accessible but a very recent research cited by Angela Bruns in her article, Can Marriage Promotion Help Children Growing Up with Single Mothers? suggests that by being unwed, single moms are becoming too dependent not only in terms of finances but also in other things.

Still, it was contradicted, because marriage is not that easy for everyone. Getting married or staying single can be a result of underlying cultural factors and differences and promoting marriage is not enough to encourage single women to get married.

In Bruns' article, it was mentioned that Hispanic women are twice more likely to become single women than white women while black women are thrice more likely to become single women than white women.

Furthermore, black women are less likely to get married especially for those who are educationally disadvantaged. Surprisingly, culture and race have roles in the occurrence of single motherhood.

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Are single mothers becoming a burden to the government and the community? Not all single mothers are unemployed and not all of them are single mothers by choice (adopting single parents). Some of them become sole parents because their situation has forced them to.

Divorce and death are just among the reasons.  But who wants to be in such a situation? The last thing that they want is for their marriage to end. More so, no one will definitely want their partner to die. There are also single people who simply cannot find the ‘right’ partner and just end up adopting and being single.

Universally speaking, humanity dictates that single mothers or parents deserve to be helped. It is perhaps the reason why they are given single parent benefits, pensions or whatever assistance that can make their lives at least easier to handle while raising their children.

And contrary to what has been earlier stated, while it is better to have both parents rearing their children, marriage does not necessarily guarantee that children will grow up well in a wonderful and loving family. To a great extent, other factors must be taken into consideration.

Mary Parke’s research, Are Married Parents Really Better for Children? discusses that it is not just the idea of having both parents and a complete family. It also relies on the kind of people these parents are and perhaps, the quality of time they spend with each other and with their children, among other factors.

In fact, there are also researches that reveal the positive experiences of children raised in a single-parent family. Most children from single-parent families actually grow up without any significant problems.

Although the primary goal is for children to have a happy and complete family, it is a reality that this shall not always be the case. In such circumstances when having both parents together with their children is just not possible, then it is but right to assist parents in bringing up their children in happy single-parent families.

In each country, there are different forms of aid given to single mothers. Germany, UK and USA are among those that provide good benefits to single mothers. Other countries – and states – may not provide similar kind of benefits, allowances or grants but one can take advantage of all the help that is available and possible.

After all, it is not right to judge single mothers for being in such situations. There are just numerous factors causing and affecting the circumstances that they are in, as mentioned earlier in this article, such as race and culture and these are, to a large extent, beyond people’s understanding, beyond a complete and fast change.

Next Article:- Loans for Single Parents

Single Parent Scholarships: Making Sound Choices

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Single Parent Scholarships: Making Sound Choices

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Going back to school is hard when one is a single parent because of the corresponding costs that this requires. Similarly, the plan of going back to school, while working and taking care of one’s children can be taxing for a single parent, both because of the demanding schedule and insufficient funds.

For people who have just successfully gone through single parent adoption, the joy of having a child is hard to contain but it entails financial responsibilities. Thus, determining other ways to seek assistance can make a significant help to a parent who has other concerns aside from managing daily finances.

There are many providers of scholarships for single parents and their children. In the article, Where to Find Scholarships for Single Moms, Scholarship America features a number of single parent scholarships available in the US.

In California, Capture the Dream, Inc. offers $1,000 Single Parent Scholarship to encourage single parents to go to college and finish a 4-year degree. The Patsy Takemoto Mink Education Foundation, on the other hand, awards a higher scholarship of around $2,000 for single parents usually aged 17 or older who come from low economic families.

Another scholarship is the Jeanette Rankin Women’s Scholarship Fund, whose aim is to help mothers from low economic families who are over the age 35 and still want to go back and pursue college after raising their children.

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Alexa Mason, a single mom, cites scholarships that single parents can choose from in her article 10 Legitimate Places Single Moms Can Apply for Scholarships include Emerge Scholarships which offers scholarships ranging from $2000-5000.

SR Education Group awards $2,000 scholarships to single parents by requiring them to answer three questions. Soroptimist Women’s Opportunity provides $3,000, $5000 or $10,000 to single parents depending on circumstances while Online College Single Parent Scholarship offers $10,000 scholarships.

American Association of University Women also offers a wide variety of grants and scholarships. In the past school year 2012-2013, it has given around $4.3 million to women to assist them in pursuing their studies.

Other legitimate scholarships include Linda Miller which was founded by the author Linda Miller which is allowed only for US and Canada citizens. The Educational Foundation for Women in Accounting offer scholarships with amounts ranging from $1000 to $5000.

One of its primary requirements is that it should be for women who are pursuing accounting. The dream of finishing education does not necessarily stop when one becomes a parent, even when one is single. It is a dream that can cost a person if he or she will not request for help.

But it is a dream that is free for anyone who chooses to believe in its possibility. By choosing to finish their education, parents show a perfect example to their children as to how important education is and inculcate in them such values.

By pursuing higher degree of education, parents will have better opportunities in finding a well-paid job and a more satisfying career. Achieving their personal goals allow them to bring back that confidence and autonomy that they may have lacked during their roughest times as single parents.

Next Article:- How Much Does Adoption Cost

Counting on Financial Help for Single Parents

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Counting on Financial Help for Single Parents

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There will definitely be monetary concerns among single parents. But how to get all the help available is critical. Apparently, most people are aware of the financial help for single parents provided by the government. But not all may be properly informed about the existence of non-profit organizations and the extent of single parent benefits that they can provide.

In the article Charities for Single Parents: Where to Give this Year, Jennifer Wolf enumerated a number of charities that can be found in the different states in the US. These groups offer a variety of services depending on their core mission.

There are groups whose main goal is to work with the homeless such as Bridge of Hope (Exton, PA), Fellowship Housing (Hoffman States, IL) and Warrick Dunn Charities (Atlanta, Georgia). There are other organizations focusing on other services such as financial assistance, scholarships, life skills training and helping single mothers pursue a college degree.

These groups include Heaven’s Rainbow and Helping Hands for Single Moms (Goodyear AZ). With the aim of helping single moms become self-sufficient, Single Mothers Outreach (Santa Clarita, CA) centers on financial and technological programs for single moms as well as workshops.

Financial support for mothers who are fighting cancer is among the services being offered by Singleton Moms (Scottsdale, AZ).  Other groups include SPARC or Single Parent Alliance and Resource Center (Norcross, GA), Single Parent Advocate (Plano, TX) and Extended Family (Woodland Hills, CA).

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Aside from getting financial help, it is important that parents are also able to effectively manage benefits or earnings that they get either from their work, from the government or from charitable institutions. Availing financial assistance and not being able to use it wisely can lead to more stress and problems.

This can be avoided by seeking financial coaching or mentoring to ensure that money is spent primarily on the basic needs of the family. Being able to decide which bills or expenses must be prioritized can help a parent stay focused and allow one to have enough time to take care of other household necessities and responsibilities.

Listing down miscellaneous expenses, debts and bills to be paid and when they are due can help a parent easily monitor where one’s money is going to. A person will have an opportunity to analyze and ask questions. Is too much money being spent on eating out or in buying things that are not actually needs but wants?

By determining the average expenses in a week or in a month, for instance and categorizing them based on importance, one can have a clearer view of one’s actual financial state. Finding out what constitutes most of the expenses will then help parents create a reasonable budget that will serve and fit the needs of the entire family.

Acquiring financial help entails discipline and responsibility. One can achieve this if he or she is aware of the organizations which can provide additional benefits, if he or she knows how to seek assistance, if he or she is guided in handling money and if he or she is eager to develop new skills and use them to increase one’s income, to invest and save for the future of the family.

Next Article:- Grants for Single Parents

The Single Parent Help that You Need When the Going Gets Tough

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The Single Parent Help that You Need When the Going Gets Tough

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At the beginning, being a lone or solo parent is like entering a different world. The entry may be gradual at times, like during a separation or divorce. Somehow, one can see the signs of a breaking relationship in the process that eventually leads to its end. Sometimes, it can be abrupt.

The death of a spouse or partner can leave one feeling like he or she is literally barging in to this uncomfortable world. It will take awhile to get used to it and one might neither be emotionally nor financially prepared for this change. Suddenly one is confronted with the hard truth that he or she is alone in this.

For both situations, healing takes time and single parent help is badly needed not just from the government but also from close relatives and friends. It is imperative that one is aware of the forms of help that are available. Adjusting to the single parent situation at the beginning is one of the crucial stages where one greatly needs emotional help.

A single parent will need someone to talk to while recovering from mourning or while healing a broken heart. Within the company and support of family and friends, a parent can eventually regain strength and get back to his or her feet again. When a person is already adjusted, there will be a time when one gets worn out and wants to give up.

Single mom and author Christine Coppa shares 10 Single Mom Secrets that a parent can do to survive single parenthood. She offers very helpful tips for parents to consider. One must try to find inspiration by seeking role models.  Reading stories of successful single parents will help inspire and revive one’s depressed spirit.

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Aside from this, it is important to find a work schedule that will be convenient for the parent and the child. Sometimes, it is necessary to request from the management or find other jobs and companies that have more flexible time. In fact, more companies are becoming considerate and are providing a family-friendly environment for their employees.

A parent must also take time off to relax, go out with friends by arranging a babysitter or a close friend to stay with the child. This should be done at least once in a while so that the parent is able to come back with a clearer mind, ready for the challenge of being a parent once more.

Despite the temptation, one should refrain being a super mom who attempts to do and finish everything. Instead of being overly obsessed with cleanliness that playing becomes impossible, a parent should lighten a bit, play and enjoy each moment spent with the child.

Finding a group of single parents to plan play dates or family activities with is also a great venue to mingle, get help and give help as well.  Through this, single parents can share experiences and tips with other parents and make the road of parenthood easy to travel.

Other assistance needed is usually financial in nature and through single parent benefits that the government provides, a parent will find it much easier to provide the needs of his or her children.

Next Article:- Financial Help for Single Parents