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Savings Strategies for Single Moms
Putting Money Away for a Rainy Day
By Laura Cone
As a single mother for more than 20 years, Judy Smith, 65, of Baltimore, Md., learned to save money by shopping thrift stores for clothes and garage sales for toys. She did not let her appearance go while saving money and raising her three children, who are now 36, 38 and 41. She would color her own hair after waiting for the store to have a sale on hair-color products. Then, she would use a coupon.
"For my hair color, it ended up being half-price all the time to maintain my beautiful blonde hair," Smith says. She also went to a beauty school in Baltimore where the senior students gave facials for less than half the regular price.
Smith, who worked as a medical secretary before going back to school to become a nurse at age 59, says one of the best tips she can offer young single moms is to invest in a home at the right time. Don't buy when housing prices seem inflated. She was able to create a nice savings nest egg by recently selling her condominium for more than twice the price she bought it.
"The best thing I ever did, and I've moved several times with the kids, was I was always able to buy low and sell high," Smith says. "My kids had excellent housing. I happened to catch the market at those times. My children always lived in nice neighborhoods and went to nice schools. I was very fortunate. It worked out right for me."
Brook Noel of Milwaukee, Wis., the author of The Single Parent Resource: An A to Z Manual for the Challenges of Single Parenting (Champion Press, 2005 rev. ed.), says single moms don't need to feel intimidated by the stock market.
Noel was a single mother for two years before she married. During those two years she saved more than $3,000 for her 10-year-old daughter Samantha's college fund by investing in technology stocks.
