For many, divorce means the household budget is now less than it was during marriage. Factor in inflation and rising costs for groceries, utilities, and gas, and many divorced parents soon find themselves facing a new challenge: raising financially confident kids on a tight budget.
As daunting as it may be, with a little intention and a lot of ingenuity, divorced parents like you can teach your kids life skills they can take with them into adulthood. How do I know? Because I was once where you are, with four young children and very limited funds, and now get to enjoy being a mom to four adults who have a healthy relationship with money. Here’s what I did.
I Put Myself into a Positive Mindset
For years, my motto has been, “I can do it,” even when my nemesis, Eloise, what I named my nasty inner voice, tells me I cannot. The bills, including private school, got paid, and then some.
I Taught My Children That Money Doesn't Define Your Life
We were lucky to have escaped Hurricane Katrina with our lives, even if we survived with little more than the clothes on our backs. We had no house. No money. No stuff.
What we did have was each other, plus a clean slate to start over somewhere new and the opportunity to dream as big as we wanted.
I Showed My Children Ways to Have Fun for Free or Little Money
You’d be surprised how much fun you can have with little to no money. Nature walks are one of the best places to find inspiration. Then there’s the library, which is wonderful for checking out books and movies and scoring passes to museums, state parks, and botanical gardens.
I Demonstrated to My Children How to Stretch a Dollar
Of course, not everything you do will be free, but frugality is a skill you can sharpen for yourself and pass on to your kids. When you teach children the value of a dollar — how a dollar gives you the power to create — i.e., pay for the ingredients to make a meal, fund an experience, or build a nest egg — you teach them that they have the power to create and, with that, take control of their lives.
I Found Ways to Earn More Money, and Showed My Children They Could, Too
One of the most effective ways to loosen a tight budget, besides cutting unnecessary expenditures, is to earn more money. Although you may be trained in one skill, looking at your life holistically will quickly show you that you possess more skills than you thought. Everything you do currently is likely a service someone else doesn’t have time for and will pay you to do for them.
I Was Always Open to Talking About Finances
In many families, it’s considered impolite to talk about money, including family finances, especially with children. I don’t ascribe to this. I do, however, believe in speaking to children at an age-appropriate level and not fear-mongering.
So, if your three-year-old wants to know how you buy food, explain it by playing grocery store, for example, or by taking them shopping with you. Explain where money comes from and what things cost.
Final Thoughts
Not understanding what is going on around you is what creates insecurity for people of any age. As a parent, you can create stability with both your words and your actions by recognizing that the tone you set today in your family can carry into your children’s family and the generations to come.
Please note that the blogpost above does not represent the thoughts or opinions of Fresh Start Registry and solely represents the original author’s perspective.