Being a single parent raising kids on your own is never easy. This is especially true when it comes to pocketbooks. However, it’s safe to say that the overwhelming majority of those struggling are women when it comes to financial burdens faced by single parents. While this is mainly because women head most single-parent households, additional factors are at play. Here are common financial challenges faced by many single moms:

Financial Challenges Faced by Many Single Mothers

Unpaid Child Support

A common problem that single women face when raising children alone is that the other parent falls behind on child support. They often need these funds to pay for basic childcare expenses and utilities. In some cases, the other parent either refuses to pay child support or cannot be found to attempt to collect. While a woman in this situation can hire a family law attorney and take the matter before the courts to have the other parent’s wages garnished, the process is far from short and simple. In the meantime, the money has to come from somewhere.

Unfair Wages

Another problem that many single moms have when they raise children alone because their earnings are less than their male coworkers. Women are often paid less than men, creating a more difficult journey as she tries to work twice as hard to overcompensate. She may have no choice but turn to online options for a cash advance in a pinch when, if she were paid as much as a man, she wouldn’t have to do. The difference in pay between male and female workers is sometimes several hundred dollars. While there is still a long way to go, this trend has fortunately started to reverse course in recent years. Time will tell if this shift continues.

Cost-of-Living Increases

The cost-of-living increases that happen almost every year are inevitable, but such predictability doesn’t remove the sting. As costs rise while wages stagnate, single women raising kids independently will struggle to survive. That creates a problem for young women trying to make it and give themselves and their children comfortable lives. Aside from that, the government is starting to eliminate helpful programs that once gave these lone parents the help they needed to get by. Food stamps, Medicaid, and other programs have changed so drastically that they’re almost completely gone. Thus, the single mother’s plight has gotten heavier, but hope remains.

Childcare Expenses

Another common problem with single mothers is the cost of childcare. Women with supportive families don’t have difficulties in this area, but those without support suffer. These women have to spend several hundred dollars a week to send their children to professional daycare facilities. They lose time with their children, and the childcare expenses often eat away at their funds. Some women find cheaper services but still have difficulty keeping up with the payments.

The challenges mentioned above make life difficult for many single women. However, a strong woman can take action to combat such issues. She can employ the help of friends and family members and pick up a second job or involve herself in contract work that can help her pay the bills.