What would you do in this situation?

[Butterflyjive]

Single parent.
Job not going well.
Child hates their school.
In a rental property that needs work doing.
No family nearby.
Do have a good group of friends though.

Feel so lost like nothing is working. What do I fix first and how?!

I think you need to make a plan based on short, medium and long term fixes and tackle the short term ones first while you sow the seeds of any longer term plans you want to make.

If it's a rental property, short term - shouldn't your LL be fixing it? Long term - do you want to move?

Job - short term - do you want to try to make your current job work for you - medium term - is it time to look for another? Long term - do you want to look at retraining/additional qualifications?
Child's school - short term - what is it they hate about it and could it be changed - have you talked to teachers etc.? Long term - Is moving to another school an option, and do you think that would help?

Start saving as much as I could.

That is a tough place to be but what else are you? There's always more than one truth. Are you able, make good experiences out of difficult times? Keep trying, keep aiming, keep other people up? Patient? Good at deep breaths? Recognise your strengths so you know what you can rely on when trying to make change. Change one thing. I am trying to sort out my paperwork and home in a great push having finally realised that if it is done and organised at last I will have time and space to make improvements rather than play catch up. I kid you not I have just realised this. That's my plan. Recognise what you have done then go forwards.

Having the friends is a wonderful starting point. They can be hard to come by so it’s great that you’ve already got a good base there.

I’d focus on school and work. It’s hard to be happy if your child isn’t, and it’s important to get them back on a better footing in their education journey. Your job is also critical to your family’s economic well-being (and your own!) so it is a very high priority. Agree with the poster who suggested breaking it down into short, medium and long term goals.

The single parent thing wouldn’t be something I’d focus on for a good long while. I think making yourself happier in other areas of life is much more within your control and the payoffs will be greater and more immediate.