Single mums...what do you do for a living?

[Stoptheworld99]

I'm a single mum, work 28 hours a week, receive a small amount of UC and child benefit. I manage financially. I say manage because it is just that. I can manage the cost of living rise (just) but any extras or little luxuries that we have will go. We will eat and be warm.

I love my job, it's very rewarding.

I'm feeling like I need to increase my income. I don't want my children to miss out on holidays etc because we are a single income family and worry that if I need to replace the car (which I need for work.. literally couldn't do my job without my car) I'd really be up shit creek! I have very little support around me. No parents, one brother who has a family and works full time. I work my hours overnight and at the weekends when my children are at their Dad's. Both children are at school (4 and 7 years)

I don't want to leave my job, but will (very sadly) for the right opportunity.

Ideally I would love to find something that I can work around my other job and within school hours.....did I mention I love my job??. More hours are not available at this job and are unlikely to be in the near future.

So if you have a job that you manage to work around being a single parent and or school hours...please share with me what you do.

I’m a cleaner, but more for upmarket houses and make a nice hourly income, i set my own schedule and it’s fit around school hours for drop off and pick ups, im self employed and it’s bloody fab, im inundated with work and just use simple apps to invoice and emails to regularly communicate with clients, it cost about £50 quid for my equipment as I use their Hoover, business insurance is not that much either

Maid2Clean is a good cleaning company to find hours that suit you. I'm pretty sure they are nationwide. They post jobs on their app and you chose what you want and discuss availability with the client. Also the client has to provide all cleaning materials and insurance is through the company, but then the client pays you directly.

I clean in a care home, they let me work around my hours. I like it but it's hard and I end up doing a lot more than I should most days.

I work in a school and also in a pub EOW when dc are at their dads. He doesn't pay maintenance or if he does it's a pittance but he does at least reliably have them so I can have the EOW planned on the rota. We just manage too but dc do have an expensive hobby. Once they are both high school age I'll pick up extra pub hours too although their hobby is a time drain as well as a money one.

Cleaner here too. As pp have said, good hourly rate and you get to pick your hours and clients.

It's physically demanding though and I pulled a muscle in my back quite badly earlier in the week. I could only afford to take 1 day off then had to dose up and crack on as I'm also self-emplyed so no sick pay.

I work for a local authority full time role but we have flexible working so I can disappear for a couple of hours in the afternoon then carry on later on. In the department I'm in that's fairly easy to do, not sure how it would work with other departments.
I have a single mum friend who works in a school office which she enjoys and she gets the holidays off x

I work at director level in the voluntary sector and earn enough to pay 40% tax. I work from home and have a fair level of flex, I’m a lone parent, widowed and am lucky in that I have no mortgage due to life insurance, a very small (£500 a month) pension from my late husband and a lump sum also from life insurance which is invested. I obviously have no help with the children at all, and I mean absolutely no help, they are with me any time they aren’t in school, but I do have a financial cushion to enable me to do nice things and not worry about money too much,

Lone parent of 3, I'm a nursing manager. I work 12 hour shifts and my widowed mum helps me out with childcare. I realise I am lucky to have that support system and my career already in place prior to becoming a solo parent.

@Stoptheworld99 Inearn £45k basic plus 20k performance pay, which can be more,
working the same hours as you pretty much.

I get up early and do an hour before kids are up, then core hours 9-3pm and catch up on evenings weekends. So around 35 hrs total.
If you get a WFH role then hours are VERY flexible and many big companies are letting staff permanently WFH nowZ

I own a cleaning business, doing well and staff are great, starting to make really good money, and it’s between school hours

Similar to you OP. Currently working 30 hours after going back after maternity leave part time and the ultimately my marriage broke down. I love my job but its public sector and there is no budget to give me full time. I've put off applying for other jobs because DD has jyst started school and I wanted to be involved in pick up and drop off. Not currently entitled to UC, but have been in receipt of a tiny amount before.

I love my job but if the situation doesn't change I will have to move on. I'm a government department head of communications. My team has helped me some tough times, and I consider them close friends. That sort of contentment in my jobs is worth a lot to me as a single parent.

However I'm not sure how much longer I can take the hit re cost of living. I haven't had a pay rise since 2019, however will get one in December, which will equate to an extra £45 at most per month. I'm in shared ownership, so my rent will go up next year. Thankfully my mortgage is fixed until 2026. However as we all know. Everything else is terrifying.