Single Parent Finances

[LostInLondon1]

Hello, so it seems I am going to be a first time mum at the age of 44 and a single one at that! I am massively stressing about finances and even further a field worrying about how I’ll cope when it comes to things like school holidays. I only have my mum as a support network and she will be 72 by the time baby arrives. As much as she will support me best she can, we both know she will be unable to offer the help she could have say 5 / 10 years ago. I don’t earn good money and so worry about the cost of child care if I keep working. But I am lucky I’m that I am mortgage free. Any tips on how I can find out what financial support is available for someone in my position would be really appreciated and I know it’s years away, but any tips also on how to cope during school holidays as a single working parent & no support network would also be really helpful….thanks I’m advance

Google the ‘turn2us’ calculator

you can put your hypothetical scenario in the calculator and it will tell you what you are entitled to

Also google your local nursery and find out their fees so you can put them into the calculator

Also decide how many hours you will be working as you may well need to get your child’s name on the waiting list for nursery as some are seriously full!

good luck

Thank you so much for this. I’m looking into now x

Some nurseries offer to spread the hours your entitled to over the entire year, not just term-time places. It'll mean you get less hours in the week but wouldn't still get them during school holidays. Also have a look into 'tax free childcare' as that may help. It can actually be used for school clubs and wrap around care so would help with the cost of holiday clubs when they're school age.

How far along into your oregancy are you? It might be worth attending some pregnancy groups and seeing if you can make friends with some other soon-to-be mums. You never know, if a good friendship develops and they're in a similar position, you could help each other out with childcare. But, at the very least, it'll give you someone to vent to/ ask questions and emotionally support you.