by Silva Payne

Created on: May 23, 2009

The world we live in is geared up for families with two income earners, so to be a single parent puts you at an immediate disadvantage. Your available income is half of that of your child's friends, yet you almost certainly have the same outgoings as their two-parent playmates. While none of us have a magic wand to conjure up extra cash every time we need it, there are some ways in which you can budget to compensate for a single income.

The temptation to spoil our children can be very strong; we often feel that they should have all the luxuries that we never had as children. Whether this is actually any good for them is not something we stop to consider when passing the toy shop. There is nothing at all wrong with buying your children gifts, but when you have a tight limited budget you have to remember that you are the parent and you make the rules. If your child's birthday falls close to Christmas, they are likely to feel hard done by during the rest of the year as it always seems so long between getting presents. It is easy to over compensate for this, but pretending that getting them something small every pay day will be OK. A better way to approach this is to pick a date in the middle of the year, and have it as an un-birthday. Make that day the focus of your gift planning, and treat it the same way as you might the real birthday by purchasing perhaps one large gift and a few smaller items. Children with winter birthdays often miss out on outdoor parties because of inclement weather, so picking an un-birthday in July and having the party then instead is a great tonic for an impatient child. Outdoor parties often take less organisation, less supplies and entertainment costs, and less clearing up afterwards too.

If your passion for spending on your children centres on buying clothes, then make your purchases practical. Don't wait until your child absolutely needs new clothes because almost certainly those will not be the times of year that the stores have their sales. Shop carefully to find the bargains when the sales are on, but purchase clothes in two or three sizes larger than your child currently needs. Then you can surprise them through the year with new outfits, without running down your monthly budget at the same time. There are certain items that all children need, such as wellington boots or sandals, a sun hat, swim wear etc that can be bought cheaply at the end of the season and saved for the following year. Making clothes is also a cheaper

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