A single parent budget that works on one income

When you're the only adult paying the bills, a budget has one job. It has to cover rent, food, childcare and the lights every paycheck, no matter what else happens. Everything else comes after.

This post assumes one income and no backup. It splits each paycheck into two parts, survival and growth, and builds from there.

Split each paycheck into survival and growth

Instead of a long list of categories, start with two groups.

Survival is everything that keeps the household running and the kids safe:

• Rent or mortgage
• Utilities
• Groceries
• Childcare
• Transportation to work and school
• Insurance
• Minimum debt payments

Growth is everything that moves you forward or makes life better:

• Emergency savings
• Extra debt payments
• Clothes and shoes beyond the basics
• Kids' activities
• Gifts and fun
• Things for the house

When a paycheck lands, fund survival first. Whatever is left goes to growth. When money is tight, you know where to cut, and you don't have to agonize over it at 11 p.m.

If survival takes almost all of your paycheck, that tells you something useful. The problem is income or a single big cost, not your spending. Focus there first.

Give every bill a paycheck

Your paychecks come on a schedule and your bills come due all over the month. Make a list of each bill with its due date. Assign each one to the paycheck that lands before it's due.

If one paycheck is carrying much more than the other, call and ask whether you can move a due date. Here's how to plan bills around each payday step by step.

Plan for child support you can't control

If you receive child support, its timing may not match your paychecks, and some months it may not come at all. Budget around that.

• Don't count it until it arrives. Build survival on your paycheck alone if you can.
• When it lands, treat it as its own deposit and assign it right away. Kid costs first, like childcare, school fees, clothes and activities.
• If it's regular and reliable, you can add it to your plan once it has arrived on time for a few months.

If you pay child support, treat it as a survival bill and give it a paycheck like rent.

Build a small cushion first

When one car repair can wreck a month, a small amount of cash on hand matters more than paying down debt fast. Set a first target that covers a small surprise, like a copay or a tire. Put a little toward it from every paycheck until you hit it.

Once that cushion exists, send extra money to debt. Keep adding to the cushion slowly in the background.

On paper this is the wrong order, since your debt likely charges more interest than your savings earns. In real life it keeps one flat tire from going on the credit card.

Find help that lowers your costs

Programs exist to lower the cost of food, energy and childcare. They're worth checking even if you're not sure you qualify, because eligibility rules vary by state and household size.

• Food: SNAP, and WIC if you're pregnant, recently pregnant or breastfeeding, or have kids under 5. Ask your school district about free or reduced-price school meals.
• Heating and cooling bills: LIHEAP, the federal energy assistance program, run through your state.
• Childcare: your state's assistance program, which you can find at childcare.gov.
• Everything else: the USAGov benefit finder asks a few questions and lists federal and state programs you may qualify for.

Whatever you save on a survival cost moves straight into growth.

Paying down debt on a tight budget

Debt payoff is a growth item. Minimum payments live in survival, and anything extra comes from growth.

When you have extra, put it all toward one debt at a time. One option is the smallest balance first, so an account closes quickly and its minimum payment disappears. Another is the highest interest rate first, so you pay less interest overall. On a tight budget, closing accounts quickly frees up cash in each future paycheck.

If you can't cover all the minimums, call the lenders before you miss a payment. Ask about hardship plans. A nonprofit credit counselor can help you sort out which bills to pay first.

Check one number during the week

After work and bedtime, you probably won't have time for a long tracking session. You need one number you can check in a few seconds.

That number is what's left of your paycheck after survival costs and spending so far. Before an unplanned purchase, check it. You can run your paycheck through the calculator. Enter your take-home pay, anything you carried in, and what you've spent.

Once a week, maybe Sunday night, spend ten minutes looking at the plan for the rest of the paycheck.

If someone helps you

If a co-parent, grandparent or partner shares some costs, a shared budget helps both of you see the same numbers. The budget app for couples page explains how sharing works in Budgey, and the setup is the same for a co-parent or a grandparent who chips in. Shared budgets are on Core, which is $5/mo or $20/yr. Plus is $10/mo or $100/yr for 2 or more banks or budgets.

When things go wrong

Something will go wrong at some point, like a car repair or a cut in hours. Plan for it instead of hoping it won't happen.

• Admit it happened and look at the numbers that day.
• Move growth money to cover the gap. That's what it's there for.
• Restart the plan on the next payday, not "when things calm down."

If you want more structure later, here's how the main budgeting methods compare, and how each one works when you're paid by paycheck.

FAQ

How do I make a budget as a single parent?
Split each paycheck into survival and growth. Fund survival first, assign each bill to the paycheck before it's due, and put whatever is left toward savings, debt and the kids' extras.

Should I count child support in my budget?
Only after it arrives, unless it has been reliable for months. Build survival on your own paycheck if you can.

Should I save or pay off debt first?
Build a small cushion first so one surprise doesn't go on a card. Then send extra money to debt while the cushion grows slowly.