On the Financial Struggles of Parents

Everyone is struggling financially these days, but the parents of minor children feel the strain worst of all.  If the key to financial wellbeing is to earn more and spend less, trying to do either of those while you have a minor child living at home is like trying to achieve the same task with one hand tied behind your back.  Every person has the same number of hours in a day, but when you are a parent, your time does not belong exclusively to you.  Cutting back on your spending involves extraordinary time management; you must plan ahead to avoid spending on ready made meals or convenience store groceries, and you must wake up earlier to catch the bus to work instead of taking an Uber or driving your car and paying for parking in the garage at work.  When you are a parent, money is tight, but time is even tighter.  To find out more about debt relief when you are juggling the responsibilities of work and parenting, contact a Plantation debt lawyer.

Why Does That Smile Make You Spend Money You Don’t Have?

When you do not have children, it is possible to build your entire existence around spending less and earning more.  The wealthiest singles and newly married people are free to take jobs with unpredictable schedules, and in the case of the most highly paid among them, unpredictable travel.  You can work the midnight shift and then spend your day off shopping at Costco, even though the drive is more than an hour round trip.

Some parents don’t have the luxury of demanding that their bosses only schedule them to work from 9 to 5, so they might end up working nights, too.  The difference is that, when they do this, they must pay handsomely for babysitters, or if they are lucky enough to find one, a day care that stays open late.

Money Dysmorphia Is Worse for Parents

Parents who didn’t have a penny of wiggle room in their budgets before their children were born are not the only ones who had to take on unexpected debts when their budgetary plans did not work out.  Fear of judgment from family and peers increases the pressure to spend on expensive items for their children.  As the children get older, parents who grew up surrounded by financial stress do not want their children to feel the same pressure, so they borrow now in the interest of providing comfort for their children, and they worry later about how to pay it off.

Across the income spectrum, parents borrow and spend beyond their means so they can invest in their children’s future.  Their logic is that if they pay for test prep classes and school sports participation now, the children will be able to get scholarships to college, so they can graduate without a heavy burden of student loans and become financially independent as young adults.

Work With a Debt Lawyer About Getting Out of Debt for Your Children’s Sake

A South Florida debt lawyer can help you if your debt problems only got worse after your children were born.  Contact Nowack & Olson, PLLC in Plantation, Florida to discuss your case.

Source:

finance.yahoo.com/news/raising-children-way-more-expensive-175251793.html