As a single mother, it is often hard to plan a budget and stick to it. If you are in a situation like mine, I receive child support from my ex-husband for my two children. The problem with this is that the amount is very low and I never know when I will be getting it.

Most of the time, he pays the support every other month. Generally, he is between 6 to 10 weeks behind all of the time and this causes budgeting problems for me. My ex-husband is self-employed and therefore does not receive a normal paycheck. People always ask me if he can have the support deducted from his check each week so that my payments would be regular. When I explain that he is self-employed, they then understand that this is not an option.

So, with these irregular payments I do not even consider this money as income. If I get it, I get it; but if not, I am never counting on it. That leaves me with my modest income, which also varies. Because I am a freelance writer and work from home, my work schedule varies and so do my paychecks.

The point here is that even though all of the income I earn and receive is irregular, I am still able to make it somehow. I always keep a list of my bills for the month and I always find a way to pay those first. Whatever is left over, I use for the extra things in life and I always try to save a little bit of money each week, even if it is only $10.