Loans and Grants For Single Moms

I was talking to a friend of mine recently, a single mom. She was in the process of buying her first home. She was able to make the payments and had a down payment all set, but she had not enough credit history to secure the mortgage.

She told me that the mortgage guy said she should apply for two credit cards. Wow! Silly me. I thought everyone, except the credit card addicted, had a credit card or two. I guess if you paid cash for everything you needed you’d be a very lucky and disciplined person, but for me, using a credit card makes life way easier and it improves my credit rating.

Who wants to carry around cash all the time? First of all if you spend it then you need to go get more. I don’t have a cash machine at my house and I hate driving or going to the bank. Then there is the safety issue. Pull out a wad of twenties and it might look like an opportunity for someone to try and take them from you.

Why? Because I pay it off every month. Even if you don’t like the idea of having a credit card using one and paying it off every month establishes you as a good credit risk.

It takes a few months for the credit companies to find out how great a lendee you are though, so if you are contemplating needing a real loan for real estate or financing college, get a credit card or two, spend a little every month. Put it into your budget and don’t forget about it. Pay it off on time or early, and your credit score should go up.

You can use a department store credit card for this, or a gasoline card or a regular old Visa or MasterCard. I don’t recommend a debit card either. A debit card is like having direct access to your bank account. If someone gets a hold of it and figures out how to spend it, well bye-bye money.

With a credit card and some personal responsibility, you are never going to lose more than fifty dollars. Check with your credit card company on the details.

If you use a Visa or MasterCard make sure to find one that doesn’t charge you a yearly fee, or has a high interest rate. Having some kind of bonus associated with it is a plus. This could be frequent flyer miles, new car rebates, or cash back.

If you have a real problem with credit cards and run up the balance then have to pay high interest fees, this is probably not for you. Or maybe you could have a friend or a parent hold them for you so you can’t use them. Just maybe put some monthly recurring payment on it but keep the card away from you. Or not.

The divorce rate is going up, the cost of childcare is increasing, and with the high cost of living, many moms have to work two jobs, which leave little time for the children. Therefore, with the plethora of work at home job opportunities, many single moms work from home.

Consider the following testimony:

After 10 years of marriage and two children, the bottom fell out of our world. Now facing life as a single parent, I had some major decisions to make regarding a career, when most people my age are thinking about retirement, not starting over.

So, with a baby and a first grader, I go back to school. Since I also lived life in a wheelchair, the challenges often seemed overwhelming. However, with hard work, perseverance, and a lot of prayer, I had my degree in English/secondary education.

The local school district was about to get a great teacher! My recommendations were stellar, my grades great, and I truly believed my love for children would translate into helping at least a handful of students become successful adults.

However, at the age of 47, I came to understand the school district probably did not agree with my personal assessment. While I was a great substitute teacher, and applying for every available opening, younger teachers, straight out of college were garnering the interviews and given the jobs.

Now what? The student loans still needed paying, and a substitute does not necessarily have a dependable schedule. Besides, my old car will not last forever. So, a friend suggested I use my love of writing and freelance for a little extra money.

Skeptical, yet somewhat desperate, I subscribe to an online agency dedicated to matching clients with service providers. Thus, I could bid on as little, or as much, writing jobs as I needed. However, come income tax times, I realized the agency got almost 40% of my income, with the subscription fees and a percentage of all my awarded projects.

Not acceptable! I needed to find work at home job opportunities designed for single moms work at home. After all, I still had bills to pay, children at home, and dreams of a debt-free future. So, what legitimate work is out there for people like me, who want to make an honest living and raise the kids?

Today, there are unbelievable opportunities for single moms, and dads, to work at home, with a computer and the will to succeed. For example, if typing is a skill, data entry positions are available. With the advent of the Internet and e-mail, an office assistant in California can enter data for an employer in Florida.

Similarly, if an individual likes to write, lots of business owners are looking for people who can write decent web copy, blog, join forum, and articles linking back to their online business. The writing may be anything from education to health food, or whatever the employer is trying to market.

The job is definitely not boring, because the workload changes on a daily basis. Maybe an individual does not like to write, but she is good at computer graphics. Why be limited to an office position? Computer graphics can be achieved from the comforts of home in pajamas, if preferred.

In addition, become a business owner is a possibility. Many people opt to sell products, services, or both, on one or more websites. While some actually handle the product to be shipped, others simply sell products for other venders, and do not have to possess the capital to stock the item and ship it across the country.

The above-mentioned work at home opportunities is only the tip of the iceberg, for single moms work from home. Cruise the web, and see thousands of legitimate ways to make a good income, while spending time raising the kids. With a little research, and the common sense to avoid the inevitable scams, single moms can find good money-making ventures.

So, what about the testimonial? How does the story end? Well, to be honest, the story is still being written. However, good freelancing work got noticed, and I am now a contract copywriter for an Internet Marketing firm.

I make enough to have one job, not two. Plus, I have the opportunities to learn, grow, and see both personal and monetary gain in the future. The best part: I love the job, I am home to be with my children, and I will be debt free in the near future. What more can one ask?