I need to hear some $ sucess stories frm u single parents please!!

I wish I had a really good one, but here goes... When ex and I first seperated I waitressed at night. It was the only way I could earn full time money while working part-time, and I did. I worked 4 nights a week and sometimes earned $600 a week! Ex and my mom watched DS while I worked. It was exhausting work with late hours. I was often tired and grumpy during the day. Soooo, I left and started a 40 hr per week job. DS did not take well to that at all and started biting in school and the owner of his daycare threatened to kick him out of the school so I left my job and worked from home as a secretary for STBX's (and mine too really) construction company. That was the best setup I had. I worked 25 hours a week and DS did not go to daycare. Then ex fired me and now here I am on unemployment. I start nursing school in a few weeks and DS will go to daycare while I'm in school. I received more in Pell grants than I need for tuition so I will use the excess $$ for bills/rent/etc. I'm also applying for a student loan to cover my mortgage while I'm in school. It will be worth it in the end, nurses down here make aroud $30/hr and I won't have to work a full 40 hour week so that means more time with DS!!!!

So, it's not really a success story, but hopefully it will be one soon. Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do to survive.

Thank you for your response. My 2 sisters are YMCA daycare teacher's I just was hoping for some ideas like selling stuff on ebay or some other business.

I studied at the Academy of Design, only student in my year on the Dean's list, all A's in fashion design. Only student in 15 years to be exempt from the english course and I'm a certified spinning teacher and I teach Tae bo. I know how to prepare a lot of Mexican dishes, tacos, flautas, churros, salsa, black beans,guacamole. I speak Spanish and of course english, to import things to sell. I'd like to breastfeed at least 1 year but can't stand the thought of stoppng so soon...at least 18 months. My daughter was still breastfeeding while I was pregnant with my first son, she weened herself. One night I came home from work and when she pulled on my shirt I told her that there's no milk there and then took her by the hand to the fridge and showed her where I saw the milk. Put some in her sippy cup and she never asked again.

If anyone else has some ideas please rite in I guess I just need to know it's possible to do this and be o.k. Thanks.

brenlo - i wanted to tell you about my 'success' story. rather my journey to success. not really what you wanna hear... but hopefully it will take away some of your fear.

it is absolutely amazing how life comes thru for you. when we finally separated i tried for 6 months to survive on my ccs, friends and budgeting.

then when dd was 2 my financial situation could not take care of my anymore (i was trying to start my own dc but it took too long) nad i went back to working ft putting my 2 year old in dc. she was still nursing a lot. poor child. had to go thru 5 dcs in 4 months before i found one she liked. the one she liked was an expensive child center. but it was a great place. she hated being away from me. so it has been hard being on this journey. my dd doesnt want to go to dc/ps and i dont really wanna be away from her.

but its all a matter of time. i will be successful one day and be able to live life the way i want to. right now the sacrifices have truly brought my dd and me together.

oh let me say my ex paid whatever CS he could and then stopped. but because of DHS he did start paying for dc when dd started the expensive one because i told him there was no way i could pay for care which was way over my rent. and because i had gone to court and withdrawn my CS papers he withdrew his protests and continues to pay half of dd's dc.

this poverty has been v. eye opening for me. it has shown me the generosity of people that i would not have seen before. it has further established my feeling for humanity. it has taught me how to budget, how to really prioritize my needs so i am not buying everything. (now i just think, think before i buy something for myself and when i do i wonder did i REALLY need it). it has opened my spiritual side that i never expected even existed in me.

ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS something has come thru for me (and because of my unique alien status i cannot qualify for aid and v. little for my dd) . yes i dont like how i am at teh edge of my seat and then suddenly right near the 'closing' time help has come thru, but it always has. there have been times i have had to go hungry but not enough to harm my health. i have lived on one meal for many days. but never my dd. i have had to go non organic for a while and then back to organic when i could afford it.

i never ever knew the person who i am existed before. i just went home on a medical emergency in january half way across teh world. for the first time i openly announced against my mom's wishes that i was separated. living by myself. i got so many indirect compliments (someone hearing how others talked about me and relayed that conversation to me) about how people never, ever thought i could be who i had become.

honestly if i had not gone thru my break and poverty i doubt i would be who i am now.

but my biggest thing i am proud of is the relationship between my dd and me that has grown i feel due to poverty and not being able to be together. she so understands our situation. she is so so happy i am not working right now. she knows i have to go back to work and she says she is ok with that but just wishes it wasnt so. we so treasure each moment we have together. really when i am with her she has all my attention. i mean almost all our time is spent on one on one. it could be simply me reading a book and she playing with something but our backs touching. to help my guilt many many single moms have told me how much deeper they bond with their children as they understand the sacrifices we have to go thru. i see it with a friend. her 12 year old twins are so connected to her. today they are well off but you should see how extremely grateful the dd's are for their mom's hard work. they are not the typical pre-teenager.

but i do wish you all the best. i certainly hope you find some way of getting what you want. just wanted to tell you it isnt as bad as you think it could be.

Thank you, everyone. Meemee, you've made me cry, I can hear you sacrifice. I have been poor; I wrote about it in another thread. WE LIVED IN cANADA AND LOST EVERYTHING, WORKING 7 DAYS A WEEK 12-14 HRS. PER DAY. We just couldn't sell enough to cover the rent and product. WE came back to Mexico with money borrowed from my sister in law. We opened our gym with money from my father in law and lived the first month and a half on credit from the corner store. We had no credit because we had no "job" and no credit history.

I want to share a terrible story with you, while in Canada I was in the mall I was working in, my daughter was with me she was 2 years old at the time. While I was waiting for my husband to pick us up , I took my daughter to the toy section. She saw a baby doll and looked at me and then hesitated and then asked if she could pick it up. I said yes, she picked it up, hugged it, rocking from side to side and then by herself put it back on the shelf. She knew I couldn't buy it for her and didn't bother to even ask me. I started crying in the middle of walmart in second hand maternity clothes, 8 mths. pregnant, working 7 days a week and not making a penny.

At that moment I promised myself once I get myself out of this mess, I will never be poor again. AND HERE I AM AGAIN...AND THIS TIME MY POVERTY WILL BE VOLUNTARY. God(excuse me), I felt so humiliated when I was poor. Can I do it again?

brenlo, YES!!! YES!!! it will be hard but yes YOU can DO it. your dd's story at only TWO, two brought tears to my eyes. but do u see how stronger she is being?

just hang in there mama. you have made the choice and the universe will pay you back. yes u r poor in $$$s but not in spirit and that is what counts.

i really, really do believe esp. sacrifices are always 'rewarded'. perhaps you cant see it now, perhaps it wont be $$$s - but in other ways.

mama try try try and focus on what you want for your dd and you. you know how tough it si going to be so it is not an unknown devil. so please think positively. if u always dream about what you want - rather than disgust of what is dealt out to you - it will all happen. not exactly what you asked for but according to your needs. i could save for a rainy day but i feel she already has sacrificed so much - why more. i would much rather have a few days of happiness. and i know the universe will provide again.

right now i have a little bit of money and i have been blowing it up with my dd. doing lots of little things. also right now brenlo i dont have a job. i need one soon or i will be on the streets. i have already exhausted all my sources of financial help. yet instead of freaking out i have used my time to focus on me and my dd. i asked teh universe for time and that is what i have got so i shouldnt waste worrying about my job. i should be focusing on what i have. and i have used it. i am so grateful for the break i got. now i am ready to go back to work. i still have my dream.

unlike other student mamas i dont have a strict plan. all i know is adn truly believe that my situation will get better. i will get what i want. maybe slightly differently which is ok. so have faith mama.

big big big : to you.

Dear meemee
thank you for that big hug , I really, really need it- I feel so pathetic. So, I see overwhelmly I need to go home.With my 3 kids and just let god take me where I need to be. I hope I can do it this time. I know if I can get home I'll stay, it's the leaving that's so hard to do.

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oh mama when the time is right you will know it. all of us mom's on this board have faced this exact same difficulty even when there was abuse. i asked my ex to leave for a whole year and a half before i actually meant it and he still holds anger towards me for having asked him to leave (actually it was either he leave or I).

here is something i found recently that helps me a lot. i check this first thing in teh morning and i focus on it during morning ablutions.

http://www.libralion.com/haytotal.htm

meemee, thank you for the thread, excuse my ignorance but what are morning ablutions- :

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a nice way of saying brushing teeth, pooping and peeing. i usually wake up on the potty so i spend quite a bit of time waking up. sorry.

what is TO? i live in california.

MEEMEE- Thanks for the lesson- I guess I've been away a lonnnnnng time. T.O. is the abbreviation for Toronto, Ontario, Canada my birthplace my home. (just wondering because my sisters work for the YMCA , and I saw you are looking for work, and once considered opening a dc- thought they could help )

Just thought I'd add a bit of encouragement.

I am also living on student loans and child support. I started school again last January and after one semester, I'm not sure where my life is headed. I have four kids, so leaving was a difficult decision for me to make, too. Just getting the basics covered seems so overwhelming, esp. when there are more than two of you to worry about!

I'm starting a biz soon..."professional blogging". Hopefully, it'll work out. No, wait...it WILL work out. B/c it's what my family needs. I'll have a blog with ads on it and when ppl read my blog, if they click on the ads, I get paid a little. I plan on having good traffic. The idea is still a little daunting, though. I have issues with taking care of myself financially, but I'm working through them.

I suggest you think on what you really love to do and do it. I'm a writer. So, I'm writing. I've never gotten paid for it in the past, but why should that stop me now, right? I'm writing a children's book, too.

So, what do you love doing?

I had my kids in public school while I tried to figure out what I'm doing with my life, but I'm homeschooling them again starting this summer. I needed that, so the Universe provided a way.

I truly believe that if you know what you want and ask for it, you'll get it.

Find your passion and pursue it! Good luck!

I sell babyslings on the side.. it doesn't bring in ALOT of $$ however it's something.

A good friend of mine does mystery shopping, she only accepts jobs where she can take her kiddos with her. She loves it and really does make good $$ doing it

Hi, everyone, thank you for all of your inspiring thoughts and ideas. After you asked me what I liked to do, I thought about it and of course I love business, really any kind. As long as there is a lot of changes and movement. I've always had an interest in real estate sales. I think it'd be great for me because the hours are somewhat flexible (although there's a lot of hours and running around) I'm a mom so I am super organized, I'm very positive and I could convince an eskimo to buy ice.

Does anyone know the specifics about the steps to become a real estate agent in Toronto, Ontario? (ie. license where, how much on average an agent makes etc...) How flexible are the hours etc...

I'd love to get information on becoming an agent does anyone have any links that could help me? Thank you for asking me the question- what I love to do.