Parenting
Single mom holiday manifesto
I wrote this a couple of years ago, and revisit each holiday season for both myself and readers. I admit that the holidays are hard for me personally — so much pressure to make them memorable, spend more than I’m inclined to, and be cheerful when I often feel lonely and overwhelmed. Last year was first…
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How to run a single mom household like a boss
Single-mom household management can be challenging. But with the right tools, organization, and support, you can become exceptionally efficient when it comes to managing day-to-day tasks. Because let’s get real: YOU DON’T HAVE A CHOICE! By using apps, outsourcing, budgeting, and automating, you can organize your busy life regardless of whether you have multiple children,…
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31 reasons being a single mom is AWESOME (according to readers)
A while ago a member of Millionaire Single Mom on Facebook said: “I’m a new mom, expecting in a few months. What POSITIVES can you tell me about single motherhood?” I responded with a few points, and invited other members to share. Here is what we said: From me, Emma Johnson, on why being a…
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7 tips for taking a road trip with little kids as a single mom
I am writing this from a plane with my kids on the way from our NYC home to Chicago, where we will spend two weeks visiting friends and family, and the places where I grew up in a small town in Northern Illinois. This pilgrimage has become an annual tradition. It started out as a…
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5 friends every single mom needs
If you’re facing single motherhood – whether by divorce, choice or happenstance, you need support. All the freaking support you can get. The key in this new phase of life is to be strategic in choosing who your support system is. I’m not saying ditch all your old friends, or be a snob. But maybe you…
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Best online therapy sites for 2019
If you told me eight years ago I could find a licensed psychologist to come to my apartment in New York City for less than $150 and without spending months on a waiting list, I would have spit my latte right in your face. Today, though, it’s a different story – the utopian dream of…
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Hey single mom— Do you tell your son he’s the man of the house?
Ever since he was a tiny boy, my son has been a little dude. By this, I mean he takes on typically masculine roles. Even when he was 3 years old, he would make sure his older sister and I stood behind the orange safety line while waiting for the subway train — maneuvering his…
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When should single moms introduce a boyfriend to the kids?
Short answer: Whenever you want. Growing up, my mom, who was divorced, dated a lot for a few years. I loved it. I loved watching her get dressed up to go out to dinner or dancing. I’d sit on her bed as she’d stand at the dresser and set her blond, permmed hair on rollers,…
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Clean out your jewelry box and rid yourself of clutter
Clutter is the enemy, and not just because stuff makes your home a mess, your closets, and drawers difficult to manage. Clutter hold you back in life. Sell your bridal jewelry or other diamond jewelry to minimize this physical, mental and emotional clutter — and make money while you’re at it! Worthy is the leading site…
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Share happy stories about your kids’ dad [co-parenting tip]
The past few months Helena has been obsessed with family stories. “Mommy, tell me a story about when I was a baby,” she’ll ask, and I’ll tell her about how once, as a sleeping infant, her laugh broke the pin-drop silence of one of New York Public Library’s reading rooms, eliciting a symphony of chuckles.…
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Who deserves to call themselves a “single mom”?
Updated May 17, 2019 Below, you will find a polite, academic picking-apart of the who-gets-to-call-themselves-a-single-mom debate. It rages on, constantly, and after 7 years of blogging about single moms (and being one myself for 9 years), I have come to this conclusion: The argument about who is, and who is not a single mom is…
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Why moms don’t have to tell your ex about your new boyfriend
I often hear from moms who: Say that their ex freaked out when he found out she was dating, and how should she deal with him? Ask how she should tell her ex about her new boyfriend. Are livid her kids met her ex’s new woman. To all of these scenarios, I say: It is none of…
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Why alimony hurts gender equality
I blindly grew up and into my 30s assuming the standard-issue feminist party line: Women’s work is uncompensated and undervalued. When women become stay-at-home mothers, that benefits men’s careers, and when the marriage ends, she should be compensated for that lost earning potential. Both partners’ lifestyles should be the same when the marriage ends! Then,…
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How to get dads involved in divorce and separated families
Other ways to listen: iTunes ♦ Stitcher ♦ TuneIn ♦ SoundCloud ♦ Google Play This is an important episode. Terry Brennan, co-founder of Leading Women for Shared Parenting, an activist organization responsible for introducing legislation in 20 states, that makes equal, shared parenting the presumption in family court. This is a critical issue for children, who suffer…
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Fighting with your kids’ dad about holiday schedule? Do this ….
The holidays are so hard for divorced and separated families. They just are. Especially if you are new to sharing the kids on the holidays. You are grieving what you thought your family would look like. What you hoped and expected your family would look like. So much of that image is wrapped up in…
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What it’s really like to be the single mom of a special needs child
While the numbers are not confirmed, experts agree that divorce rates among parents with special needs children is far higher than the general population. And since single moms of special needs kids have challenges and joys that other moms — single or otherwise — do not. Kim Thompson, a single mom of two boys, ages…
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Haven Life Review: A policy change saved this mom $7,670
I always had life insurance, but switching to a less expensive Haven Life life insurance policy saved me nearly $8,000. Here’s my story. After my oldest was born, her dad and I proudly made sure we ticked every prescribed financial item on the universal to-do list, including life insurance: Open a 529 college savings account…
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Why shared parenting is so great for kids – and for moms!
Other ways to listen: iTunes ♦ Stitcher ♦ TuneIn ♦ SoundCloud ♦ Google Play After one meeting with my ex and our lawyers to negotiate the custody agreement of our divorce, I went home, busted out the calculator, and cried. I freaked out at the idea of being away from my kids for extended hours or days, and I…
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Teach kids about money — in an age of no cash
In my day, even if your parents didn’t explicitly teach you about personal finance, money lessons were inherent to life: Allowance for kids and babysitting jobs were paid in cash. Savings accounts meant coins and wadded-up singles deposited into piggy banks and the local bank branch. Charity meant writing a paper check (remember those?!) to…
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Why kids don’t always come first when dating as a single parent
I meet most men that I date online. What do you look for when dating a man with kids? It’s very common for guys with kids to write in their eharmony.com dating profiles: “My kids come first,” or “My daughter is the center of my world!” I get where you’re coming from. You want a potential…
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