Single Teen Parenting Budget?

Question

I am researching in case of the event that I become a single teen parent and I would appreciate your help. My goal is to come up with a monthly budget.

- Common Jobs a teenager without a high school diploma can obtain. What would you make (on average for one month?). List the job and hourly or monthly income.

- Grocery pieces (make a grocery list and go to the supermarket to total up what the theoretical bill would be for one week? one month?)

- Apartment prices (1 bedroom apartment in Broward County, Florida)

- Baby expenses (diapers, formulas, baby wipes, etc...)

- Miscellaneous expenses (Gas for car or public transportation, doctor's bills, etc)

Do you think I could emotionally handle parenthood as a teenager?

Do you think I could financially handle parenthood as a teenager?

Help from any mothers out there would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Answer 1

Do your own homework.

Answer 2

leave your name: Jessica Location: Houston, TX age you became pregnant AND age you are now: 21 pregnant, 22 now What was your first reaction to becoming pregnant? Shock then anticipation What was your parents/peers reaction (for teen parents) or family/friends reaction? Same as me, then excitement How drastically did it change your life? Majorly. What were the positives and negatives that came from the situation? Positive- Have someone that loves you unconditionally Negative- Life will be very different, cant do what you used to Was money ever a problem and how did you deal with that? Yeah money was a problem but I had a lot of help from my family. Are you happy with your decision of having/keeping the baby? Yes, she is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Most of my friends walked away but the true ones stuck by through everything. Was your pregnancy planned? No, next one will be though Did the pregnancy get in the way of your future goals? Or are you still going for them? No, she made my goals more attainable, like i have the motivation to do something with my life now. Are you happy with the choices you have made so far? Very much so. Did you have any specific food cravings? What were they? Enchiladas Did you stay with the father? If not, does he still keep in contact? He left me 5 months into my pregnancy. He tries to be there as much as he can. How would you describe your experience being pregnant? Emotional. What was the best part of being pregnancy? Shopping for my daughter and of course giving birth to her and getting to hold her for the first time. Any advice to future parents Plan ahead, make sure your diaper bag has everything and expect the unexpected. They will make messes and smile when they see you clean it up lol.

Answer 3

I am not a mother, nor am I a parent, so my opinions reflect more along the lines of practicalities than a "been there done that" approach to your question. Still, I hope they are helpful.

Others have given their opinions of being a teen parent, which I think are good for you to read about, but none of them intelligently answered your questions here. Lets see if I can give it a try.

Common jobs: If you live in the USA, there are severe restrictions on jobs that you can be hired to perform. One of these is that most people won't be able to hire you if you aren't at least 16 years of age, and between 16 and 17 (until such time as you turn 18) there are severe restrictions on number of hours of work somebody could hire you to perform, and when you could actually perform that work. In most cases, if you lack a highschool diploma, your ability to advance economically is also severely hampered. You may not be able to earn enough money to support you and your child (and hopefully, you have your "other half" helping out there because if not, asking for help from Mom and Dad might put a real strain on your relationship with them. Remember, it was your choice to bring a child into this world, not theirs, and they may not be willing or able to support both you and your child).

Grocery budget: This is a useful task to do in any event, but remember that you are no longer just buying for yourself. The needs of your child will, indeed, amount to a pretty penny over the course of time that the child goes from babyhood to adulthood. How do you plan to pay for this necessary task when your monetary intake from a job will be so severely hampered?

Apartment prices: This will depend a lot on where you choose to live. Since you mentioned a particular location, I'd recommend you do your research in the local newspaper's real estate section to determine the cost of either owning a home (not likely considering your going to have severe budgetary restraints) or renting one. Rent is typically a very sizable portion of the budget you will need to create, and without either a job or a high school diploma, you're probably going to have a very difficult time paying this bill in your current budget, whatever that budget might be.

Baby expenses: Your baby will go through diapers, and you won't have any idea how your baby will go through so many. Diapers are not exactly cheap to buy either. As for formula, research suggests that babies who are breastfed get an enormous amount of nutrients from breast milk which they do not get from formula alone. However, breast feeding takes time and some patience. You might want to consider how you will be able to provide that time and patience when you are spending most of your time working so you can afford your apartment and other necessary baby expenses. (Another advantage of breast milk is that it is free, which will be perhaps a key point in your budgeting scheme here.) Also, don't forget that your baby will need regular checkups with the doctor to ensure proper health, so you might want to factor in the cost of health insurance here too.

Miscellaneous expenses: There will be more of these than you will know what to do with, and most of these will be rather unpredictable until they come up. One important one you will want to consider is whether or not you will want to give your baby the financial means to go to college or otherwise learn the ins-and-outs of personal financing. (As a teen mother, I imagine that going to college would be terribly inconvenient for you, so I would just tell you to forgo that idea.)

Emotional qualifications for parenthood: I've been told that being a single mother is a strain emotionally on almost every mother who has undertaken the task, whether for the right reasons or the wrong ones. Many such single mothers often express regret at their being completely unaware of some of the challenges of single motherhood, and often describe that, if they had known beforehand, they would never have attempted it even though they also are proud to announce that they wouldn't give up their child for anything. Some, however, are forced to do so because of the emotional and financial strain, and many children go up for adoption because of that, but many more are never adopted. Whether you, personally, could emotionally handle being a parent, I have no way to know, but I suspect that if you think you are able to do so, you will probably wind iup with a few surprizes along the way.

Financial qualifications for parenthood as a teenager: Most likely, you'll become a recipient of the welfare system because I doubt you'll get too much support from potential employers or from your friends and family. The fact that you are asking these questions is a good start, but I think you're going to be completely drowned by the financial responsibilities of parenting in your position, let alone the emotional responsibilities.

Answer 4

I was a single teen mom and it's a tough road to follow. There are a lot of programs geared toward helping you on your way. Check in the county you live to see if they offer daycare assistance, WIC, housing assistance and that sort of thing. Buy basic baby items used: strollers, cribs, clothing, etc.
As for the emotional toll that it is going to take on you...I don't know you, so I cannot say, but it is doable. Just very, very hard. Seek out some sort of support in your community.
Also know that there is no shame in admitting that you can't do it and there are a lot of people out there looking to adopt a child. Think carefully before you get in over your head. Babies require a lot of time, commitment, money and patience. Good luck!

Answer 5

well ok i'm a married woman with 3 kids of my own, 2 step children, and 2 neices. I work 40 hrs a week, my husband works 40hrs a week, i have a home business also. MY 3 month old son goes thru about 12 cans of powder formula at about $13.00 a can. He goes thru about a pack of diapers every two weeks cost is $19.00 for big pack. Baby food is $.99/ pack so ur looking at about $10.00 for a couple of days. CLothes he outgrows every other week it seems and buying cheap clothes ur still looking at about $150.00. Now groceries for you depending if you eat healthy or not and yes eating healthy is more costly your looking at about $150.00/ every couple of weeks. Most apts now a days a cheap one we will say 500 a month plus utilities, can a teen mom afford this ( in my opinion no, but i was a teen mom and somehow i made it work) i'm no longer a teen but as a new mom its still expensive

Answer 6

a teenager would make minumum wage irregardless of whether or not you have a child to support, that is your burden not employer's so plan on about $8.00 per hour, if you only worked 1 job that would make you $320.00 before taxes, subtract 60 dollars for taxes. Next deduction from your paycheck is health insurance for a single parent of 1 child that will run you about $100.00 per week so now you actual check you recieve will be about $160.00 per week or $640.00 per month. You will not beable to afford housing so you will live with someone else who is willing to provide free housing to you and an infant, fat chance of that happening so you will have to house hop from one freind or relative to another. If you work 2 full time jobs, 80 hours per week or more, you could rent a place, but you would only be home long enough to catch some shut eye (if the baby doesn't need you first) before heading off to your next job. Don't bother making a grocery list because your housing will eat up your paycheck and you will need to apply for food stamps which are embarrassing to use at the checkout and inadequate to perchase anything other than 7 portions of protein per week and canned vegetables, you won't be able to afford higher priced fresh vegetables, forget fruit and bottled water will be a thing of the past.
Ask family and freinds to purchase cloth reusable diapers because disposable diapers change about 11 per day and would run you $30-40 per week they truly are a luxary item.
A car would be out of the picture because as a teen you would not be able to obtain a car loan, and certainly would not have sufficient money to purchase even the junkiest of cars outright and then there are the usual car expenses of insurance (required and costly for a teen) which would run about $2,000.00 per year incase you cause an accident and hurt someone. There are also registration fees and renewals as well as taxes and maintenance fees to keep a car on the road, once those items are paid for then you could think about buying gas.
Only you can answer if you could handle this type of lifestyle for any length of time while trying to raise the baby, which by the way you will fall madly in love with and not want to leave with a sitter and will worry about 24 hours per day, even though you will not have more than a couple hours per week to spend with it, oh yes, don't forget about childcare which will take about $150.00 per week if you can get it subsidized otherwise it will be in the range of $200-300 per week and then you could not afford to work.
I was a teen mom, I am grown up now and can not believe the life my daughter and I had to endure because of my decision. She is grown up now too, but didn't have a very good childhood because there was never enough money and "poor kids" are not treated well in school, and I was always too busy working to spend much time with her which broke my heart every day. I would strongly recommend completing school, going to college, securing a decent job, getting married and saving money, then when you have kids you will be able to enjoy them and raise them in a safe secure environment and you will have the financial security to be able to be a stay at home mom.
HOW COOL WOULD THAT BE

Answer 7

I am a single mom (age 20), and my infant son is 3 months. I work at a Hilton hotel, and I earn about $500.00 a month, (working 32 hours a week, earning 7.25 per hour).
Groceries per month, roughly $300.00 (including the costs of formula) but if you choose to breastfeed, then $200.00/month.
I have a 2 bedroom apt. in the Midwest, and the monthly rent is $490.00 plus the cost of utilities.
The cost of diapers, baby wipes, clothes, etc, is roughly $150.00 per month.
Miscellaneous expenses, roughly $150.00 per month.
So, my mothly wage from my job only covers my rent, nothing else! I get a lot of financial help from the state(DHS) Like foodstamps, FIP, etc.

Answer 8

You can get WIC and talk to your OBGYN you can also get a medical card I had my oldest at 17 it's hard but worth it I also worked at McDonald's. You can ask the children services down there they may be able to help with apartment and the welfare office can help with childcare and other expenses also buy diapers and wipes in bulk to make them last loner like sam's club don't be scared to ask for help believe me you can do it I did.

Answer 9

Firstly, there aren't many places a teen can afford to rent. And Landlords don't like renting to underage people. You would most likely have to share a place, and that would be difficult in itself - to find a place for you and your little one to live, one that you can afford, and one that is appropriate for the two of you.
The income is another problem. You realize that when you are working, you will have to pay someone to look after the little one? And if your on minimum wage ($6.00 hour), you could be working just to pay a sitter? That would leave no money for the other expenses, the sort of things your little one is going to need.
The essentials start with a cot, and the bedding, a pram, and storm cover if your going to have to walk everywhere. Then there's the little one's clothes, which he/she is going to grow out of every 3 months or so. Bottles, sterilizer, brush, solutions, is just a start. If your working to support the little one then you probably won't be able to breast feed. Formula here is around $16 a tin and you will need at least one a week, more if he/she cant take the regular formulas. Disposable nappies are going to cost you around $30 a week. Its cheaper to go with cloth, but are you going to want to wash them at least every second day? Do you have a washer and dryer available? At the laundry matt your looking at about $18 a week just for the nappies.
Then there's the things you will need in your home - television, fridge (to keep formula fresh and to feed yourself), pots pans, crockery, cutlery, bed, lamps, table and chairs, a couch, and other furniture. Plus your going to need a broom, vacuum, mop, etc to keep the place clean.
Where are you going to get these from, and how are you going to pay for them, and how are you going to get them to your place? You will need to have enough resources to set up a comfortable home for you and your little one.
Groceries depend on your tastes, but it will be cheaper and better for you to prepare your own meals. I don't know the prices down your way but at least $60.00 a week wouldn't be unreasonable. That doesn't cover extras like take out, smokes, and treats, but covers cleaning stuff as well.
But doesn't include the babies needs, for him/her double it.
Miscellaneous expenses can be anything -
Do you need public transport to get to work?
If you have a car, as well as petrol, you are going to have to factor in insurance (higher because your young) registration, possible repairs down the track, and don't forget a car seat for the little one. You may have to pay to park it, add that in.
Doctors bills for you, or the little one. Medication.
Some thing breaks down at home and needs to be replaced.
You will need to try and save something (if you can) so these aren't a total disaster.

Parenthood is hard, and single parenthood is harder still. I was 22 and married when I had my first child. I had difficulty in adapting to the changes in my life, the demands of an infant, the changes in my energy levels, the lack of a good night's sleep, and this is with the support of a loving husband who was working, and an extended family. How much harder would it be to cope without that?
Truly I tell you if you have the choice not to be a teen parent, please take it. I'm not judging you, but I do know how hard it is, and wouldn't want to say to someone you should try to do that - cope with all of that - on your own.

Answer 10

This sounds like a homework project. Nice try. Just say you're on the pill and your father has a sawed off shot gun, so the probability of pregnancy is nil.

Answer 11

Listen to answerer #1. A baby needs two parents besides.