Working from home is sometimes the only solution for single parents because they have restraints that partnered parents don’t. Here are ten reasons single parents are better off looking for Online Incomes today. Being a single parent looking for employment or living on a single wage as a couple is almost impossible in 2023. One slight positive to emerge from the pain and trauma of the pandemic was the new work-from-home culture and online side hustle culture that used to be seen as only for the lucky, as accepted by most forward-thinking employers.
Working from home for an employer, taking on an online side hustle, or even starting your own online endeavour is now almost standard, especially with the cost of living crisis in America, the UK and Australia.
For single parents, especially solo parents, finding employment is just as tricky as it has always been. When you are the only parent, you are the only one who will leave work for sick kids. You are the face your kids look for in the crowd at school hour events. You are where everything falls, and no one can share the burden of all financial, emotional and well-being responsibilities.
I get it. As a solo parent myself for the last five years, with four kids under 7 at the time and one disabled child, I couldn’t return to my job more than two days a week. That simply was not enough to live on. The lucky ones might get child support, but for me, like my ex-husband, who disappeared after six months of separation.
So, if you are a financially struggling single parent or even a partnered parent who wants to help support the family, you are in luck; online work is out there, and you can start any time you like.
First, you should understand why putting energy into looking for a nine-to-five on-site employment position will probably fail to work out for you. It may be if you have a great support system and a brilliant and flexible boss, but they are rare. So, for the rest of us poor souls, here are the reasons you should start looking online for an online side hustle that you can, over time, turn into a supplementary or full-time income.
Single parents, solo parents and primary carers face unique challenges when finding and holding down employment. There are many reasons that single parents struggle to find and hold down employment.
Single Parents Are Better Off Looking For Online Incomes Because They Have Less Time
Parents have a lot of responsibilities. Keeping track of the household, finances, cleaning, shopping, after-school activities, weekend sports, etc. Then, add the responsibilities of balancing work hours with childcare, attending school events and the mental load of being on top of having uniforms clean, packing lunches, and all this with no support or backup system. It’s really stressful, and often, single parents end up scaling back on working hours to keep their sanity intact. This isn’t great for the financial situation, but sometimes sacrifices must be made to protect your mental health.
Single Parents Struggle To Find Flexible Work Options:
Finding jobs with flexible schedules is like finding a unicorn. Actually, it’s impossible. Finding school hours work is excellent if you can find it, but what if a child is sick? Or is there a school assembly? So what do you do during school holidays?
Is only 30 hours a week pay going to come close to paying the bills? Most likely not because most jobs like this are in low-paying fields like school assistants, data entry or hospitality. Then, if you live in a city, you must consider commuting. It may be more like five or four hours of work daily, hardly worth the effort and sacrifice.
Single Parents Are Better Off Looking For Online Incomes Because They Face Significant Financial Stress.
Single parents face more financial pressure than couples. This means they can only apply for low-paying, unskilled work to get a job that fits their kids’ schedules. This leads to working more hours for less pay and spending more time away from your children. Less bang for their buck. The priority is paying the bills, not increasing income, skills or earning a decent income.
Often, there is no restraint on online side hustles and what they can earn. Side hustles allow single parents to work at home in the evenings when their children are in bed. Vastly improving their financial situation and reducing financial stress. Starting a passive online income such as affiliate marketing means that the longer they do it, the more they earn. Eventually, they can scale back their effort and earn money 24/7.
Single and Solo Parents have a Limited Support System Compared to Couples.
Single and solo parents generally have half the reliable support system of their coupled friends. Half the grandparents, half the siblings and half the friends to assist them with childcare before and after school. Where a couple may be able to schedule their hours to take a child to soccer practice or music lessons, one parent only has themselves.
If both parents are working, couples can choose a set of grandparents, two lots of siblings or two lots of friends to contact for assistance. A solo or single parent only has one set. This is where a remote job, online income or completing online surveys can assist.
Most remote jobs or online surveys can be done when you get a moment; the more you do, the more you earn. This can mean they have the financial ability to do fewer hours at work so they can take their child to practice, rather than the child missing out due to a diminished support system.
Single Parents Are Better Off Looking For Online Incomes Because It Reduces Child Care Costs.
Depending on their country or state, some single parents may get childcare assistance or tax benefits that make child care affordable. However, single or solo parents know they must pay extra childcare costs. There is no 50% arrangement with the other parent to help cover costs because theirs is their only income.
Single parents with a full-time online income cannot pay childcare costs because they can work from home and still look after their children. Be home with them when they are sick without missing work, or just take time off for the benefit of the kids if needed.
Even having an online side hustle, you know that if you need to take a day off, you can do some online work and make that money missed through a day off for a sick child relatively quickly. It’s common for those consistent with online surveys and sharing their links to make an extra $100 to $500 weekly with only an hour a day’s work.
Working Single Parents Are Better Off Looking For Online Incomes Because They Are More Prone To Burnout.
Being a single or solo parent is mentally, emotionally and spiritually demanding. Typically, looking after children and the mental load of having to have everything organised and done by themselves is exhausting. Working full-time and having to have childcare, meals, shopping and school activities organised often leads to balls being dropped. To increase income, most people would start looking or studying for a new position with the support of their partner. This is not an option for single or solo parents and often leads to late nights and early mornings, depriving them of sleep.
This can lead to severe burnout and feelings of hopelessness. In addition, burnout affects single parents’ health, leading them to lose their employment and putting even more pressure on the family unit.
Single and solo parents need to look for ways to increase their income while reducing their working hours, which sounds crazy and a pipe dream, right?
It is achievable with a combination of flexible online incomes that can be done when they feel able or have the time to continue to work for them after the work is done.
Solutions such as
- Online surveys can pay surprisingly big money, from $20 a week to $500 each and beyond that if you also share your resource link with family and friends.
- Affiliate marketing, where you create a social media post and, once out there, can continue to work for you for years. This one can take a few weeks or months to really get traction. Still, once you achieve it, the income ultimately depends on your ability to put time into it. After a few months, just a couple of hours a week can make you up to 5k a week! Try using online tools such as Stan store with a free 14 days introduction, or benable to start and learn the skills you need as a beginner.
- Product Testing is signing up to sites and testing websites and apps. You need no experience to do this; some just want a tick-and-flick reply, while others ask that you do a short interview or a video reply. This can be lucrative if you have time at night, and once you are established, you can earn up to $50 or even $100 per test.
Avoid burnout as a single parent and try one of these options today. They are all free to start.
Single Parents are Limited in Networking Opportunities.
Generally, if you are looking for employment in a particular field, you will go to events where you will get to meet people already in the field or look for new staff.
For example, suppose you want to move into the IT security field. In that case, you may go to conventions in your area that feature the newest and latest products. This is so you can meet people who are showcasing their products and others looking for new ones. In addition, this allows you to meet and get to know people who may be looking to employ you in the future, and they will remember you. Of course, this is a breeze when you have a partner. However, as a single parent, this involves more planning than a Greek wedding, with a babysitter that will cost almost as much.
If it is a weekend event and you don’t have family support, just forget it.
This is where the world of working online and having a remote work-from-home job has evened up the playing field. Most events are now online, and attending is no longer a pipe dream.
However, these events can be vital if you are still considering a local nine-to-five job. As a single parent, you know, like I do, it’s just not always possible.
With online work or finding passive income, you can just look up a Facebook page network with a group of like-minded people and get jobs online.
I have done this myself and gained many blog writing freelancing gigs that have upped my monthly income by thousands, and I don’t even need to get out of my pyjamas.!
Single Parents Are Better Off Looking For Online Incomes To Improve their Growth Opportunities.
Financial and childcare restraints can prevent single or solo parents from being able to attend job training opportunities and enrol in further study. Imagine working full time, raising four children solo, and then looking into further study to advance your career. Completely mental right! Not unachievable, but what sacrifices will you need to make? Is it worth all that effort and stress for an extra $100 a fortnight? Probably not.
Setting up a reliable income online, such as doing Online Surveys or even affiliate marketing, means that you can set your own hours. For example, if you put two hours a day into your venture ( compared to two hours studying for six or twelve months), you would make thousands extra a fortnight, not just $100.
Not being able to advance in your career while you watch all your coupled and single with no kids colleagues advance is demoralising. Trust me, I know. So look for alternatives, like online incomes. Treat your online income like a job, paying you better than any job you can find.
In addition, most online incomes need little training. Still, if they do, you can enrol in online training for as little as $7 with a do-at-your-own-pace mindset and absolutely no pressure. So do yourself a favour and walk past the coffee shop tomorrow and try a short course, like this affiliate marketing course, that will teach you enough to start making money as a beginner and open your eyes to the possibilities.
Single Parents Are Better Off Looking For Online Incomes To Improve Work-Life Balance.
Finding a work-life balance and “me time” are tricky for single parents. For solo parents, it is basically impossible. Single and solo parents are prone to becoming hypervigilant due to having no downtime, which can affect their mood, sleep, mental health and quality of life.
But what’s the answer? They are the ones that need to bring in money to feed their kids and keep them housed. So often, solo parents have been entirely abandoned by the other parents and their families, so there is no financial or emotional support at all from that side of the family. This is why single parents are better off looking for online incomes, you can choose a passive or flexible one that allows you to create your own ideal work/life balance.
Working full-time, part-time or not at all, you either struggle with guilt for not being there for your kids, constant fatigue and rage because you are burnt out, or heavy financial strain. There is no sweet spot where you have money, downtime, precious time with your kids and time for yourself to recharge.
In 2020, the pandemic hit, and everything changed. People were not only allowed to work at home, but it was encouraged. Productivity went up, morale went up, and the window opened for people to see that there is a way to have a work-life balance and a decent income. Working from home is now much easier to find and achieve if you are willing to look.
In 2023, the issue is now earning enough to beat inflation, also called the cost of living. It’s crazy that even simple things like a dozen eggs have doubled in price. Side hustles for single parents are no longer an option. They are a necessity to survive. Choosing the right one and learning gradually one that you ENJOY and will pay off, in the long run, is the secret to slowly morphing that side hustle into a full-time occupation. Working online means you can free up time for important things such as school drop-offs, yoga or catching up with friends without sacrificing your income.
I’m banging on about surveys, but it’s the quickest free way to start earning what can be a surprisingly good amount online. It is the perfect opportunity to get extra income as a beginner online without burning out or pushing yourself to the brink of sanity.
Affiliate marketing is also perfect for beginners, as you can learn as you go, but making money takes time. I recommend you read this blog, where I set out step by step how to start from surveys and move into affiliate marketing without breaking your brain, the bank of your back. This is how I personally got started, and now I make a full-time income online. And I kept my sanity.
Single Parents Are Better Off Looking For Online Incomes Because They face Discrimination and Are Constantly Stereotyped.
When you tell a prospective employer you are a single parent, you lower your chances of getting the job. This is because of all the factors above that the employer already realises. Single parents are better off looking for online incomes because children will not affect your work online. You can do it when, where and how often you want to.
You are time-poor
You are the default parent for sick kids.
You will want the school holidays off.
You may be tired more than other employees.
You are more prone to burnout.
You will often be away from work and less likely to attend out-of-hours events.
This is discrimination. However, considering all of the above, I get it. This is the main reason that interviewers cannot ask you if you have children in the interview because of perceived stereotypes and discrimination. Even if you have the best attendance record in your previous company, it might make a prospective employer nervous.
Employed people in Australia with side hustles went up by 4.3 per cent in June 2022 due to the cost of living. It is unknown how many are single parents, but many are part-time workers looking to increase their income. They may be single, solo or partnered and need extra income.
Online interviewers and trainers are seeing more and more single parents move into the online world because it opens up new careers, better pay, and makes sense. It gives single and solo parents the ability to be reliable and hard-working people who make good money and are present and relaxed parents for their kids.
I have done several online interviews for high-paying positions. Not a dust speck of discrimination in sight. It’s incredibly refreshing.
You are lucky if you made it this far without nodding your head, laughing, crying or feeling desperately aligned with what I am saying.
Even couples struggle with the above issues if I haven’t said this already. It is not JUST single or solo parents. It is just my experience as I am a 100% solo parent.
Don’t struggle anymore. Start exploring the online world and keep your mind open.
Start today with Surveys.
Affiliate Marketing
Blogging
Or Freelancing.
If you need guidance or support knowing where to start, contact me on any of the following social media sites or by email. I provide one-on-one coaching to help you find your passion and freedom.
