Many single parent families are already living paycheck to paycheck; what happens when the single parent has to take time off for family illness or emergencies?
Not only does the single parent need a day off now and then for his/her own health – illness usually never just strikes one in the group without affecting the others. If one gets sick after the other the sick days could run out before the illness runs its course. Worse yet, what if the job doesn’t provide for paid sick days?
It is vital to the security of the single parent’s budget to plan ahead in order to prevent a sick day from becoming dooms-day. Listed below are tips to help the single parent to plan for the sick day.
Recruit help!
Contact neighbors, friends and family ahead of time – don’t wait until the last minute – to see who can possibly help with sick days. If you are sick you will want to go ahead and send the children to school or childcare as usual but you may need help with things like transporting the children or cooking dinner. Limiting your exposure to the children will help prevent them from catching what you have.
If your child is sick you will not be able to send the child to school or childcare and will need someone to care for them so you won’t have to miss work. Preferably this person will not have children of their own at home so there is no worry of the children getting other children sick.
Offer an exchange of service for their help. Maybe you can offer to mow their lawn or bake their favorite cookie recipe.
Stash Some Cash!
If there is no one available to be of assistance it will be important to have saved for the sick day. This may seem impossible when you are already living paycheck to paycheck but even just five-dollars a week can put food on the table when the paycheck gets cut short.
Stay Healthy!
Many may at this moment be saying, “duh!!!” However, many people overlook little things that can help a person prevent from being sick in the first place. Eat a healthy diet to include lots of vegetables, take supplemental vitamins, drink a lot of water and get plenty of rest! Schedule some relaxing “me” time at least every other week and remember to have fun! Stress is the number one cause of many illnesses and although we cannot avoid all stressful triggers we can find ways to learn how to deal with these triggers without stressing out. But that is for a different article!
Please share your sick day stories and advice in the comment section.
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