How I manage my moneyThe school calendar is part of a single parent's budget

The September cycle

Every year, I seem to be surprised by September. It is a failure of my own planning, I suppose, because school uniform costs and the inevitable extras that come with a new term never really go away. My income of £26,700 is stretched thin over my £690 monthly rent and the £110 I pay toward my credit card. When you are managing it all by yourself, the calendar isn't just a guide; it's a series of impending deadlines that always seem to cost money.

Finding small support

I have started putting away £35 a month into a school-cost pot. It is a small amount, but it stops the back-to-school season from feeling like a catastrophe. I even plucked up the courage to ask the school if there was any discreet way they could help with certain activities. It was a difficult conversation, but it turned out there were options I never would have known about if I had stayed silent and assumed I had to carry it all alone.

Shared responsibilities

Childcare is the biggest hurdle when work hours shift. My sister has been a lifesaver, and we have worked out a system where we swap days. It doesn't cost money, but it costs time and effort to maintain that relationship, which I value more than anything. We both know that if one of us falls, the other one is right there to catch us.

I am done being surprised by the school calendar; now I am planning for the predictable, one month at a time.

Keeping a tradition alive

Despite the tight margins, I insist on one small birthday tradition for my child. It isn't extravagant—just a homemade cake and a specific day out—but it represents a line in the sand. It is a reminder that even though the budget is strained and the debt repayment is a constant weight, there is more to my life than just balancing columns of numbers.

Making September predictable

I am tired of pretending that I have it all under control. I don't. The credit card balance is still there, and the rent in Liverpool keeps climbing, making the future feel precarious. I am just taking it one month at a time, trying to turn those predictable costs into planned-for items instead of recurring emergencies.