Budget housing, furniture and utilities

Forget glamorous, spacious, and perfect decor.  Instead, focus on safe and affordable.  Feminists for Life has a great article giving tips about housing, furniture and utilities when you are on a shoestring budget.

Most towns have a public housing office, although it may be difficult to get placed because of long waiting lists and shortages of available housing in most places. The U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development (HUD) may have listings of low-income housing. Local HUD offices can be found by choosing your state from the pulldown menu at www.hud.gov.

Consider sharing a house or apartment with other families like yours. Make sure that house-sharers are safe people, mutually compatible and flexible people, and to plan the living space for privacy as well as togetherness. Be sure to check your local laws about how many people may legally share a bedroom.

The National Shared Housing Resource Center (www.nationalsharedhousing.org) can be a good starting point for researching shared housing options. Craigslist is another resource for finding people interested in shared housing. Coabode.com offers a “matchmaking” service for single mothers to share housing with other single mothers.


Many utility companies and charitable organizations offer financial assistance to low-income
households for utilities. Take action to keep utility costs down. The first step is weather-proofing: make sure there is caulk around window frames, weather-stripping on doors, and use plastic insulating kits on windows where there are no storm windows.  Keep showers short, turn off lights, unplug items that you aren't using, change the thermostat and adjust clothing layers instead.

When children are small, it is better to have sturdier, more durable furniture that can withstand
some wear and tear. Handmedowns from relatives or friends can meet the need. A mattress and box spring on a metal frame are just as good as an expensive bed frame, and a futon on the floor is even
cheaper. Check www.freecycle.org first for free furniture. If you can’t find anything there, try craigslist.com, or bulletin boards at religious community centers, supermarkets and businesses. Flea markets, auctions, garage sales and tag sales are also good sources, although they pose an impulse buy
temptation.

You may find it helpful to read the chapter “Should she parent alone?”in our book “How To Survive Your Teen’s Pregnancy" to learn more about housing.

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