What Would You Say to Your Sister?

Hey Scott,

Your column about low-income single parents buying a home with the help of the Government’s 2.5% deposit got me talking with me and my single mum friends. It got us thinking … if you were sitting across the dinner table from your single mum sister, what specific advice would you give her about the possibility of buying a home in the future, considering the current costs? 

Fiona

Hi Fiona,

I’d tell her the truth: as a low-income earner she can’t afford it, and she shouldn’t do it.

After all, single parents don’t have time for sugar-coating things. Their lives are relentless. Adding financial stress to the mix can make things unbearable.

As a single parent your main priority is looking after your kids, both financially and emotionally. You can’t do that if you’re stressed out of your brain because you bought something you can’t afford to maintain. If you have no control over your bills, it won’t be long till you feel totally out of control.

Finally, I’d answer the question behind the question. What I think you’re really wanting to know is this:

As a low-income single parent, how can I get financial security?

Now that is something you can absolutely achieve, and relatively quickly. It involves opening a separate bank account (which I call Mojo) and funding it with $2,000. Yes it’s small change compared to buying a house, but you’ll be amazed at the Mojo it gives you.

Now I’m not a banker or a politician, so I can tell it to you straight:

The path to financial security doesn’t come by enslaving yourself with debt, it starts with savings.