I’m wrapping up a week of single parenting while my other half traipses around China visiting Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong. While I don’t envy the 15 hour flights and managing the 12 hour time change, he is staying in some lovely hotels and is without the regular ‘routine’.

I’ve had a great week with our 2 young children. It’s gone more smoothly than I anticipated. I have reflected on it and imagined what it would be like to be a single parent on a permanent basis. I realize that 1 week isn’t even close to the reality that many face every day, week and year. An unrelenting daily life as the responsible adult to get your children to and from care, yourself to and from work, put food on the table, run errands and keep a house going.

Another facet to single parenting is the finances. Most people in this situation started out married and have divorced. The bottom line is that no one wins emotionally or financially. Necessity type expenses (housing, food and utilities) are no longer shared and in many cases double. Care and support expenses also increase as there’s no longer a team to trade off. Incomes do not increase and therefore the same couple is now running 2 households on the same income. No wonder the entire family’s standard of living decreases. There are some creative options to ease the burden and hopefully a support system to help out but either way, a realistic budget and a solid understanding of your financial situation is more important than ever.