About Amelia and Secure Single Mom

Welcome! Thank you for visiting!

Secure Single Mom has been created by one strong, single mother, for another.

In a nutshell, I’m here and I created this site because I learn best when I’m teaching others. I write to motivate, educate, and empower you, as well as me.  

I’m honored to have you visit and pray that Secure Single Mom will be a blessing to your life.  

My name is Amelia and I have three beautiful children who I adore. I am raising them alone — and doing phenomenal at it I might add. 🙂

When I divorced and became a single mother I knew I didn’t want to end up the stereotypical single mother living in poverty. Things were difficult in the beginning, to say the least. When the ex and I first separated I had been a stay-at-home, homeschooling parent for over 15 years, one of my children was in the hospital (and would be there again three more times that year), and soon after our separation my elderly mother with Alzheimer moved in to live with me.

I knew I had to be strong and focus on making smart financial decisions for the sake of myself and my kids. During that first difficult year I had to become more frugal than I had ever been in my life, look for ways to earn a living from home, and most importantly work to keep myself positive and motivated while often feeling overwhelmed and discouraged.

Keeping a Positive Attitude

When life changes drastically in a short period of time it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. I learned to make lists, set priorities and let the little things slide.

I’m a believer that faith in God, a positive attitude, and perseverance can get a person through most any challenge in life… and a knack for making smart choices doesn’t hurt either.

Finding Work From Home Opportunities

With an elderly parent in the home and a child in and out of the hospital frequently, a typical 9 to 5 job was out of the question. I needed flexible work from home.

So . . . I kicked ex-hubby’s things to the curb and used the extra space in the home to start pet sitting.  (Ok. I didn’t really throw it to the curb. 🙂  Following legal advice I stacked it nicely in the garage.)

I searched for and found part-time work online making it possible for me to work from home. Earnings trickled in at first, but eventually led to a decent income.

Selling online at eBay, Amazon and CraigsList provided quick cash more than once. I shopped at Saturday morning garage sales, bargained for deals, and had the items listed for sale by nightfall.

Encouraged by these online sales, I began ordering products wholesale, selling online and shipping from my home.

I made a choice to do whatever it took to get the bills paid and get by each month.

Becoming More Frugal

Besides all the typical bills of every day life, the divorce had also left me saddled with thousands of dollars in credit card debt, which would prove a challenge to overcome, but frugal is in my blood (thanks, Mom) and I knew I could do this.

I cut the cable for TV and switched to streaming only, negotiated with the cell phone provider for a better rate, cut our food bill nearly in half, and worked out a no interest payment plan for hospital bills.

All credit card debt I transferred to a new card which offered as a special promotion 0% interest balance transfer for 18 months. This move saved me thousands and allowed me to pay down the balance faster.

I got creative and found cheap ways to have fun to keep the kids from feeling deprived and angry because of all the change going on in their lives.

Finding a New Normal

In general, life is getting easier again day by day. Changes, once so new and uncomfortable, have become routine. The kids are getting older and have adapted to our new situation. And I’m beginning to find myself with a bit more free time. A fact which brings both well-needed relief and a reminder of how fun life should be.

I’ve discovered that I love to mosaic. Dancing and bike riding are both old hobbies I’ve rediscovered. And reading is something I finally have time for again. Sunday morning brunch at a little place up the street is a treat I look forward to all week. I’ve also lost almost 150 pounds! I mention that with embarrassment. Embarrassed I ever had that much to loose to begin with… and that I’m not done yet.  Happy that it’s gone and that I feel so much better, but a bit uncomfortable that it’s gone too, as odd as that may sound. Just a big ol’ pile of mixed emotions.

Thanks for reading. I truly love writing and meeting so many wonderful people. You all have a way of making me feel so special and needed. 🙂 Thank you!

Cheers y’all! Life is good! Let’s enjoy it.

Amelia