essay about financial problem in family

Essay on Family Financial Problem

Students are often asked to write an essay on Family Financial Problem in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Family Financial Problem

Understanding family financial problems.

Money issues in a family can lead to stress. When there isn’t enough money, paying for basic things like food, house, and clothes becomes hard. Parents may work long hours or multiple jobs, which can be tiring and leave less time for family.

Causes of Money Troubles

Money problems can come from losing a job, having a lot of debt, or not planning how to spend money wisely. Sometimes, unexpected events like illness can also cause financial strain.

Effects on the Family

When a family faces money issues, it can cause arguments and worry. Kids might not be able to join sports or go on trips, which can make them feel left out.

Finding Solutions

Families can overcome money problems by creating a budget, cutting unnecessary spending, and saving money. Talking openly about money and making plans together can also help.

250 Words Essay on Family Financial Problem

Money issues within a family can be tough. When a family does not have enough money, it causes stress. This stress can come from not being able to pay bills, buy food, or afford a place to live. Sometimes, parents might lose their jobs or have unexpected expenses like a car breaking down. When this happens, it can be hard for the family to manage their money.

Effects on Daily Life

Financial problems can change how a family lives every day. Parents might have to work more hours or find extra jobs. This means they have less time to spend with their children. Kids might not be able to join sports or do fun activities because they cost money. Also, families might have to move to a cheaper home or cut back on buying new things.

Working Together to Solve Problems

Families can work together to fix their money problems. This could mean making a plan for how to spend their money wisely. Parents can teach their children about saving money and not wasting it. They can also look for ways to reduce costs, like using coupons or buying things on sale.

Getting Help

It’s okay to ask for help when dealing with money issues. Families can talk to friends, relatives, or professionals who know about finances. There are also programs that help families with food and other needs. By reaching out, families can find support and advice to get through tough times.

In conclusion, family financial problems are challenging, but with careful planning and help from others, families can overcome these issues. It’s important to talk about money worries and work together to find solutions.

500 Words Essay on Family Financial Problem

Money issues within a family can be a big source of stress. When a family does not have enough money to cover all its needs, it is facing a financial problem. This can mean not being able to pay for important things like food, a home, or medical care. Sometimes, these problems come up because a family member loses a job, gets sick, or has to deal with an unexpected expense like a car repair.

There are many reasons why a family might have money problems. One common reason is not earning enough money. This can happen if jobs in the area don’t pay very well or if there aren’t enough jobs for everyone who needs one. Another reason is high costs. Sometimes, the price of things like rent, groceries, and gas goes up, but the money people make does not. Also, if someone in the family gets sick and the medical bills are high, this can lead to financial stress.

Effects on Family Life

When a family struggles with money, it can affect everyone in the house. Parents might argue more about money, which can make the home feel stressful. Kids might notice these problems and feel worried or sad. They might not be able to do fun activities or have certain things that their friends do. This can make them feel left out or different.

Managing Money Wisely

One way to help with financial problems is to manage money wisely. This means making a plan for how to spend money, which is called a budget. A budget helps a family see where their money is going and find ways to spend less. For example, they might decide to eat at home instead of going out or to walk instead of taking the bus to save on transportation costs.

Sometimes, families need help to get through tough financial times. There are places that offer help, like food banks, where families can get food for free. There are also groups that can help pay for things like heating in the winter. Schools sometimes offer programs for kids, like free lunch, to make sure they have enough to eat.

Moving Forward

Working through financial problems can be hard, but it’s not impossible. Families can come together to make a plan and support each other. Talking openly about money issues can help everyone understand the situation and think of ways to improve it. By being careful with spending and looking for help when needed, families can overcome these challenges.

In conclusion, family financial problems are tough but common. They can happen for many reasons, like low income or high costs. These problems can make family life hard, but there are ways to deal with them. Making a budget, using community resources, and supporting each other can help families get through these hard times. With patience and effort, families can work towards a more stable financial future.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

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How to write a financial need statement for your scholarship application (with examples!)

So you’re applying for a scholarship that asks you about your financial need. What do you say? How honest or specific should you be? What is TMI? In this article, we break down how to pen an awesome financial need scholarship essay or statement.

What to include in a financial need scholarship essay

Template to structure your financial need scholarship essay, introduction: your basic profile, body: your financial situation and hardships, conclusion: how you would benefit from this scholarship, was this financial need essay for a college financial aid application , now, reuse that same essay to apply for more scholarships, additional resources to help you write your financial need scholarship essay.

Many scholarships and college financial aid awards are “need-based,” given to students whose financial situation requires additional support. That’s why one of the most common college scholarship essays is a statement of financial need. This might be very explicit (“Explain your financial need”), somewhat explicit (“Describe your financial situation”), or quite open-ended (“Explain why you need this scholarship”).

In all cases, scholarship providers want to get a sense of your family’s financial picture: what your family income is, if you personally contribute to it (do you have a job?), and how much additional money you need to attend your target college (your “financial gap”).

If the essay prompt is a bit more open-ended (“Explain how this scholarship would help you”), your essay should probably be a combination of a financial need statement and a career goals / academic goals essay.  That’s because you want to show how the award will help you financially and in your academic or career goals.

Usually this statement of financial need is a pretty short scholarship essay (150-300 words), so unlike a college essay or personal statement where you have ample word count to tell anecdotes, you’ll likely need to get right to the point. 

Be sure to include: 

• If you are an underrepresented group at college, for instance, part of an ethnic minority or the first in your family to go to college
• Any relevant family circumstances, like if your parents are immigrants or refugees, as well as your parents’ occupation and how many children/family members they support financially
• How you are currently paying for college, including what you personally are doing to contribute financially (like working student jobs)
• What financial challenges/difficulties your family is facing, for instance, if a parent recently lost their job
• How you would benefit from the scholarship–including your academic and career goals (if word count allows)

Also remember to write in an optimistic tone. Writing about your financial situation or hardships might not be the most positive thing to share. But you can turn it around with an optimistic tone by writing about how these challenges have taught you resiliency and grit.

Give a short introduction to who you are, highlighting any family characteristics that might make you part of an underrepresented group at college. 

“I am a first-generation American and the first in my family to go to college. My family moved from El Salvador to New York when I was seven years old, to escape the violence there.”

Example 2: 

“I am from a working-class family in Minnesota. My family never had a lot, but we pooled our efforts together to make ends meet. My parents both worked full-time (my father as a mechanic, my mother as a receptionist at the local gym), while my siblings and I all worked weekend jobs to contribute to the family income.”

Dive into the details. How are you currently planning to pay for college? The idea here is to show that you and your family have made a good-faith effort to earn enough money to pay your tuition, but that it has simply not been enough. 

Make sure you describe your parents’ occupation, any savings (like a 529 College Savings Account), and any student jobs. You might also discuss any sudden changes in fortune (e.g. parent fell ill or lost their job) that have ruined your original financial plans. 

Example 

As immigrants with limited English, my parents have had to accept low-paying jobs. My father is an Uber driver, and my mother is a housekeeper. They earn just enough to pay our rent and put food on the table, so I’ve always known they could not help me pay for college.  So I’ve been proactive about earning and saving my own money. Since age 11, I’ve worked odd jobs (like mowing my neighbors’ lawns). At age 16, I started working at the mall after school and on weekends. Through all these jobs, I’ve saved about $3000. But even with my financial aid grants, I need to pay $8000 more per year to go to college. 

Bring it home by wrapping up your story.  Explain how you plan to use the financial aid if you’re awarded this scholarship. How will you benefit from this award? What will you put the money toward, and how will it help you achieve your academic and/or career goals?

Scholarship review boards want to know that their money will be put to good use, supporting a student who has clear plans for the future, and the motivation and determination to make those plans a reality. This is like a shortened, one-paragraph version of the “Why do you deserve this scholarship?” essay . 

Winning $5000 would help me close the financial gap and take less in student loans. This is particularly important for me because I plan to study social work and eventually work in a role to support my community. However, since these jobs are not well paid, repaying significant student loans would be difficult. Your scholarship would allow me to continue down this path, to eventually support my community, without incurring debt I can’t afford.

My plan is to study human biology at UC San Diego, where I have been admitted, and eventually pursue a career as a Nurse-Practitioner. I know that being pre-med will be a real academic challenge, and this scholarship would help me focus on those tough classes, rather than worrying about how to pay for them. The $2000 award would be equivalent to about 150 hours of working at a student job. That’s 150 hours I can instead focus on studying, graduating, and achieving my goals. 

Sometimes this financial need statement isn’t for an external scholarship. Instead, it’s for your college financial aid office.

In that case, you’re usually writing this statement for one of two reasons:

• You’re writing an appeal letter , to request additional financial aid, after your original financial aid offer wasn’t enough. In this case, you’ll want to make sure you’re being extra specific about your finances.
• You’re applying for a specific endowed scholarship that considers financial need. In this case, your financial need essay can be quite similar to what we’ve outlined above.

Now that you’ve written a killer financial need scholarship essay, you have one of the most common scholarship essays ready on hand, to submit to other scholarships too.

You can sign up for a free Going Merry account today to get a personalized list of hundreds of scholarships matched to your profile. You can even save essays (like this one!) to reuse in more than one application.  

You might also be interested in these other blog posts related to essay writing:

• What’s the right scholarship essay format and structure?
• How to write a winning scholarship essay about your academic goals
• How to write an awesome essay about your career goals
• Recent Posts

• Scholarships for Students in Pennsylvania for 2021 - November 11, 2020
• Counselor Starter Guide: How to Use Going Merry’s Scholarship Platform - September 9, 2020
• How to write a financial need statement for your scholarship application (with examples!) - August 13, 2020

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The Impact of Financial Hardship on Single Parents: An Exploration of the Journey From Social Distress to Seeking Help

Rebecca jayne stack.

Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK

Alex Meredith

Single parent families are at high risk of financial hardship which may impact on psychological wellbeing. This study explored the impact of financial hardship on wellbeing on 15 single parents. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed using constructivist thematic analysis. Participants described food and fuel poverty, and the need to make sacrifices to ensure that children’s basic needs were met. In some cases, participants went without food and struggled to pay bills. Isolation, anxiety, depression, paranoia, and suicidal thoughts were described. However, participants reported that psychological services not able to take the needs of single parents in to account. Support for single parents must acknowledge the impact of social circumstances and give more consideration economic drivers of distress.

In the United Kingdom, approximately one in four children live in single parent families (also known as lone parent families). In 2016 there were 2.9 million single parents in the United Kingdom, representing an 18.6% increase in single parents since 1996, (Great Britain. Office for National Statistics 2016 ). Women account for 86% of single parents with dependent children, the average age of a single parent is 38 years of age, with approximately 60% of single parents caring for one dependent child. Single parent families are one representation of the range and diversity of family units in modern society (Golombok 2000 ; Golombok et al. 2016 ) and can be created through circumstances, including divorce, separation, death of a partner, donor insemination or an unplanned pregnancy.

Societal perceptions often construct single parents as young, female, unemployed parents with multiple children (Garner and Paterson 2014 ; Zartler 2014 ). Single parents are a stigmatised group in that they are in possession of a set of characteristics that conveys a social identity that is often devalued within society (Crocker et al. 1998 ). However, in Britain, employment among female single parents is higher than that of married or co-habiting women (Chambaz 2001 ). Despite high employment levels single parents are more likely to experience fuel poverty than other family structures (Liddell 2008 ). In addition, single parent families are still nearly twice as likely to be in poverty as those in couple parent families, with 67% of single parents reporting that they struggle with finances (Gingerbread 2015 ). Single parents therefore must manage a number of stressors including stigma, work and poverty.

The link between financial hardship poor health and poor mental health has been demonstrated in multiple populations. A study across 27 European countries found that single parents (in comparison to cohabiting parents and married parents) had poorer health, with the United Kingdom being substantially worse in this regard (Campbell et al. 2015 ; Van de Velde et al. 2014 ). In addition, studies have shown that single parents also experience lower levels of mental health and low psychological wellbeing (Ifcher and Zarghamee 2014 ), with more extensive use of the mental health services (Cairney and Wade 2002 ). Brown and Morgan ( 1997 ) examined marital status, poverty and depression in female parents over a 2-year period and found that single parents were twice as likely as their married counterparts to be in financial hardship (Brown and Moran 1997 ), despite being twice as likely to be in full-time employment. Single parents have been shown to experience higher levels of chronic stress (Cairney et al. 2003 ), loneliness (Baranowska-Rataj et al. 2014 ) and depression (Jackson et al. 2000 ). Elevated distress levels were also identified in German single parents compared to married mothers (Franz et al. 2003 ). Tein et al. ( 2000 ) conducted a prospective longitudinal study of the relationships among life stress, psychological distress, coping, and parenting behaviours in single mothers in the United States. The findings showed that both major and minor events had a significant impact on distress levels, with daily negative events having the largest impact on distress levels. Theoretically, high levels of distress, low economic resources and a lack of stress buffering resources may lead to poor psychological coping strategies amongst single parents (Folkman and Lazarus 1980 ), however, this must be explored though the in-depth examination of single parent experience.

It is clear from existing research that single parents are likely to experience higher levels of depression, anxiety, and general stress, despite making extensive efforts to meet their financial obligations. However, there is little research exploring help-seeking and how distress relating to financial hardship is addressed. The aims of this study were to explore the impact of financial hardship on personal health and wellbeing on single parents, and their attempts to seek help to cope with the impact of financial hardship.

Participants

Participants were recruited from single parent networks and charities in England, such as Gingerbread (a British charity offering advice, support and networking opportunities to single parents), with the recruitment being enabled through posters, flyers, and social media announcements. Eligible participants were parents who were currently raising at least one dependent child in a household consisting of one adult. In addition, the participants of this study self-identified with the terms lone parent or single parent. Demographic details and the parenting responsibilities of participants are presented in Table  1 .

Characteristics of participants

Ethical approval for this procedure was granted by a University Ethics committee. The first author conducted 15 one-to-one semi-structured interviews which were guided by an interview schedule. The interview schedule was developed through consultation with single parent charities and a literature review on financial hardship, wellbeing and parenting. Following the first two interviews, the schedule was adapted to reflect the emerging topics and themes discussed by interviewees, with existing questions also being adjusted as appropriate. This inductive adaption of the interview schedule was undertaken again after a further four interviews had been conducted. Interviews lasted between 30 to 90 min, were audio-recorded using a digital voice recorder and transcribed verbatim prior to analysis.

The data were analysed using thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke 2006 ), with a constructivist epistemology being applied to the interpretation of the emerging themes. The initial stage of analysis was line-by-line coding where labels were attached to descriptions, events, perceptions and topic of discussion featured in the interview transcript. The first five interview transcripts were independently coded by the first and second authors. Coding categories that lacked concordance were discussed and absorbed into the coding framework. The initial codes were then grouped into the most noteworthy and frequently occurring global themes. The quotations within each theme were arranged into organising themes with constructivist descriptions of quotations developed by the first author, the constructivist descriptions were drawn from a combination of the quotations content, the line-by-line codes, and the relationship between the quotations within the organising themes. In addition, relationships between the organising themes were considered, and their overall contribution towards their global theme were outlined.

All participants were female between 18 and 55 years of age. The findings are organised in to core themes, related to the impact of financial hardship, debt on psychological wellbeing and health (Table  2 ).

Table of organising and sub-themes

The Stress of Being a Single Provider

Lone financial responsibility.

The parent who took the primary custodial responsibility for the child(ren) was construed to be the parent with the primary financial burden; a scenario which was described by one participant as big trouble . Not having enough financial resources to support their children and needing to rely on other people were described as stressful and worrying. Participants represented themselves as trapped and helpless, and constructed their position as one where there was a persistent battle with finances; with the need to fight for everything . Participants described a range of feelings in response to the constant worry about providing for a child a single person, including feeling miserable and stressed. These feelings and stressors did not dissipate with time, and were worsened by unanticipated life events.

I’m miserable really. It’s, it’s stress. It’s the stress of it. It’s, it’s worrying every single day how, how you’re gonna give your child the best…I’m in this position with a child I feel completely helpless. I can’t support my own family and I have to rely on what I’m given and you have to fight everything nowadays. (Emily, a 28 year old mother of one young child)

Participants viewed money worries as being a central part of everyday life, and was a repeated stressor which could not be avoided. The stress and the worry about food was constructed as being constant and life-consuming, and was therefore something that regularly occupied their thoughts. It was this sense of rumination about being unable to provide necessities that lead to feelings of sickness, with some single parents describing the bleakness of their current circumstances, with feelings of hopelessness and depression. Often at the centre of this worry were concerns about providing food, which were constructed as part of an ongoing daily struggle. These food related worries were linked by participants to sleeplessness, and feelings of physical sickness (described in more detail in Theme 2).

I really need to do some food shopping but I’ve got £4…I’ve had sleepless nights and nights full of tears, where I’ve just thought I literally don’t know how I’m going to get through the next few days. I’ve got no food, no money…So yeah, definitely times where I’ve felt very, very depressed about the situation and can’t see a way out of it almost. (Sandra, a 23 year old mother of one young child)

Making Sacrifices

Participants constructed their personal responsibility for feeding children as vital, and unquestionable. Participants described doing whatever it took to ensure that their children had food, so that their children would not go hungry. In doing so, however, participants would reduce their own food intake or go hungry , arguably leading to the detriment of their own physical and mental health. Similarly, meals would be skipped to pay utility bills, or to ensure that debt associated with bills was not accumulated.

I don’t eat sometimes; I just have my online shopping and it’s all for my daughter, so I’ll be having toast for dinner. That’s, that’s kind of life really. (Alisha, a 29 year old mother of one infant child) Um, there are cases where I will skip meals. Um, you know, there was a few weeks where it was literally like “Right, I’ve got £5 at the end of the week or whatever, this has either got to go on electric or, or something else” and I will skip meals. (Sarah, a 33 year old mother of one young child)

Financial hardship was associated with household fuel poverty, with some participants specifically speaking about the difficulties they faced in providing heat in their homes (as opposed to other forms of fuel consumption). Participants discussed making decisions not to heat their homes to save money, or lowering the temperature of heaters to reduce financial outgoings. Fuel costs were presented as an acceptable necessity to sacrifice, where as providing food was never questioned. In a similar way to identifying funds for food and heating, finding the money for children’s clothing was a source of worry. School clothing was suggested to be a particular burden, which could not be avoided, requiring participants to worry about finding the money .

But there were times when I thought you know, I’m not going to put my gas on. And I’m not going to do that extra load of washing, just because I don’t know if I can afford it, and I need to make sure I’ve got money in my purse to go and do food shopping. (Sandra, a 23 year old mother of one younger child) He’s starting secondary school in September and I’m going to have to find the money for all his school uniform and blazers and that’s gonna run in to hundreds I dare say. So I’m already thinking “oh my goodness, how am I gonna find the money for that?” (Sarah, a 33 year old mother of one young child)

Single parent participants also suggested that financial hardship had a negative impact on their social interactions. Social isolation, loneliness and withdrawal were suggested to corrode their psychological wellbeing and mental health. Not having enough money to participate in social activities was suggested to be a physical barrier, however, the embarrassment of having little money was a social and psychological barrier which was suggested to underlie their tendency to withdraw socially. This meant that social withdrawal and social isolation were often associated with financial stress and financial hardship.

And I think I’d love to be able to take him to a Soft Play, or do something else that normal parents would be able to do, but I can’t because I haven’t got any money. (Martha, a 40 year old mother of two young children) But it’s just little things, like if we decide to go to the park with a friend, they might get a treat or go for a coffee. And I just thought I don’t have three pounds to do that, so we’ll just stay at home and do things ourselves. (Sabrina, a 47 year old mother of a teenager)

The Impact of Financial Hardship

Physical health.

Participants often questioned their ability to cope . In some cases participants described feeling so ill that they were unable to eat, with the stress related to work and the need to bring in extra money leading to exhaustion. A large proportion of physical symptoms were related to strain, stress, and feeling run down which were described in ways that directly related these physical symptoms to psychological wellbeing. For example, the accumulative effect of stress related to money worries and sole responsibility were suggested to interrupt sleep and lead to sleeplessness. The psychological impact of night-time excessive rumination experienced by single parents was inescapable, but in some cases participants forced themselves to get physical rest. However, despite forcing physical rest, some participants described feeling run down . The stress of doing everything was linked to more susceptible to illness, particularly colds and flu.

Yeah, oh I felt so ill, I couldn’t eat, it would just come over in waves, it was awful…I was doing a bit of cleaning as well to bring in some money to pay the food and I think the body just, said I can’t cope. (Charlotte, a 55 year old mother of a teenager) I didn’t really cope very well, I just, I used to have sleepless nights, if I woke up I would often go and I would, things would go round and round and round in my head all the time, erm, so at night I would maybe get 3 h sleep…You’re doing everything, so yes it does, it puts that extra strain on you. So I would definitely say yes, and you’re picking up more, because you’re run down all the time, I think you’re more likely to pick up bugs and things as well. (Laura, a 45 year old mother of one young child and one teenager)

Participants described how they would cope with illnesses such as chest infections and back pain that caused them to seek medical attention, but highlighted that they were unable to rest and recover. Regardless of one’s health status or the presence of an illness the need to do everything remained. Some participants, such as Zainab, also suffered from long-term illnesses, which presented an extra physical challenge. Here the need for rest was particularly pertinent, and a range of strategies designed to juggle illness alongside their parenting responsibilities were described. Often, normal sick role activities (such as rest and seeking help) were inhibited by the responsibilities of parenting alone.

I just have to sleep and rest when I can, when I haven’t got him or when he’s at school. Um, I have to try and pace myself in terms of trying to get the housework done. (Zainab, a 34 year old mother of one young child) If you’re ill, there was no way I would get to lie in. So I did find that I was ill quite a lot and I found myself going to the Doctors for chest infections or my back being out because I do suffer with back pain. (Laura, a 45 year old mother of one young child and one teenager)

Mental Health

Sleepless nights, frustration and distress were common. Participants described feeling anxious about everything , suggesting that single parents were on high alert. Some single parent participants described feeling judged by others and had feelings of paranoia. Similar to physical health, descriptions of mental health were underlined by stress, rumination, and the turmoil of circumstances. Descriptions of feeling overwhelmed constructed the enormity of the situation, and placed the experience of distress as paramount in their existence. Claire also described the exhaustion she felt, and collapsing once the children had gone to bed. All of her energy had been devoted to caring for her children, and once they were asleep, she would spend the time alone in a state of distress which involved exhaustion, crying, feeling overwhelmed, and sleeplessness.

I was so anxious about everything…I felt so judged by everybody. Yeah, VERY anxious… there was a spell when basically the boys went to bed about 7:15, 7:30, and then I just collapsed sobbing on the sofa and then went to bed. And I couldn’t sleep because my head was just in turmoil about all the things that had happened. It just can feel really overwhelming sometimes. (Claire, a 37 year old mother to two young children) So my situation escalated really quickly…And I just found that with the pressure of looking after two such young children and their care needs, plus the pressures both financially and, you know, sorting out all the bills, having to get things like tax credits which I’ve never had before in my life. Having to look after the house and do all that, and the garden, and the car, and everything by myself, I just kind of imploded. (Sara, a 25 year old mother of an infant child)

The distress and anxiety experienced were linked by participants to parenting responsibilities and financial hardship. In some cases participants were very specific in outlining the source of their distress, for example sorting out bills, tax-credits, taking care of the house and caring for the children. Feelings of entrapment, desperation and being unable to get out of the current situation led to suicidal thoughts. In addition, it was felt that there was not help out there for the mental health problems being faced, with Charlotte (a 55 year old mother of a teenager) saying that there was no help to empower people to steer out of it . This would indicate that a therapeutic paradigm with more direction would be of benefit. Conversely the presence of their children was protective for their mental health.

I would have killed myself, I know, because I thought about it many times, so that is…it’s desperate, when you’re in a mess, it’s desperate…but I think so much more needs to be done in educating ordinary people in how to manage finance. (Charlotte, a 55 year old mother of a teenager) He [the child] is the best thing that has ever happened to me in my life. I honestly would have been dead by now if it weren’t for him because I would have just killed myself, like literally. (Alexandria, a 36 year old mother of a young child)

Seeking Help and Support

Seeking help: food banks.

Food banks were used as support in times of crisis when they were unable to provide adequate levels of food. Some participants were not aware of the help available at food banks, and were not sure if they were entitled to support. In some cases participant were advised by workers at a SureStart centre (a government run local/community based centre to advice and support to families with young children) that they were entitled, highlighting the vital role of community support in signposting support. Participants presented that this type of identification of needs and signposting was necessary for them to access support, as Martha (a 40 year old mother of two younger children) sated that she  “wouldn't have dreamt of asking for it.”

There’s a difference between knowing it exists. It’s probably one of these things, like a lot of people say about benefits, oh I’m not entitled to it, there’s probably a lot of people what think. (Rosemary, a 32 year old mother of one young child and one teenager) I was at one of the SureStart Centres one day helping at something, and one of the staff who knew my situation came up and asked how was I getting on…And I said I’m starting to struggle again, and she said well, you do know you can use food bank. I wouldn’t have dreamt of asking for it. I didn’t know that… I knew all about it in a sense, but I didn’t know I was entitled to have it. (Martha, a 40 year old mother of two young children)

For others, the issue was in getting access to the food bank. One single parent described a desperate situation where she was unable to provide food for her daughter, but did not have the money or resources to get to the food bank. In these circumstances the impact of not being able to afford transport, prevented access to services designed for those unable to afford food; with one form of hardship, impacting upon another form of hardship, constructing a cycle of deprivation.

My daughter was eating peanuts and I thought…there’s no way she’s gonna have just peanuts today, and I’d called the council to say, you know, could you help me with the food bank…please, there must be something you can do to help me. I can’t, I’ve got no money to get there. And the lady said “well, sorry, you know, if you can’t get there you can’t have the food.” So even simple things like that, you know, you, you can’t get to a food bank and they’re refusing to kind of help you, you’d think they might be able to bring it to you if you’re, you know, in a really dire situation. (Emily, a 28 year old mother of one young child)

Seeking Help: Mental Health Support

Professional help was often sought when participants described themselves as having hit a crisis point. This was usually characterised by the accumulated stress of being a single parent (described in Themes 1 and 2) become overwhelming, and the ability to continue with parenting duties were questioned. The feeling of crisis was constructed as extreme, and at a point where the only option was to seek help. The was an underlying sentiment that help for single parents was not typical or expected, therefore, seeking help was an extraordinary act born out of crisis. Typically, general practitioners (GPs also known as family practitioners) acted as the first line of support in such cases. GPs were constructed as highly responsive, supportive and caring. They often offered antidepressants as intervention, but it appeared that their initial response (of caring and taking the situation seriously) were well received and helpful.

And my GP was brilliant, and he was very supportive. He straight away went down the route of yes, if at a later date we feel the need for anti-depressants and things, but at this precise minute I want to see you every week. Let’s just, you know, keep things talking. (Martha, a 40 year old mother of two young children) And I went to see my GP, and she was lovely. And I’ve never had any sort of mental health difficulties ever in the past and she just said I think you need some chemical help. (Claire, a 37 year old mother of two young children)

Drug therapies were not always seen as being a viable treatment or as an alternative to psychotherapy. Similarly, participants believed that their distress was caused by social stressors, and that a chemical solution acting on the brain would not address the cause of their distress. The causal beliefs about the origins of their distress (e.g., financial and social), were preventing single parent participants from accepting the feasibility of an intervention. There was a resistance to being medicated or reduced to a fluffy state, and that pharmacotherapy would just mask the issue, and that the underlying issues would remain, and would continue to be unaddressed and perhaps worsen. Additionally, one participant was worried that taking antidepressant would make her susceptible to being taken advantage of, or not being fully coherent enough to manage the multiple tasks she was required to undertake. However, there was a suggestion that feelings of anger, depression and sadness were normal and justified, and that interventions attempted to remove these justified feelings, and that help should have an alternative focus which allows single parents to work with these feelings and address the social consequences of their psychological distress.

I didn’t actually take any anti-depressants because my philosophy was, I know what’s causing my depression, erm, and if I could resolve those issues, then my depression would go away, so I didn’t feel that I wanted to mask things. (Laura, a 45 year old mother of one younger child) If I did take medication, I would become like even more relaxed and maybe even a bit more compliant but you know, I don’t know, I just didn’t want any of my sense to be reduced, I wanted to feel that anger, I had a right to that anger. (Sara, a 25 year old mother of one younger child)

There was a general scepticism to psychological interventions from some participants. One parent described that she felt as though she were just going over things. Whereas others suggested that they felt that their psychological state was not the result of disorder thinking, or other traditional causes of mental health difficulties. Instead participants saw themselves as under extreme stress, therefore, their thoughts and feelings were legitimate and did not need to be changed through psychological intervention. There was a desire for more solutions to emerge from the counselling process.

I had six sessions with a counsellor. I’m not sure the counselling helped, to be truthful. It kind of felt like just going over the same stuff, and the counsellor didn’t kind of suggest anything, or say anything. It was just kind of you oh gosh, that’s difficult, but didn’t kind of have any solutions. (Claire, a 37 year old mother of two young children)

Low mood, anxiety and depression were thought by participants to be the result of their social circumstances, therefore, attempts made to change their way of thinking would not address the underlying social, financial and stress origins of their psychological morbidity. Participants described how services were not designed to deal with their complex social needs. Instead services were set up for psychological disorders, but not for psychological disorders where the stressors were external (e.g., parenting responsibility, financial or poverty related). Therefore, participants held scepticism about how effective traditional psychological therapies would be in helping to alleviate their anxiety, depression, distress or suicidal thoughts.

He (GP) then referred me to, what I was told was counselling, but ended up being CBT, cognitive behavioural therapy. And it was a complete waste of time. Because to me, CBT is good if you want to change habits and things. However the stresses and things I was feeling, was not due to any habits that needed changing. It was due to, you know, my life being completely turned upside down. (Martha, a 40 year old mother of two young children) If you kind of turned up to a healthcare professional and started talking about some of the issues you go through, they don’t actually have services designed to actually help single parents cope or even just a basic understanding of some of the things you’ve been through. So when you kind of rock up to CBT, they’ve got no idea or conceptualisation of what you’ve been through but if you have an eating disorder… (Sheryl, a 36 year old mother of one young child)

This exploration of financial hardship in single parents identified multiple aspects of poverty. Single parents in this study described making difficult compromises to afford food, heating, and clothing and often focused their resources on their children. Participants described attempting to shield their children from poverty through missing their own meals, and taking on extra work which meant that the experiential impact of financial stressors were contained by the parent. Many poverty theories conceptualise negative traits in poverty related decision making including impertinence and impulsivity which are thought to perpetuate poverty cycles, this research highlights that parents make decisions which minimise the impact of the on their children, however, such decision make increase the impact on them as individuals. Psychological research has identified that parental self-sacrifice is a negative core belief, which is associated with negative outcomes and often accompany feelings of shame and a lack of control (Shah and Waller 2000 ). The impact and consequences of self-sacrifice styles of decisions making on factors such as wellbeing and long-term financial hardship should play a role on poverty related decision-making models. Similarly, Bahr and Bahr ( 2001 ) noted that self-sacrifice is a concept neglected in family theory, yet self-sacrifice plays a clear role in family dynamics.

Single parents in our sample described high levels of stress, psychological distress and anxiety, which were related to their position of sole responsibility and concerns about finances. Some levels of distress were particularly concerning, including rumination, sleeplessness, and suicidal thoughts. A particular concern, and one which should be addressed by healthcare professionals and policy makers, was that single parents in this study suggested that mental health distress was normal, and that psychological difficulties were a natural consequence of their social circumstances. This finding is concerning as it indicates that single parents are less likely to seek help or support for mental health difficulties. Furthermore, when help was sought the causal beliefs associated with their mental distress affected their ability to engage with psychological interventions. In addition, stress related health concerns were also described, however, many parents the option to rest and recover was removed due to parental duties.

Self-regulation models of help-seeking behaviour examine the role of beliefs in determining whether help is sought for physical or mental health condition (Bishop and Converse 1986 ). This theory suggests that we hold prototypical beliefs about what it is like to experience an illness, and when we experience symptoms comparisons are made between the expected experience and the actual experience (Jones 1990 ). Beliefs where comparisons are made between expectations and experience include the cause of an illness, the timeline associated with an illness (how long with it last), the consequences, identity (symptoms associated with the illness) and the ability for the illness to be controlled (Stack et al. 2013 ). This study identified a range that single parents held prototypical beliefs about mental health conditions, but did not always recognise the legitimacy of their distress, instead suggesting that the cause of their symptoms was normal for people in their social circumstances. This causal belief was a barrier to help-being sought. Further exploration of the prototypical beliefs held by single parents experiencing mental health difficulties is required to understand the role negative self-beliefs and self-stigma on single parents’ willingness to access mental health services. Previous research has explored the role of social interactions in the development of prototypical beliefs (Tiwana et al. 2015 ), however, this study highlights that other factors such as self-stigma, social stigma and family dynamics can play an important role in the development of prototypical beliefs, and may prevent help-seeking. Developments of self-regulation prototypical models may consider the role of social factors in belief development, and ways that health services may help potential service users to understand that their illness is deserving of treatment.

The occurrence of psychological distress, stress, health concerns originated from stressors were also found in other studies (Campbell et al. 2015 ; Van de Velde et al. 2014 ). However, the current study identified the barriers and facilitators of seeking help, particularly, medical attention for the impact of distress, stressors, financial hardship and isolation. Meyer ( 2003 ) offered a conceptual framework to describe the impact of stigma, prejudice and discrimination faced by selected social groups. These social factors mean that some social groups face a negative social environment which contributes towards poor mental health. Meyer’s model considered the impact of hostile social environments for Lesbian, gay and bisexual people, but considered how other minority groups are exposed to excess social stressors which increased the prevalence of poor mental health for stigmatised social groups. Single parents are another group potentially effected by minority social stress, as single parents in this study discussed social isolation, social withdrawal and poor mental health. Further research, should explore the impact of stressors within negative social environments and the impact these factors have on mental health, and the ability of stigmatised minority groups in seeking support for mental health conditions in hostile social environments.

Previous research has identified that healthcare professionals routinely identify fuel poverty as a causal factor for numerous health problems, including asthma, and cardiovascular diseases (Atsalis et al. 2016 ). However, our study highlights that the impact of fuel and food poverty go beyond physical health manifestations and it is essential for healthcare professionals to address the social and psychological consequences of financial concerns and the social stressors associated with being a single parent. This study identified that initial contact with GPs were on the whole useful and positive. However, the further support in the form of counselling, psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy was suggested to be unhelpful. In this study, single parents reported being offered anti-depressants, cognitive behaviour therapy and more traditional forms of counselling. However, approaches which place the experience of social and financial hardship at the forefront of intervention are required. We identified that single parents believed their distress originated in social circumstances, therefore, therapies directed towards addressing cognitions and emotions were rejected. Therapeutic approaches to therapy which considers the social processes relevant to single parents must be promoted and made more readily available. Indeed, in the recent past, approaches to counselling designed to address the needs of single parents have been developed which could prove promising (Atwood and Genovese 2014 ; Morawetz and Walker 2014 ). Further research is needed to explore whether access to these therapies can be broadened, and whether more consideration can be given to social processes in healthcare.

This paper highlights a number of number of issues affecting single parents which are important for policy makers and healthcare professionals to consider. Despite financial hardship single parents were unwilling to compromise on food, with this being one area where some single parents, when signposted, sought help. One parent in particular was assisted by staff at a SureStart centre [providers of advice and support for families, covering a range of issues including job opportunities, support with health, social support and child welfare (Glass 1999 )]. While some have questioned whether SureStart centres are accessed by disadvantaged and hard-to-reach communities (Hutchings et al. 2007 ), our study suggests that these centres may be utilised by single parents for advice and signposting. However, recently, funding to these centres has been significantly reduced in 2015, 156 SureStart centres closed, up from the 85 centres closed in 2014 (leaving a total of 3259 centres remaining in 2016 according to the Department of Education). Therefore, this potential source of support is being diminished, and may have an impact upon the welfare and wellbeing of single parent families experiencing poverty (Melhuish et al. 2008 ).

This qualitative study has explored a number of important issues in a small sample of single parents and this paper is limited in its generalisability to wider single parent populations, however, the findings have formulated the basis for research which will aim to quantify and identify predictive patterns between financial hardship, mental health, and help-seeking in single parents. Follow on studies exploring the issues raised by this paper in other contexts should also consider variables such as the income level of single parents and whether single parents with higher income are less impacted by psychological distress. Furthermore, more consideration needs to be given to the geographical location of single parents, for example, studies have highlighted the difficulties faced by parents in rural locations verses inner city locations (Simmons et al. 2007 ). Due to the qualitative nature of the present study these factors were not taken in to account, but our future quantitative research will give include an analysis of these variables. A further limitation of this study was that recruitment was based on a self-selecting opportunity based approach. However, this resulted in a sample dominated by female participants. This was not unexpected as 90% of single parents are female (Great Britain. Office for National Statistics 2016 ). Furthermore, single mothers have been found to have significantly less income than single fathers (Hilton and Kopera-Frye 2006 ), therefore, may experience the stressors associated with financial hardship and parenting to a greater extent. However, we acknowledge that some of the emerging themes may be constructed with differing narratives if the experiences of single fathers were explored.

Past research has identified that single parents in the United Kingdom face significant financial hardships. This study has highlighted that the stresses of parenting alone appear to heighten feelings of stress, uncertainty, and depression associated with finances. Therefore, it is vital that health and mental health services recognise this distress, and understand the impact that financial difficulties have upon single parents. It is important to consider the sources of help available to single parents particularly help related to mental health and help focused on helping long parents cope with financial hardship. A focus on mental health support for single parents in need may have an additional impact upon the adjustment and wellbeing of children growing up in single parent households.

Biographies

is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Nottingham Trent University in the United Kingdom. Dr. Stack is a Chartered Psychologist registered with the British Psychological Society, and is a member of the Division of Health Psychologists and the Division of Teachers and Academics. She received a PhD from the University of Manchester in Pharmacy Practice, and has conducted research in a number of health-related areas including adherence to medicines and help-seeking behaviour. Dr Stack has received research funding from several charitable organisations including The Dunhill Medical Trust, The Swedish Foundation for Humanities and The Queen Elizabeth Medical Trust and has received awards for research from Arthritis Research UK and the British Society for Rheumatology.

is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Nottingham Trent University, and course leader of the MSc in Psychological Wellbeing and Mental Health. Dr Meredith received his PhD from Nottingham Trent University and he has conducted research on a number of topics, including conceptions of identity, and online lying, with ongoing research examining issues relating to youth empowerment regarding sustainable behaviours.

Compliance with Ethical Standards

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Ethical approval was obtained from the Business, Law and Social Science Research Ethics Committee at Nottingham Trent University.

Informed Consent

All participants provided informed written consent.

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Important Values of Family, the Financial Question Essay

The family is the smallest unit in a human society, which is built as a result of a man and a woman uniting through marriage and the raising up of children. The formation of the family is bound by many problems; whereby financial problems are the most serious ones. Without money the construction of a marriage is nearly impossible; which is at all phases started at courtship to the raising of the family (Guillermo 20-320).

There are many necessities in the raising of a marriage which range from moral support, love, and trust to financial support. Financial support is actually the stable element in the raising of families in any society. All societies, both from the developed countries and undeveloped countries find money an essential element in building a family. In nearly all societies the men are responsible for providing for the family, whereby the wife is only provided for; or bound to assist the man where necessary (Guillermo 20-32).

.Financial constraints are strong such that they stop many poor people from marrying or sometimes lead to late marriages. Ladies from all spheres; both civilized and uncivilized expect gifts from men during courtship; which may cause poor men to forego the courtship phase and remain single. On the other hand, most ladies don’t like to be associated with poor men; thus posing a big challenge to the formation of families by the men of the poor class (Jay 80-120).

Further, delayed marriages are very evident in poor societies. This is because men would prefer to look for money first before they marry thus leading to late marriages. Most relationships also break up even before marriage, due to the financial constraints involved in the preparation of a family. As an effort to avoid this, people courting may on the other side extend their courtship to stabilize their finances before marriage. This explains the difference seen in the marriages carried out within poor societies, and those in well-up societies whereby men from financially stable families tend to marry early than those from poor families (Guillermo 20-32).

Financial problems during courtship are better explained by the many requirements of ladies and the high dowry required. The cultures of nearly all societies are still very strict such that dowry payment should precede marriage; thus posing a threat to the poor. Sometimes the value quoted for dowry is such high that; most of the poor men can’t afford, or can just wait for lengthened periods of time to be able to pay these amounts. As a result, this culture of paying dowry leads to many people foregoing marriage; or delaying marriages to look for money to settle the dowry debt (Joan 34-53).

Financial requirements in marriage further lead to discrimination and social groupings in the society; whereby the rich and poor have minimal interactions. The status quo and social ranks have been difficult to break; where even love has been unable to break the barrier between the rich and the poor. Men from the rich and wealthy classes tend to marry ladies from rich families; thus enhancing financial disparities between the rich and the poor. Most people are driven and guided by the endless financial requirements in marriage, thus a person from a rich family feels uneasy to marry a poor lady since he views it as increasing his financial burden (Joan 34-53).

Finical support is really the stable element in marriage; where this is due to the endless needs of both the husband and wife not to mention those of the children. The satisfaction of basic needs to the family is not an easy task, especially to the poor. Without perseverance and understanding between the members of the family, financial constraints can lead to wrangles in the family, especially in poor societies where unemployment and little income is the order of the day; thus building up a family becomes a demanding issue. In cases where the wife does not contribute anything to the family, meeting the family’s needs becomes a real problem; which is usually evident within poor societies where family planning is not practiced thus increasing the family needs to be met (Joan 34-53).

Financial problems in the family have also led to many wrangles in the family. First, the evil of unfaithfulness among married women is evident in families with financial problems, as they at times opt to offer themselves to gain financial gains. This is the case because women may enter into this evil in order to support their children and also get money to meet other family needs. Further, the issue of children developing bad habits like stealing is also caused by the pressing financial problems within their families. The men, who are in most cases the breadwinners within the family, are also forced to get into crime so as to provide for their families; as they may have no other source of income to support their families. All these evils are not socially acceptable, but due to the endless financial needs of a family, they will remain to be rampant (Joan 34-53).

The breaking of many married couples is also common in recent days; where this scenario is best explained by the financial demands of raising a family. In the case the income of a family comes to an end; for instance, the breadwinner is sacked from a job or family business fails; a couple may divorce. This is because a family which had in the past enjoyed a steady income may find it hard to cope with the new challenges due to the endless financial needs of the family (Guillermo 20-32).

After keenly following the lives of married couples and that of a family, in particular, we find it hard for a family to live comfortably without adequate financial support. Money is really stable support to the family and thus for any family to succeed; there must be a stable source to meet the family’s endless financial requirements.

Works cited

Guillermo, Otalora. “Work-family conflict”.Madagascar: Vdm Verlag. (2008): 20-32.

Jay, Adams. “Solving marriage problems”. Michigan: Zondervan. (1986): 80-120.

Joan, Williams. “Why family and work conflict & what to do about it.” Oxford: Oxford University Press. (2001): 34-53.

• Chicago (A-D)
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Bibliography

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Many American families were struggling to pay the bills before COVID-19, and the pandemic certainly didn’t make things easier. Financial hardships like layoffs and pay cuts made an already tough situation even trickier to navigate .

Among U.S. adults who say their financial situation has gotten worse since the start of the pandemic, 44% expect it will take them at least three years to get back to where they were a year ago, according to a 2021 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center. This includes 1 in 10 who don’t think they will ever financially recover from the pandemic .

Even families who made it through the past year with little-to-no financial consequences directly tied to the pandemic still face a myriad of financial issues. Despite doing their best to stay afloat financially, many are finding it hard to keep up with standard expenses.

If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Here’s a look at the 10 biggest financial concerns faced by U.S. families in 2021 .

Last updated: June 21, 2021

Healthcare Costs

Having health insurance is a crucial way to keep the cost of care down, but 28.9 million non-elderly Americans were uninsured as of 2019, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. This is problematic, considering Healthcare.gov cites the cost of fixing a broken leg as up to $7,500, while the average cost of a three-day hospital stay is $30,000.

In total, U.S. healthcare spending was $11,582 per person in 2019, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Health insurance makes a massive difference in overall spending, but having coverage can still come with hefty bills.

Insured workers contributed an average of $5,588 for family coverage in 2020, according to the KFF. This is a serious amount of cash — especially for those already stretching their budgets to pay the bills.

Total outstanding consumer debt reached a new high of just under $14.9 trillion in 2020, according to Experian. This includes a variety of different types of debt, including mortgage loans, auto loans, student loans, credit card debt, home equity lines of credit, personal loans and retail credit card debt.

In total, the average American has a debt balance of $92,727, according to Experian. Some of the debt averages included in this total are credit cards — $5,315 — HELOC — $41,954 — and personal loans — $16,458.

Once in debt, it can be hard for families to get out. Being forced to pay high interest rates, combined with a lack of extra money to put aside in savings, can make it difficult to pay debt down at all — much less entirely.

High Cost of Living

Different parts of the country have vastly different costs of living. Families residing in states like Hawaii, Washington, D.C., New York, California and Massachusetts face much higher living expenses on average than those in states like Mississippi, Kansas, Oklahoma, Alabama and Tennessee, according to the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center.

For example, the median income homeowners needed to live comfortably in Washington, D.C. is $142,230 per year, dropping to $122,934 annually for renters, according to a GOBankingRates study. Conversely, the median income to live comfortably as homeowner in Memphis, Tennessee is just $63,595 per year, rising to $69,331 for renters.

Loss of Job

More than four-in-10 American adults or someone in their household have lost their job or had their wages cut since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the Pew Research Center. Considering May 2021 Bureau of Labor Statistics data revealed it takes an average of 19.3 weeks — five months — to find a new job, this can easily cause financial hardship.

The unemployment rate reached record highs last year, peaking at 14.8% in April 2020. Thankfully, it has steadily declined to 5.8% in May 2021, but that’s still a long way from the 3.7% realized at the same time in 2019.

More than one-quarter — 27% — of people who lost their job or experienced an income disruption in 2020 had to seek help from a food bank, according to the Prudential Wellness Census Special Report. Another 10% received assistance from a charitable organization.

Having a job doesn’t necessarily make it easy to pay the bills. More than half — 61% — of employed people are having an increasingly difficult time keeping up with their financial obligations, according to Prudential.

As of 2019, the average American worker earned $51,916 per year, according to the Social Security Administration. While half the population earned more, the other half earned less.

Specifically, 247,000 American workers earned the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour in 2020, according to the BLS. Approximately another 865,000 workers earned wages that fell below the federal minimum.

When paid even minimum wage, a 40-hour workweek amounts to gross earnings of $290 — or $1,160 per month. This can make it impossible for families to keep up with basic living expenses.

Lack of Savings

As of 2019, the average American family has just $5,300 in savings, according to the Federal Reserve. In addition to making it hard to reach future savings goals — i.e., putting money aside for a down payment on a home — this can make it hard to stay financially afloat in emergency situations.

Experts recommend having three to six months’ worth of expenses in an emergency fund. According to Ally, the average 25-to-34-year old spends $4,705 per month. This means an ideal emergency fund should have a balance of $14,115 to $28,230 by age 30, $17,799 to $35,599 by age 40 and $18,846 to $37,693 by age 50.

Not Saving Enough for Retirement

When retirement seems far away, other financial obligations often take precedence for American families. However, workers should be saving 15% of their pre-tax income for their golden years, according to Fidelity.

Unfortunately, only 36% of non-retired adults think their retirement savings is on track — with 44% saying it’s not on track, according to the Federal Reserve. Alarmingly, 13% of people aged 60 and over have no retirement savings, rising to 42% of 18-to-29-year-olds.

While it might not seem like a big deal that nearly half of younger adults don’t have any retirement savings, starting late can make it hard to catch up.

College Expenses

Many parents have college dreams for their children, but they’re still paying off their own student loans. As of 2020, there were 165.2 million student loan accounts, holding an average balance of $38,792, according to Experian.

A college degree can offer a myriad of benefits, but it doesn’t come cheap. For in-district students, tuition at a public two-year college costs an average of $3,440 per year, rising to $9,410 per year for in-state students at public four-year school, according to the College Board. Out-of-state students pay an average of $23,890 per year for tuition at a public four-year school, while a private four-year college costs approximately $32,410 annually.

Extracurricular Costs

Enrolling kids in extracurricular activities can help them learn and grow in many ways. However, these pastimes can add up fast.

For the 2018-19 academic year, required school participation fees averaged $161 for sports, $86 for arts and $46 for clubs and other activities, according to the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health. When combined with other expenses — i.e., equipment and travel — total costs averaged $408 for sports, $251 for arts and $126 for clubs and other activities.

This can put parents in a tough position, because they want their kids to be involved, but many struggle to pay the fees associated with extracurriculars.

Child Care Expenses

Many employed parents rely on day care and nannies to take care of their children while they’re at work. While essential, this doesn’t come cheap, as 85% of parents are spending at least 10% of their income on child care, according to the 2021 Cost of Care Survey conducted by Care.com.

The survey also revealed 57% of families spent more than $10,000 on child care in 2020 and 59% plan to spend more than $10,000 in 2021. Obviously, this isn’t a small amount of money, so it’s easy to understand why many families struggle to afford the child care they need just to hold a job.

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Family Financial Problems

Many things can place a strain on the family bonds. Health concerns, psychological disorders, disciplinary issues with the children, and financial problems are some obstacles can affect any family. Financial problems can have many causes, and produce disastrous results when not handled promptly and properly. Families can take several steps to try to avoid problems or dig their way out of them.

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A 2009 Gallup poll lists lack of money, excess debt, the cost of owning or renting a home, job loss and healthcare cost as the most important financial problems families face. Families to worry more about basic economic problems than they do about specific concerns, such as the high gas and oil prices, or taxes.

Many families experience financial problems because they don't have good money management skills and make unwise decisions about how to use income and credit. Uncontrollable factors such as unemployment can add to families' financial problems. Lack of communication can cause problems when shopping gets out of control. Other causes of family financial problems include addiction, emotional problems and stress that lead to irrational spending patterns.

Family financial problems can lead to stress. Some couples fight over spending habits instead of searching for solutions to their money-related issues. Sometimes disagreements over money become so severe that they lead to divorce. Children may feel caught in the middle of the arguments, and feel guilt when they benefit from purchases, or disappointment when money problems prevent them from having certain things.

Prevention/Solution

because the financial problems affect the whole family, have a meeting to explain the financial issue and make a plan to solve it. Create a budget to eliminate debt and save money. Implement good record keeping practices, then establish priorities and stick to them. Viewing last 6 months bank statements, monthly bills, and monthly income information will help determine the family's budget needs. Family heads can work to create a budget to eliminate debt and save money. Then, implement good record keeping practices and establish priorities and stick to them. If credit issues are out of control, contact creditors to make manageable payment arrangements or seek professional help through Consumer Credit Counseling.

Create a safety net

Families should have a savings account with 6 months worth of living expenses in case of sudden job loss or other unforeseen circumstances. Don't be tempted to live off your credit cards in an emergency.

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Financial Distress & the Family

Economic hardship and financial distress can have devastating effects on families. In tough economic times, many families lose their jobs, homes, cars, retirement accounts, belongings, savings, health insurance, and more. Families often struggle just to meet their basic needs. Stay-at-home moms may suddenly find themselves searching for work or selling their prized possessions. Unemployed fathers feel like a failure, are guilt stricken and ashamed of losing their identity as the family's provider. Grown, adult men and women with children may find themselves moving back in with their parents until they can put the pieces of their lives back together; other families are moving in with each other. The shift from having "something," even moderate means, to having "nothing" is devastating. When families are faced with the grief of losing everything and the fear of never being able to recover, these uncontrollable circumstances have a drastic impact on families as a whole, on marriages, and on husbands, wives, parents, and children.

Common responses to such devastation include:  

• post-traumatic stress
• severe grief
• alcohol or drug abuse
• overwhelming levels of stress
• feelings of detachment
• feeling surreal
• over- or under-eating
• inability to sleep (or excess sleep)
• upset stomach
• and other physical and mental symptoms of stress and depression

Families may become torn apart or separated. For example, children may move in with extended family or friends, or marriages may be extremely stressed and fall a part, and there may be underlying tension or feelings of despair. Parents may interact with their children in tense or punitive ways with a short temper; children may respond with negative behaviors and emotions, and teens may face problems in school, negative peer groups, lost self-esteem, and delinquency.

How do you know when to seek help?

If you or your loved one is experiencing any of these symptoms, it is important to seek help. Stress may feel overwhelming. Depression, if left unaddressed, could cripple one's ability to get out of bed, take a shower, put on clothes and look for a new job. In the worst case, if left unaddressed, depression can, in some cases, lead someone you love to committing suicide.

What options for help are available?

Medications are commonly used to treat anxiety, panic, depression, and other symptoms one is experiencing. While medication is helpful in restoring health and healing to one's physical body (the brain in particular), treatment is most successful when coupled with psychotherapy or "talk" therapy.

Talk therapy (psychotherapy) occurs in a relaxed, straightforward, and non-judging environment, in which you or your loved one will sit down with a therapist and discuss the things that are bothering you in a safe and private space. A therapist is skilled in helping to bring important issues to the forefront, and in helping each voice and perspective be expressed, heard, and understood.

Areas may include:

• Financial health issues, such as instrumental and psychoeducational interventions, to aid job searching and financial management
• Mental health issues, such as stress, anxiety, confidence and esteem loss, and depression, in adult and child family members
• Behavior issues, academic issues, and issues of negative activities and peers, in children and adolescents
• Couple and marriage issues, reducing financial strain effects on relationships
• Parent-child relationship issues, parenting emotions and practices, understanding negative and positive parenting practices and effects
• Family issues, including family counseling to reduce blame, to build resiliency, and activate family resources
• Community issues, helping families to engage with community resources and increase social support

How can an MFT help the client and family?

A marriage and family therapist (MFT) can help you or your loved one and the family. MFTs are trained to understand the complex nature of problems, especially problems resulting from external social factors, such as economic hardship. They address problems that an individual may be experiencing, as well as difficulties in couple and parent-child relationships. An MFT can help alleviate symptoms like anxiety or depression through addressing the social or familial circumstances that may be contributing. They can help you to ensure that your children are buffered from the worst effects of financial strain in effective and concrete ways.

MFTs believe in the power of healing that occurs when treating and working with the whole family unit. Even though a particular family member may be the one who seems to be suffering the most, generally all family members are also affected in various ways. All perspectives and resources come together in family therapy to create positive and helpful changes in a shared and co-created vision.

MFTs can work with family relationships to restore trust, improve communication, increase satisfaction, and foster healthy ways of relating.

Clinicians are knowledgeable about research findings about what protects families from the adverse effects of financial strain.

• Couple/marriage therapy . Couples who treat each other well in times of financial stress fare much better than those who argue and blame each other for problems. While some amount of argument about money is to be expected, how couples argue is important to relationship quality. Couples therapy can help spouses/partners communicate safely and effectively. Couples therapy can help couples work together to partner, support, and care for each other through difficult times.
• Family therapy and parenting. Positive parenting practices and good parental relationships substantially protect children from the serious negative impacts of financial strain in families. Family therapy focused on parenting and parent-child relationships can go a long way in helping children. Clinicians may work with mothers and fathers to reduce irritability and stress expressed toward children, and to reduce negative parenting—aversive, punitive, arbitrary, coercive techniques (such as threats, derogatory statements, slaps)—and to build positive parenting—(reasoning and loss of privileges)— that is nurturing, affectionate, and sensitive to children’s needs.

Research indicates that parents, as well as children, benefit when parents feel more effective and capable, parent-child relationships improve, and parenting feels less difficult and more satisfying. In turn, as parental well-being improves, so does children’s.

Themes commonly addressed in therapy include grieving loss, confronting denial or unrealistic expectations, symbolism and meaning of money, restoring trust, emotion regulation and couples skill development, stress management, money management, job search skills, parenting skills, and children’s well-being.

• Financial Planning Association (FPA): The primary professional organization representing financial planners.
• Financial Planners: Offers a list of financial planners by geographic location.
• Comptroller of the Currency Administrator of National Banks: This site assists customers of national banks and helps them find answers to national banking questions.
• Family and Consumer Sciences: Information for all audiences about the wise use of credit. Topics include credit reports, credit scores, avoiding credit pitfalls, getting out of debt and bankruptcy.
• Institute for Financial Literacy: The mission of the Institute is to make effective financial literacy education available for all American adults.
• MyMoney.gov: The U.S. government's Web site dedicated to teaching all Americans the basics about financial education.
• National Endowment for Financial Education: This site offers help in learning to manage money, no matter the financial challenge. Articles, tools and other resources are available

Understanding the Benefits of Marriage and Family Therapy

If you or someone you know is experiencing distress, therapy with a marriage and family therapist (MFT) can help.

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Understanding financial stress

Effects of financial stress on your health, tip 1: talk to someone, tip 2: take inventory of your finances, tip 3: make a plan—and stick to it, tip 4: create a monthly budget, tip 5: manage your overall stress, coping with financial stress.

Feeling overwhelmed by money worries? Whatever your circumstances, there are ways to get through these tough economic times, ease stress and anxiety, and regain control of your finances.

If you’re worried about money, you’re not alone. Many of us, from all over the world and from all walks of life, are having to deal with financial stress and uncertainty at this difficult time. Whether your problems stem from a loss of work, escalating debt, unexpected expenses, or a combination of factors, financial worry is one of the most common stressors in modern life. Even before the global coronavirus pandemic and resulting economic fallout, an American Psychological Association (APA) study found that 72% of Americans feel stressed about money at least some of the time. The recent economic difficulties mean that even more of us are now facing financial struggles and hardship.

Like any source of overwhelming stress, financial problems can take a huge toll on your mental and physical health, your relationships, and your overall quality of life. Feeling beaten down by money worries can adversely impact your sleep, self-esteem, and energy levels. It can leave you feeling angry, ashamed, or fearful, fuel tension and arguments with those closest to you, exacerbate pain and mood swings, and even increase your risk of depression and anxiety. You may resort to unhealthy coping mechanisms, such as drinking, abusing drugs, or gambling to try to escape your worries. In the worst circumstances, financial stress can even prompt suicidal thoughts or actions. But no matter how hopeless your situation seems, there is help available. By tackling your money problems head on, you can find a way through the financial quagmire, ease your stress levels, and regain control of your finances—and your life.

While we all know deep down there are many more important things in life than money, when you’re struggling financially fear and stress can take over your world. It can damage your self-esteem, make you feel flawed, and fill you with a sense of despair. When financial stress becomes overwhelming, your mind, body, and social life can pay a heavy price.

[Read: Stress Symptoms, Signs, and Causes]

Financial stress can lead to:

Insomnia or other sleep difficulties. Nothing will keep you tossing and turning at night more than worrying about unpaid bills or a loss of income.

Weight gain (or loss). Stress can disrupt your appetite, causing you to anxiously overeat or skip meals to save money.

Depression. Living under the cloud of money problems can leave anyone feeling down, hopeless, and struggling to concentrate or make decisions. According to a study at the University of Nottingham in the UK, people who struggle with debt are more than twice as likely to suffer from depression .

Anxiety. Money can be a safety net; without it, you may feel vulnerable and anxious. And all the worrying about unpaid bills or loss of income can trigger anxiety symptoms such as a pounding heartbeat, sweating, shaking, or even panic attacks.

Relationship difficulties. Money is often cited as the most common issue couples argue about. Left unchecked, financial stress can make you angry and irritable, cause a loss of interest in sex, and wear away at the foundations of even the strongest relationships .

Social withdrawal. Financial worries can clip your wings and cause you to withdraw from friends, curtail your social life, and retreat into your shell—which will only make your stress worse.

Physical ailments such as headaches, gastrointestinal problems, diabetes, high blood pressure , and heart disease. In countries without free healthcare, money worries may also cause you to delay or skip seeing a doctor for fear of incurring additional expenses.

Unhealthy coping methods , such as drinking too much , abusing prescription or illegal drugs, gambling, or overeating. Money worries can even lead to self-harm or thoughts of suicide.

If you are feeling suicidal…

Your money problems may seem overwhelming and permanent right now. But with time, things will get better and your outlook will change, especially if you get help. There are many people who want to support you during this difficult time, so please reach out!

Read Are You Feeling Suicidal? , call 1-800-273-TALK in the U.S., or find a helpline in your country at IASP or Suicide.org .

The vicious cycle of poor financial health and poor mental health

A number of studies have demonstrated a cyclical link between financial worries and mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, and substance abuse.

Financial problems adversely impact your mental health. The stress of debt or other financial issues leaves you feeling depressed or anxious.

The decline in your mental health makes it harder to manage money. You may find it harder to concentrate or lack the energy to tackle a mounting pile of bills. Or you may lose income by taking time off work due to anxiety or depression.

These difficulties managing money lead to more financial problems and worsening mental health problems, and so on. You become trapped in a downward spiral of increasing money problems and declining mental health.

No matter how bleak your situation may seem at the moment, there is a way out. These strategies can help you to break the cycle, ease the stress of money problems, and find stability again.

When you’re facing money problems, there’s often a strong temptation to bottle everything up and try to go it alone. Many of us even consider money a taboo subject, one not to be discussed with others. You may feel awkward about disclosing the amount you earn or spend, feel shame about any financial mistakes you’ve made, or embarrassed about not being able to provide for your family. But bottling things up will only make your financial stress worse. In the current economy, where many people are struggling through no fault of their own, you’ll likely find others are far more understanding of your problems.

[Read: Social Support for Stress Relief]

Not only is talking face-to-face with a trusted friend or loved one a proven means of stress relief, but speaking openly about your financial problems can also help you put things in perspective. Keeping money worries to yourself only amplifies them until they seem insurmountable. The simple act of expressing your problems to someone you trust can make them seem far less intimidating.

• The person you talk to doesn’t have to be able to fix your problems or offer financial help.
• To ease your burden, they just need to be willing to talk things out without judging or criticizing.
• Be honest about what you’re going through and the emotions you’re experiencing.
• Talking over your worries can help you make sense of what you’re facing and your friend or loved one may even be able to come up with solutions that you hadn’t thought of alone.

Getting professional advice

Depending on where you live, there are a number of organizations that offer free counseling on dealing with financial problems, whether it’s managing debt, creating and sticking to a budget, finding work, communicating with creditors, or claiming benefits or financial assistance. (See the “Get more help” section below for links).

Whether or not you have a friend or loved one to talk to for emotional support, getting practical advice from an expert is always a good idea. Reaching out is not a sign of weakness and it doesn’t mean that you’ve somehow failed as a provider, parent, or spouse. It just means that you’re wise enough to recognize your financial situation is causing you stress and needs addressing.

Speak to a Licensed Therapist

BetterHelp is an online therapy service that matches you to licensed, accredited therapists who can help with depression, anxiety, relationships, and more. Take the assessment and get matched with a therapist in as little as 48 hours.

Opening up to your family

Financial problems tend to impact the whole family and enlisting your loved ones’ support can be crucial in turning things around. Even if you take pride in being self-sufficient, keep your family up to date on your financial situation and how they can help you save money.

Let them express their concerns. Your loved ones are probably worried—about both you and the financial stability of your family unit. Listen to their concerns and allow them to offer suggestions on how to resolve the financial problems you’re facing.

Make time for (inexpensive) family fun. Set aside regular time where you can enjoy each other’s company, let off steam, and forget about your financial worries. Walking in the park, playing games, or exercising together doesn’t have to cost money but it can help ease stress and keep the whole family positive.

If you’re struggling to make ends meet, you may think you can ease your stress by leaving bills unopened, avoiding phone calls from creditors, or ignoring bank and credit card statements. But denying the reality of your situation will only make things worse in the long run. The first step to devising a plan to solve your money problems is to detail your income, debt, and spending over the course of at least one month.

A number of websites and smartphone apps can help you keep track of your finances moving forward or you can work backwards by gathering receipts and examining bank and credit card statements. Obviously, some money difficulties are easier to solve than others, but by taking inventory of your finances you’ll have a much clearer idea of where you stand. And as daunting or painful as the process may seem, tracking your finances in detail can also help you start to regain a much-needed sense of control over your situation.

Include every source of income. In addition to any salary, include bonuses, benefits, alimony, child support, or any interest you receive.

Keep track of ALL your spending. When you’re faced with a pile of past-due bills and mounting debt, buying a coffee on the way to work may seem like an irrelevant expense. But seemingly small expenses can mount up over time, so keep track of everything. Understanding exactly how you spend your money is key to budgeting and devising a plan to address your financial problems.

List your debts. Include past-due bills, late fees, and list minimum payments due as well as any money you owe to family or friends.

Identify spending patterns and triggers. Does boredom or a stressful day at work cause you to head to the mall or start online shopping? When the kids are acting out, do you keep them quiet with expensive restaurant or takeout meals, rather than cooking at home ? Once you’re aware of your triggers you can find healthier ways of coping with them than resorting to “retail therapy”.

Look to make small changes. Spending money on things like a morning newspaper, lunchtime sandwich, or break-time cigarettes can add up to a significant monthly outlay. While it may be unreasonable to deny yourself every small pleasure, cutting down on nonessential spending and finding small ways to reduce your daily expenditure can really help to free up extra cash to pay off bills.

Eliminate impulse spending. Ever seen something online or in a shop window that you just had to buy? Impulsive buying can wreck your budget and max out your credit cards. To break the habit, try making a rule that you’ll wait a week before making any new purchase.

Go easy on yourself. As you review your debt and spending habits, remember that anyone can get into financial difficulties, especially at times like this . Don’t use this as an excuse to punish yourself for any perceived financial mistakes. Give yourself a break and focus on the aspects you can control as you look to move forward.

When your financial problems go beyond money

Sometimes, the causes for your financial difficulties may lie elsewhere. For example, money troubles can stem from problem gambling , fraud abuse , or a mental health issue, such as overspending during a bipolar manic episode .

To prevent the same financial problems recurring, it’s imperative you address both the underlying issue and the money troubles it’s created in your life.

Just as financial stress can be caused by a wide range of different money problems, so there are an equally wide range of possible solutions. The plan to address your specific problem could be to live within a tighter budget, lower the interest rate on your credit card debt, curb your online spending, seek government benefits, declare bankruptcy, or to find a new job or additional source of income.

If you’ve taken inventory of your financial situation, eliminated discretionary and impulse spending, and your outgoings still exceed your income, there are essentially three choices open to you: increase your income, lower your spending, or both. How you go about achieving any of those goals will require making a plan and following through on it.

• Identify your financial problem. Having taken inventory, you should be able to clearly identify the financial problem you’re facing. It may be that you have too much credit card debt, not enough income, or you overspend on unnecessary purchases when you feel stressed or anxious. Or perhaps, it’s a combination of problems. Make a separate plan for each one.
• Devise a solution. Brainstorm ideas with your family or a trusted friend, or consult a free financial counseling service. You may decide that talking to credit card companies and requesting a lower interest rate would help solve your problem. Or maybe you need to restructure your debt, eliminate your car payment, downsize your home, or talk to your boss about working overtime.
• Put your plan into action. Be specific about how you can follow through on the solutions you’ve devised. Perhaps that means cutting up credit cards, networking for a new job , registering at a local food bank, or selling things on eBay to pay off bills, for example.
• Monitor your progress. As we’ve all experienced recently, events that impact your financial health can happen quickly, so it’s important to regularly review your plan. Are some aspects working better than others? Do changes in interest rates, your monthly expenses, or your hourly wage, for example, mean you should revise your plan?
• Don’t get derailed by setbacks. We’re all human and no matter how tight your plan, you may stray from your goal or something unexpected could happen to derail you. Don’t beat yourself up, but get back on track as soon as possible.

The more detailed you can make your plan, the less powerless you’ll feel over your financial situation.

Whatever your plan to relieve your financial problems, setting and following a monthly budget can help keep you on track and regain your sense of control.

• Include everyday expenses in your budget, such as groceries and the cost of traveling to work, as well as monthly rent, mortgage, and utility bills.
• For items that you pay annually, such as car insurance or property tax, divide them by 12 so you can set aside money each month.
• If possible, try to factor in unexpected expenses, such as a medical co-pay or prescription charge if you fall sick, or the cost of home or car repairs.
• Set up automatic payments wherever possible to help ensure bills are paid on time and you avoid late payments and interest rate hikes.
• Prioritize your spending. If you’re having trouble covering your expenses each month, it can help to prioritize where your money goes first. For example, feeding and housing yourself and your family and keeping the power on are necessities. Paying your credit card isn’t—even if you’re behind on your payments and have debt collection companies harassing you.
• Keep looking for ways to save money. Most of us can find something in our budget that we can eliminate to help make ends meet. Regularly review your budget and look for ways to trim expenses.
• Enlist support from your spouse, partner, or kids. Make sure everyone in your household is pulling in the same direction and understands the financial goals you’re working towards.

Resolving financial problems tends to involve small steps that reap rewards over time. In the current economic climate, it’s unlikely your financial difficulties will disappear overnight. But that doesn’t mean you can’t take steps right away to ease your stress levels and find the energy and peace of mind to better deal with challenges in the long-term.

[Read: Stress Management]

Get moving. Even a little regular exercise can help ease stress, boost your mood and energy, and improve your self-esteem. Aim for 30 minutes on most days, broken up into short 10-minute bursts if that’s easier.

Practice a relaxation technique. Take time to relax each day and give your mind a break from the constant worrying. Meditating , breathing exercises, or other relaxation techniques are excellent ways to relieve stress and restore some balance to your life.

Don’t skimp on sleep. Feeling tired will only increase your stress and negative thought patterns. Finding ways to improve your sleep during this difficult time will help both your mind and body.

Boost your self-esteem. Rightly or wrongly, experiencing financial problems can cause you to feel like a failure and impact your self-esteem. But there are plenty of other, more rewarding ways to improve your sense of self-worth. Even when you’re struggling yourself, helping others by volunteering can increase your confidence and ease stress, anger, and anxiety—not to mention aid a worthy cause. Or you could spend time in nature, learn a new skill, or enjoy the company of people who appreciate you for who you are, rather than for your bank balance.

Eat healthy food. A healthy diet rich in fruit, vegetables, and omega-3s can help support your mood and improve your energy and outlook. And you don’t have to spend a fortune; there are ways to eat well on a budget .

Be grateful for the good things in your life. When you’re plagued by money worries and financial uncertainty , it’s easy to focus all your attention on the negatives. While you don’t have to ignore reality and pretend everything’s fine, you can take a moment to appreciate a close relationship, the beauty of a sunset, or the love of a pet, for example. It can give your mind a break from the constant worrying, help boost your mood, and ease your stress.

Find financial resources

Find  U.S. Government Services and Information  including  How to Get Out of Debt ,  Unemployment Help , and  Getting Help with Living Expenses . Or call 1-844-872-4681. (USA gov)

Get help with debt and housing problems from  Citizens Advice , contact a free debt service at  National Debtline  or  Stepchange , or seek free financial advice from the government’s  Money Advice Service .

Find  Government Services , get free  Financial Counselling  or call the  National Debt Helpline  at 1800 007 007.

Find government services and information for  Managing Debt  and  Benefits .

More Information

• Managing Job Loss and Financial Stress - Helping yourself and your family cope with stress and financial worries following job loss. (University of Hawaii)
• Managing Debt - Steps you can take to deal with debt. (Federal Trade Commission)
• Managing money and budgeting - Tips for creating a family budget. (raisingchildren.net.au)
• Make a Budget - Simple worksheet to help you create a budget. (Federal Trade Commission)
• Money Stress Weighing on Americans’ Health - Details of the 2015 Stress in America: Paying with Our Health survey from the American Psychological Association. (APA)
• Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders. (2013). In Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders . American Psychiatric Association. Link
• Inc, Gallup. “The U.S. Healthcare Cost Crisis.” Gallup.com. Accessed November 16, 2021. Link
• Anderson, Norman B, Cynthia D Belar, Steven J Breckler, Katherine C Nordal, David W Ballard, Lynn F Bufka, Luana Bossolo, Sophie Bethune, Angel Brownawell, and Katelynn Wiggins. Stress in America: Paying with our Health. “AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION,” n.d., 23. Link
• Ramsey Solutions. “Money, Marriage, and Communication.” Accessed November 16, 2021. Link
• “At What Costs? Student Loan Debt, Debt Stress, and Racially/Ethnically Diverse College Students’ Perceived Health. – PsycNET.” Accessed November 16, 2021. Link
• Richardson, Thomas, Peter Elliott, and Ronald Roberts. “The Relationship between Personal Unsecured Debt and Mental and Physical Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Clinical Psychology Review 33, no. 8 (December 1, 2013): 1148–62. Link
• Warth, Jacqueline, Marie-Therese Puth, Judith Tillmann, Johannes Porz, Ulrike Zier, Klaus Weckbecker, and Eva Münster. “Over-Indebtedness and Its Association with Sleep and Sleep Medication Use.” BMC Public Health 19, no. 1 (July 17, 2019): 957. Link
• Saleh, Dalia, Nathalie Camart, Fouad Sbeira, and Lucia Romo. “Can We Learn to Manage Stress? A Randomized Controlled Trial Carried out on University Students.” PLOS ONE 13, no. 9 (September 5, 2018): e0200997. Link
• “Stress, Social Support, and the Buffering Hypothesis. – PsycNET.” Accessed November 15, 2021. Link
• Salmon, P. “Effects of Physical Exercise on Anxiety, Depression, and Sensitivity to Stress: A Unifying Theory.” Clinical Psychology Review 21, no. 1 (February 2001): 33–61. Link
• Toussaint, Loren, Quang Anh Nguyen, Claire Roettger, Kiara Dixon, Martin Offenbächer, Niko Kohls, Jameson Hirsch, and Fuschia Sirois. “Effectiveness of Progressive Muscle Relaxation, Deep Breathing, and Guided Imagery in Promoting Psychological and Physiological States of Relaxation.” Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2021 (July 3, 2021): e5924040. Link

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1. Give a Cash Gift

2. make a personal loan, 3. co-sign a loan, 4. create a bill-paying plan, 5. provide employment, 6. give non-cash assistance, 7. prepay bills, 8. help find local resources, the bottom line.

• Personal Finance
• Family Finances

8 Ways to Help Family Members in Financial Trouble

During times of hardship, people often turn for help to a family member. Often, people get into financial difficulties if they lose a job, overuse credit cards, or incur expensive medical bills.

Unfortunately, many well-meaning family members have found themselves sucked into the financial abyss by the problems of a loved one.

Let's take a look at a few options you can consider to help your family members in financial trouble without hurting yourself in the process.

Key Takeaways

• When a loved one is struggling financially, take a pause before providing money and consider whether they have a plan for avoiding the same pitfalls in the future.
• Make sure you have a clear agreement about the form of help, such as a loan or gift, and any terms for repayment.
• If you want to give the person something outright, consider giving them cash, paying one of their bills directly, or providing them with non-cash assistance, like gift cards, or certain resources they need.
• Consider providing them with a job, if you can, or help them to create a bill-paying plan, or to access local resources like career counseling and training programs.
• If you want to help them with a loan, consider whether you want to make a personal loan or to co-sign a loan that they are seeking from a bank or other financial institution.

If your loved one is having a short-term cash flow problem, you may want to give an outright financial gift.

Decide how much you can afford to give without putting yourself in financial jeopardy, and then either give the maximum amount all at once (and let your loved one know that's the case) or perhaps give smaller gifts on a periodic basis until the situation is resolved.

Make sure it's clearly understood that the money is a gift and doesn't need to be repaid so you don't create an awkward situation for the gift recipient.

Annual Exclusion

If you're considering giving them a substantial sum of money, you'll need to keep an eye on the annual  gift tax  exclusion set each year by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). In tax year 2024, the exclusion is $18,000 per person.

Your family member may approach you and ask for a short-term loan . Talk frankly, put the terms of the loan on paper , and have both parties sign. This will help ensure that each party is clear on the financial arrangement they're entering into. Some loan details you'll want to include are:

• The amount of the loan
• Whether the loan will be a lump-sum payment , or if it will be divided and paid out in installments upon meeting certain conditions (e.g., securing another job or paying down existing debt)
• The interest rate you will charge for making the loan and how it will be calculated ( compound or simple interest )
• Payment due dates (including the date of full repayment or final installment due)
• A recourse if the borrower doesn't make loan payments on time or in full (e.g., increasing interest charges, ceasing any further loan payments, or taking legal action)

If you are going to lend more than $10,000 and/or you're going to charge an interest rate that is substantially different than the going rate for most borrowers, you may want to talk to a tax professional. There can be unique tax implications for low-interest loans among family members.

When helping out a loved one in financial distress, there is a risk of getting sucked into a loop of loans and payments. To avoid this, make sure the terms and structure of the loan or gift are clearly defined in advance.

Your loved one may be interested in obtaining a loan or line of credit (LOC) to help with short-term financial needs, but what if their credit requires getting a co-signer? Would you be willing to co-sign a loan or LOC from a bank, credit union, or online lender?

Potential Pitfalls

Before saying "yes" and putting your good credit reputation in the hands of someone else, it's important to realize there are legal and financial implications to co-signing on a loan. The most critical thing to understand is that you are legally obligating yourself to repay the loan if the other borrower fails to do so.

The lender can take legal action against you and require that you pay the full amount, even if you had an agreement between you and your family member that you would not have to make payments.

This delinquent loan will also now affect your personal credit. So if your sister/brother/uncle fails to make payments on the loan on time and in full, the lender can report the negative account activity to the credit bureaus to file on your credit report which, in turn, can lower your credit score. 

Consider the Risks

Co-signing a loan is serious business. The fact that your family member needs a loan co-signer means the lender considers them too great of a risk for the bank to take alone. If the bank isn't sure they'll repay the loan, what guarantees do you have that they will?

It may also mean that you could have more difficulty getting a loan for yourself down the road since you are technically taking on this loan and its payment as well.

Before co-signing for a loan, make sure you:

• Ask for a copy of your family member's credit report, credit score, and monthly budget so you'll have an accurate picture of their finances and ability to repay the loan.
• Meet with the lender in person (if possible) and be sure that you understand all the terms of the loan.
• Get copies of all documents related to the loan, including the repayment schedule.
• Ask the lender to notify you in writing if your family member misses a payment or makes a late payment. Finding out about potential repayment problems sooner rather than later can help you take quick action and protect your own credit score.

Often, people in a financial crisis simply aren't aware where their money is going. If you have experience using a budget to manage your own money, you may be able to help your family member to create and use a budget as well. To break the ice, offer to show them your budget and your bill-paying system and explain how it helps you make financial decisions.

As you work together to help them get a handle on their financial situation, you may find places where they can cut back on expenses or try to increase their income to better meet their financial obligations.

If you're not comfortable making a loan or giving a cash gift, consider hiring your family member to assist with needed tasks at an agreed-upon rate.

This side job may go a long way toward helping them earn the money they need to pay their bills and help you finish up any jobs that you've been putting off.

Treat the arrangement as you would with any other employee—spell out clearly the work that needs to be done, the deadlines, and the rate of pay. Be sure to include a provision about how you'll deal with poor or incomplete work.

If you don't have cash to give a loved one, recognize that your time, patience, and ability to help them brainstorm and problem-solve are also valuable assets that you can provide.

If you're uncomfortable or unwilling to give your family member cash, consider giving non-cash financial assistance, such as gift cards or gift certificates. You'll have more control over what your money may be used for, and you can easily buy gift cards in varying amounts at most stores.

You may want to consider prepaying one or more regular bills that your loved one receives (rent/mortgage, utility bills, or insurance premiums ) to help them during their current financial crunch. Offering to do something, such as making their car payment, may help them avoid a short-term crisis and give them the extra time they need to work out of their situation.

You may not be able to provide your family member with financial assistance or hands-on help. But you can still play a key role by helping them find local professionals who can steer them in the right direction, such as:

• Career counselor and employment agencies
• Welfare agencies and similar services
• Credit and debt counselors
• Lenders who can provide short-term solutions

How Much Money Can I Gift Before the Gift Tax Applies?

For tax year 2024, you can give up to $18,000 per person.

Can Budgeting Apps Help a Family Member?

Budgeting apps can help, as long as your family member understands the value of a budget and uses the app regularly. Two well-regarded budget apps you might consider are YNAB (You Need a Budget) and Simplifi by Quicken.

Is Lending Money to Family Members a Good Idea?

It may or may not be. Making a loan can show that you care about your loved ones. But getting your money back is another thing. And making, or co-signing for, a loan may result in negative effects such as ill will and damage to your financial standing if it remains unpaid.

Family members and money aren't always a good mix. But, in tough economic times or when faced with unexpected emergencies, a loved one may truly need your financial assistance. Find out specifically what help they need to work their way out of their current situation.

Before you commit to helping financially, be sure to think through what you can and can't afford to do. Remember, if your own resources are limited, there are other meaningful, effective, and creative ways to help your family members.

Internal Revenue Service. " Frequently Asked Questions on Gift Taxes: How many annual exclusions are available? "

Quicken. " Quicken Simplifi ."

YNAB. " Change Your Relationship With Money ."

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The Impact of Financial Hardship on Single Parents: An Exploration of the Journey From Social Distress to Seeking Help

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• Published: 17 October 2017
• Volume 39 , pages 233–242, ( 2018 )

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• Rebecca Jayne Stack 1 &
• Alex Meredith 1  

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Single parent families are at high risk of financial hardship which may impact on psychological wellbeing. This study explored the impact of financial hardship on wellbeing on 15 single parents. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed using constructivist thematic analysis. Participants described food and fuel poverty, and the need to make sacrifices to ensure that children’s basic needs were met. In some cases, participants went without food and struggled to pay bills. Isolation, anxiety, depression, paranoia, and suicidal thoughts were described. However, participants reported that psychological services not able to take the needs of single parents in to account. Support for single parents must acknowledge the impact of social circumstances and give more consideration economic drivers of distress.

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In the United Kingdom, approximately one in four children live in single parent families (also known as lone parent families). In 2016 there were 2.9 million single parents in the United Kingdom, representing an 18.6% increase in single parents since 1996, (Great Britain. Office for National Statistics 2016 ). Women account for 86% of single parents with dependent children, the average age of a single parent is 38 years of age, with approximately 60% of single parents caring for one dependent child. Single parent families are one representation of the range and diversity of family units in modern society (Golombok 2000 ; Golombok et al. 2016 ) and can be created through circumstances, including divorce, separation, death of a partner, donor insemination or an unplanned pregnancy.

Societal perceptions often construct single parents as young, female, unemployed parents with multiple children (Garner and Paterson 2014 ; Zartler 2014 ). Single parents are a stigmatised group in that they are in possession of a set of characteristics that conveys a social identity that is often devalued within society (Crocker et al. 1998 ). However, in Britain, employment among female single parents is higher than that of married or co-habiting women (Chambaz 2001 ). Despite high employment levels single parents are more likely to experience fuel poverty than other family structures (Liddell 2008 ). In addition, single parent families are still nearly twice as likely to be in poverty as those in couple parent families, with 67% of single parents reporting that they struggle with finances (Gingerbread 2015 ). Single parents therefore must manage a number of stressors including stigma, work and poverty.

The link between financial hardship poor health and poor mental health has been demonstrated in multiple populations. A study across 27 European countries found that single parents (in comparison to cohabiting parents and married parents) had poorer health, with the United Kingdom being substantially worse in this regard (Campbell et al. 2015 ; Van de Velde et al. 2014 ). In addition, studies have shown that single parents also experience lower levels of mental health and low psychological wellbeing (Ifcher and Zarghamee 2014 ), with more extensive use of the mental health services (Cairney and Wade 2002 ). Brown and Morgan ( 1997 ) examined marital status, poverty and depression in female parents over a 2-year period and found that single parents were twice as likely as their married counterparts to be in financial hardship (Brown and Moran 1997 ), despite being twice as likely to be in full-time employment. Single parents have been shown to experience higher levels of chronic stress (Cairney et al. 2003 ), loneliness (Baranowska-Rataj et al. 2014 ) and depression (Jackson et al. 2000 ). Elevated distress levels were also identified in German single parents compared to married mothers (Franz et al. 2003 ). Tein et al. ( 2000 ) conducted a prospective longitudinal study of the relationships among life stress, psychological distress, coping, and parenting behaviours in single mothers in the United States. The findings showed that both major and minor events had a significant impact on distress levels, with daily negative events having the largest impact on distress levels. Theoretically, high levels of distress, low economic resources and a lack of stress buffering resources may lead to poor psychological coping strategies amongst single parents (Folkman and Lazarus 1980 ), however, this must be explored though the in-depth examination of single parent experience.

It is clear from existing research that single parents are likely to experience higher levels of depression, anxiety, and general stress, despite making extensive efforts to meet their financial obligations. However, there is little research exploring help-seeking and how distress relating to financial hardship is addressed. The aims of this study were to explore the impact of financial hardship on personal health and wellbeing on single parents, and their attempts to seek help to cope with the impact of financial hardship.

Participants

Participants were recruited from single parent networks and charities in England, such as Gingerbread (a British charity offering advice, support and networking opportunities to single parents), with the recruitment being enabled through posters, flyers, and social media announcements. Eligible participants were parents who were currently raising at least one dependent child in a household consisting of one adult. In addition, the participants of this study self-identified with the terms lone parent or single parent. Demographic details and the parenting responsibilities of participants are presented in Table  1 .

Ethical approval for this procedure was granted by a University Ethics committee. The first author conducted 15 one-to-one semi-structured interviews which were guided by an interview schedule. The interview schedule was developed through consultation with single parent charities and a literature review on financial hardship, wellbeing and parenting. Following the first two interviews, the schedule was adapted to reflect the emerging topics and themes discussed by interviewees, with existing questions also being adjusted as appropriate. This inductive adaption of the interview schedule was undertaken again after a further four interviews had been conducted. Interviews lasted between 30 to 90 min, were audio-recorded using a digital voice recorder and transcribed verbatim prior to analysis.

The data were analysed using thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke 2006 ), with a constructivist epistemology being applied to the interpretation of the emerging themes. The initial stage of analysis was line-by-line coding where labels were attached to descriptions, events, perceptions and topic of discussion featured in the interview transcript. The first five interview transcripts were independently coded by the first and second authors. Coding categories that lacked concordance were discussed and absorbed into the coding framework. The initial codes were then grouped into the most noteworthy and frequently occurring global themes. The quotations within each theme were arranged into organising themes with constructivist descriptions of quotations developed by the first author, the constructivist descriptions were drawn from a combination of the quotations content, the line-by-line codes, and the relationship between the quotations within the organising themes. In addition, relationships between the organising themes were considered, and their overall contribution towards their global theme were outlined.

All participants were female between 18 and 55 years of age. The findings are organised in to core themes, related to the impact of financial hardship, debt on psychological wellbeing and health (Table  2 ).

The Stress of Being a Single Provider

Lone financial responsibility.

The parent who took the primary custodial responsibility for the child(ren) was construed to be the parent with the primary financial burden; a scenario which was described by one participant as big trouble . Not having enough financial resources to support their children and needing to rely on other people were described as stressful and worrying. Participants represented themselves as trapped and helpless, and constructed their position as one where there was a persistent battle with finances; with the need to fight for everything . Participants described a range of feelings in response to the constant worry about providing for a child a single person, including feeling miserable and stressed. These feelings and stressors did not dissipate with time, and were worsened by unanticipated life events.

I’m miserable really. It’s, it’s stress. It’s the stress of it. It’s, it’s worrying every single day how, how you’re gonna give your child the best…I’m in this position with a child I feel completely helpless. I can’t support my own family and I have to rely on what I’m given and you have to fight everything nowadays. (Emily, a 28 year old mother of one young child)

Participants viewed money worries as being a central part of everyday life, and was a repeated stressor which could not be avoided. The stress and the worry about food was constructed as being constant and life-consuming, and was therefore something that regularly occupied their thoughts. It was this sense of rumination about being unable to provide necessities that lead to feelings of sickness, with some single parents describing the bleakness of their current circumstances, with feelings of hopelessness and depression. Often at the centre of this worry were concerns about providing food, which were constructed as part of an ongoing daily struggle. These food related worries were linked by participants to sleeplessness, and feelings of physical sickness (described in more detail in Theme 2).

I really need to do some food shopping but I’ve got £4…I’ve had sleepless nights and nights full of tears, where I’ve just thought I literally don’t know how I’m going to get through the next few days. I’ve got no food, no money…So yeah, definitely times where I’ve felt very, very depressed about the situation and can’t see a way out of it almost. (Sandra, a 23 year old mother of one young child)

Making Sacrifices

Participants constructed their personal responsibility for feeding children as vital, and unquestionable. Participants described doing whatever it took to ensure that their children had food, so that their children would not go hungry. In doing so, however, participants would reduce their own food intake or go hungry , arguably leading to the detriment of their own physical and mental health. Similarly, meals would be skipped to pay utility bills, or to ensure that debt associated with bills was not accumulated.

I don’t eat sometimes; I just have my online shopping and it’s all for my daughter, so I’ll be having toast for dinner. That’s, that’s kind of life really. (Alisha, a 29 year old mother of one infant child) Um, there are cases where I will skip meals. Um, you know, there was a few weeks where it was literally like “Right, I’ve got £5 at the end of the week or whatever, this has either got to go on electric or, or something else” and I will skip meals. (Sarah, a 33 year old mother of one young child)

Financial hardship was associated with household fuel poverty, with some participants specifically speaking about the difficulties they faced in providing heat in their homes (as opposed to other forms of fuel consumption). Participants discussed making decisions not to heat their homes to save money, or lowering the temperature of heaters to reduce financial outgoings. Fuel costs were presented as an acceptable necessity to sacrifice, where as providing food was never questioned. In a similar way to identifying funds for food and heating, finding the money for children’s clothing was a source of worry. School clothing was suggested to be a particular burden, which could not be avoided, requiring participants to worry about finding the money .

But there were times when I thought you know, I’m not going to put my gas on. And I’m not going to do that extra load of washing, just because I don’t know if I can afford it, and I need to make sure I’ve got money in my purse to go and do food shopping. (Sandra, a 23 year old mother of one younger child) He’s starting secondary school in September and I’m going to have to find the money for all his school uniform and blazers and that’s gonna run in to hundreds I dare say. So I’m already thinking “oh my goodness, how am I gonna find the money for that?” (Sarah, a 33 year old mother of one young child)

Single parent participants also suggested that financial hardship had a negative impact on their social interactions. Social isolation, loneliness and withdrawal were suggested to corrode their psychological wellbeing and mental health. Not having enough money to participate in social activities was suggested to be a physical barrier, however, the embarrassment of having little money was a social and psychological barrier which was suggested to underlie their tendency to withdraw socially. This meant that social withdrawal and social isolation were often associated with financial stress and financial hardship.

And I think I’d love to be able to take him to a Soft Play, or do something else that normal parents would be able to do, but I can’t because I haven’t got any money. (Martha, a 40 year old mother of two young children) But it’s just little things, like if we decide to go to the park with a friend, they might get a treat or go for a coffee. And I just thought I don’t have three pounds to do that, so we’ll just stay at home and do things ourselves. (Sabrina, a 47 year old mother of a teenager)

The Impact of Financial Hardship

Physical health.

Participants often questioned their ability to cope . In some cases participants described feeling so ill that they were unable to eat, with the stress related to work and the need to bring in extra money leading to exhaustion. A large proportion of physical symptoms were related to strain, stress, and feeling run down which were described in ways that directly related these physical symptoms to psychological wellbeing. For example, the accumulative effect of stress related to money worries and sole responsibility were suggested to interrupt sleep and lead to sleeplessness. The psychological impact of night-time excessive rumination experienced by single parents was inescapable, but in some cases participants forced themselves to get physical rest. However, despite forcing physical rest, some participants described feeling run down . The stress of doing everything was linked to more susceptible to illness, particularly colds and flu.

Yeah, oh I felt so ill, I couldn’t eat, it would just come over in waves, it was awful…I was doing a bit of cleaning as well to bring in some money to pay the food and I think the body just, said I can’t cope. (Charlotte, a 55 year old mother of a teenager) I didn’t really cope very well, I just, I used to have sleepless nights, if I woke up I would often go and I would, things would go round and round and round in my head all the time, erm, so at night I would maybe get 3 h sleep…You’re doing everything, so yes it does, it puts that extra strain on you. So I would definitely say yes, and you’re picking up more, because you’re run down all the time, I think you’re more likely to pick up bugs and things as well. (Laura, a 45 year old mother of one young child and one teenager)

Participants described how they would cope with illnesses such as chest infections and back pain that caused them to seek medical attention, but highlighted that they were unable to rest and recover. Regardless of one’s health status or the presence of an illness the need to do everything remained. Some participants, such as Zainab, also suffered from long-term illnesses, which presented an extra physical challenge. Here the need for rest was particularly pertinent, and a range of strategies designed to juggle illness alongside their parenting responsibilities were described. Often, normal sick role activities (such as rest and seeking help) were inhibited by the responsibilities of parenting alone.

I just have to sleep and rest when I can, when I haven’t got him or when he’s at school. Um, I have to try and pace myself in terms of trying to get the housework done. (Zainab, a 34 year old mother of one young child) If you’re ill, there was no way I would get to lie in. So I did find that I was ill quite a lot and I found myself going to the Doctors for chest infections or my back being out because I do suffer with back pain. (Laura, a 45 year old mother of one young child and one teenager)

Mental Health

Sleepless nights, frustration and distress were common. Participants described feeling anxious about everything , suggesting that single parents were on high alert. Some single parent participants described feeling judged by others and had feelings of paranoia. Similar to physical health, descriptions of mental health were underlined by stress, rumination, and the turmoil of circumstances. Descriptions of feeling overwhelmed constructed the enormity of the situation, and placed the experience of distress as paramount in their existence. Claire also described the exhaustion she felt, and collapsing once the children had gone to bed. All of her energy had been devoted to caring for her children, and once they were asleep, she would spend the time alone in a state of distress which involved exhaustion, crying, feeling overwhelmed, and sleeplessness.

I was so anxious about everything…I felt so judged by everybody. Yeah, VERY anxious… there was a spell when basically the boys went to bed about 7:15, 7:30, and then I just collapsed sobbing on the sofa and then went to bed. And I couldn’t sleep because my head was just in turmoil about all the things that had happened. It just can feel really overwhelming sometimes. (Claire, a 37 year old mother to two young children) So my situation escalated really quickly…And I just found that with the pressure of looking after two such young children and their care needs, plus the pressures both financially and, you know, sorting out all the bills, having to get things like tax credits which I’ve never had before in my life. Having to look after the house and do all that, and the garden, and the car, and everything by myself, I just kind of imploded. (Sara, a 25 year old mother of an infant child)

The distress and anxiety experienced were linked by participants to parenting responsibilities and financial hardship. In some cases participants were very specific in outlining the source of their distress, for example sorting out bills, tax-credits, taking care of the house and caring for the children. Feelings of entrapment, desperation and being unable to get out of the current situation led to suicidal thoughts. In addition, it was felt that there was not help out there for the mental health problems being faced, with Charlotte (a 55 year old mother of a teenager) saying that there was no help to empower people to steer out of it . This would indicate that a therapeutic paradigm with more direction would be of benefit. Conversely the presence of their children was protective for their mental health.

I would have killed myself, I know, because I thought about it many times, so that is…it’s desperate, when you’re in a mess, it’s desperate…but I think so much more needs to be done in educating ordinary people in how to manage finance. (Charlotte, a 55 year old mother of a teenager) He [the child] is the best thing that has ever happened to me in my life. I honestly would have been dead by now if it weren’t for him because I would have just killed myself, like literally. (Alexandria, a 36 year old mother of a young child)

Seeking Help and Support

Seeking help: food banks.

Food banks were used as support in times of crisis when they were unable to provide adequate levels of food. Some participants were not aware of the help available at food banks, and were not sure if they were entitled to support. In some cases participant were advised by workers at a SureStart centre (a government run local/community based centre to advice and support to families with young children) that they were entitled, highlighting the vital role of community support in signposting support. Participants presented that this type of identification of needs and signposting was necessary for them to access support, as Martha (a 40 year old mother of two younger children) sated that she  “wouldn't have dreamt of asking for it.”

There’s a difference between knowing it exists. It’s probably one of these things, like a lot of people say about benefits, oh I’m not entitled to it, there’s probably a lot of people what think. (Rosemary, a 32 year old mother of one young child and one teenager) I was at one of the SureStart Centres one day helping at something, and one of the staff who knew my situation came up and asked how was I getting on…And I said I’m starting to struggle again, and she said well, you do know you can use food bank. I wouldn’t have dreamt of asking for it. I didn’t know that… I knew all about it in a sense, but I didn’t know I was entitled to have it. (Martha, a 40 year old mother of two young children)

For others, the issue was in getting access to the food bank. One single parent described a desperate situation where she was unable to provide food for her daughter, but did not have the money or resources to get to the food bank. In these circumstances the impact of not being able to afford transport, prevented access to services designed for those unable to afford food; with one form of hardship, impacting upon another form of hardship, constructing a cycle of deprivation.

My daughter was eating peanuts and I thought…there’s no way she’s gonna have just peanuts today, and I’d called the council to say, you know, could you help me with the food bank…please, there must be something you can do to help me. I can’t, I’ve got no money to get there. And the lady said “well, sorry, you know, if you can’t get there you can’t have the food.” So even simple things like that, you know, you, you can’t get to a food bank and they’re refusing to kind of help you, you’d think they might be able to bring it to you if you’re, you know, in a really dire situation. (Emily, a 28 year old mother of one young child)

Seeking Help: Mental Health Support

Professional help was often sought when participants described themselves as having hit a crisis point. This was usually characterised by the accumulated stress of being a single parent (described in Themes 1 and 2) become overwhelming, and the ability to continue with parenting duties were questioned. The feeling of crisis was constructed as extreme, and at a point where the only option was to seek help. The was an underlying sentiment that help for single parents was not typical or expected, therefore, seeking help was an extraordinary act born out of crisis. Typically, general practitioners (GPs also known as family practitioners) acted as the first line of support in such cases. GPs were constructed as highly responsive, supportive and caring. They often offered antidepressants as intervention, but it appeared that their initial response (of caring and taking the situation seriously) were well received and helpful.

And my GP was brilliant, and he was very supportive. He straight away went down the route of yes, if at a later date we feel the need for anti-depressants and things, but at this precise minute I want to see you every week. Let’s just, you know, keep things talking. (Martha, a 40 year old mother of two young children) And I went to see my GP, and she was lovely. And I’ve never had any sort of mental health difficulties ever in the past and she just said I think you need some chemical help. (Claire, a 37 year old mother of two young children)

Drug therapies were not always seen as being a viable treatment or as an alternative to psychotherapy. Similarly, participants believed that their distress was caused by social stressors, and that a chemical solution acting on the brain would not address the cause of their distress. The causal beliefs about the origins of their distress (e.g., financial and social), were preventing single parent participants from accepting the feasibility of an intervention. There was a resistance to being medicated or reduced to a fluffy state, and that pharmacotherapy would just mask the issue, and that the underlying issues would remain, and would continue to be unaddressed and perhaps worsen. Additionally, one participant was worried that taking antidepressant would make her susceptible to being taken advantage of, or not being fully coherent enough to manage the multiple tasks she was required to undertake. However, there was a suggestion that feelings of anger, depression and sadness were normal and justified, and that interventions attempted to remove these justified feelings, and that help should have an alternative focus which allows single parents to work with these feelings and address the social consequences of their psychological distress.

I didn’t actually take any anti-depressants because my philosophy was, I know what’s causing my depression, erm, and if I could resolve those issues, then my depression would go away, so I didn’t feel that I wanted to mask things. (Laura, a 45 year old mother of one younger child) If I did take medication, I would become like even more relaxed and maybe even a bit more compliant but you know, I don’t know, I just didn’t want any of my sense to be reduced, I wanted to feel that anger, I had a right to that anger. (Sara, a 25 year old mother of one younger child)

There was a general scepticism to psychological interventions from some participants. One parent described that she felt as though she were just going over things. Whereas others suggested that they felt that their psychological state was not the result of disorder thinking, or other traditional causes of mental health difficulties. Instead participants saw themselves as under extreme stress, therefore, their thoughts and feelings were legitimate and did not need to be changed through psychological intervention. There was a desire for more solutions to emerge from the counselling process.

I had six sessions with a counsellor. I’m not sure the counselling helped, to be truthful. It kind of felt like just going over the same stuff, and the counsellor didn’t kind of suggest anything, or say anything. It was just kind of you oh gosh, that’s difficult, but didn’t kind of have any solutions. (Claire, a 37 year old mother of two young children)

Low mood, anxiety and depression were thought by participants to be the result of their social circumstances, therefore, attempts made to change their way of thinking would not address the underlying social, financial and stress origins of their psychological morbidity. Participants described how services were not designed to deal with their complex social needs. Instead services were set up for psychological disorders, but not for psychological disorders where the stressors were external (e.g., parenting responsibility, financial or poverty related). Therefore, participants held scepticism about how effective traditional psychological therapies would be in helping to alleviate their anxiety, depression, distress or suicidal thoughts.

He (GP) then referred me to, what I was told was counselling, but ended up being CBT, cognitive behavioural therapy. And it was a complete waste of time. Because to me, CBT is good if you want to change habits and things. However the stresses and things I was feeling, was not due to any habits that needed changing. It was due to, you know, my life being completely turned upside down. (Martha, a 40 year old mother of two young children) If you kind of turned up to a healthcare professional and started talking about some of the issues you go through, they don’t actually have services designed to actually help single parents cope or even just a basic understanding of some of the things you’ve been through. So when you kind of rock up to CBT, they’ve got no idea or conceptualisation of what you’ve been through but if you have an eating disorder… (Sheryl, a 36 year old mother of one young child)

This exploration of financial hardship in single parents identified multiple aspects of poverty. Single parents in this study described making difficult compromises to afford food, heating, and clothing and often focused their resources on their children. Participants described attempting to shield their children from poverty through missing their own meals, and taking on extra work which meant that the experiential impact of financial stressors were contained by the parent. Many poverty theories conceptualise negative traits in poverty related decision making including impertinence and impulsivity which are thought to perpetuate poverty cycles, this research highlights that parents make decisions which minimise the impact of the on their children, however, such decision make increase the impact on them as individuals. Psychological research has identified that parental self-sacrifice is a negative core belief, which is associated with negative outcomes and often accompany feelings of shame and a lack of control (Shah and Waller 2000 ). The impact and consequences of self-sacrifice styles of decisions making on factors such as wellbeing and long-term financial hardship should play a role on poverty related decision-making models. Similarly, Bahr and Bahr ( 2001 ) noted that self-sacrifice is a concept neglected in family theory, yet self-sacrifice plays a clear role in family dynamics.

Single parents in our sample described high levels of stress, psychological distress and anxiety, which were related to their position of sole responsibility and concerns about finances. Some levels of distress were particularly concerning, including rumination, sleeplessness, and suicidal thoughts. A particular concern, and one which should be addressed by healthcare professionals and policy makers, was that single parents in this study suggested that mental health distress was normal, and that psychological difficulties were a natural consequence of their social circumstances. This finding is concerning as it indicates that single parents are less likely to seek help or support for mental health difficulties. Furthermore, when help was sought the causal beliefs associated with their mental distress affected their ability to engage with psychological interventions. In addition, stress related health concerns were also described, however, many parents the option to rest and recover was removed due to parental duties.

Self-regulation models of help-seeking behaviour examine the role of beliefs in determining whether help is sought for physical or mental health condition (Bishop and Converse 1986 ). This theory suggests that we hold prototypical beliefs about what it is like to experience an illness, and when we experience symptoms comparisons are made between the expected experience and the actual experience (Jones 1990 ). Beliefs where comparisons are made between expectations and experience include the cause of an illness, the timeline associated with an illness (how long with it last), the consequences, identity (symptoms associated with the illness) and the ability for the illness to be controlled (Stack et al. 2013 ). This study identified a range that single parents held prototypical beliefs about mental health conditions, but did not always recognise the legitimacy of their distress, instead suggesting that the cause of their symptoms was normal for people in their social circumstances. This causal belief was a barrier to help-being sought. Further exploration of the prototypical beliefs held by single parents experiencing mental health difficulties is required to understand the role negative self-beliefs and self-stigma on single parents’ willingness to access mental health services. Previous research has explored the role of social interactions in the development of prototypical beliefs (Tiwana et al. 2015 ), however, this study highlights that other factors such as self-stigma, social stigma and family dynamics can play an important role in the development of prototypical beliefs, and may prevent help-seeking. Developments of self-regulation prototypical models may consider the role of social factors in belief development, and ways that health services may help potential service users to understand that their illness is deserving of treatment.

The occurrence of psychological distress, stress, health concerns originated from stressors were also found in other studies (Campbell et al. 2015 ; Van de Velde et al. 2014 ). However, the current study identified the barriers and facilitators of seeking help, particularly, medical attention for the impact of distress, stressors, financial hardship and isolation. Meyer ( 2003 ) offered a conceptual framework to describe the impact of stigma, prejudice and discrimination faced by selected social groups. These social factors mean that some social groups face a negative social environment which contributes towards poor mental health. Meyer’s model considered the impact of hostile social environments for Lesbian, gay and bisexual people, but considered how other minority groups are exposed to excess social stressors which increased the prevalence of poor mental health for stigmatised social groups. Single parents are another group potentially effected by minority social stress, as single parents in this study discussed social isolation, social withdrawal and poor mental health. Further research, should explore the impact of stressors within negative social environments and the impact these factors have on mental health, and the ability of stigmatised minority groups in seeking support for mental health conditions in hostile social environments.

Previous research has identified that healthcare professionals routinely identify fuel poverty as a causal factor for numerous health problems, including asthma, and cardiovascular diseases (Atsalis et al. 2016 ). However, our study highlights that the impact of fuel and food poverty go beyond physical health manifestations and it is essential for healthcare professionals to address the social and psychological consequences of financial concerns and the social stressors associated with being a single parent. This study identified that initial contact with GPs were on the whole useful and positive. However, the further support in the form of counselling, psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy was suggested to be unhelpful. In this study, single parents reported being offered anti-depressants, cognitive behaviour therapy and more traditional forms of counselling. However, approaches which place the experience of social and financial hardship at the forefront of intervention are required. We identified that single parents believed their distress originated in social circumstances, therefore, therapies directed towards addressing cognitions and emotions were rejected. Therapeutic approaches to therapy which considers the social processes relevant to single parents must be promoted and made more readily available. Indeed, in the recent past, approaches to counselling designed to address the needs of single parents have been developed which could prove promising (Atwood and Genovese 2014 ; Morawetz and Walker 2014 ). Further research is needed to explore whether access to these therapies can be broadened, and whether more consideration can be given to social processes in healthcare.

This paper highlights a number of number of issues affecting single parents which are important for policy makers and healthcare professionals to consider. Despite financial hardship single parents were unwilling to compromise on food, with this being one area where some single parents, when signposted, sought help. One parent in particular was assisted by staff at a SureStart centre [providers of advice and support for families, covering a range of issues including job opportunities, support with health, social support and child welfare (Glass 1999 )]. While some have questioned whether SureStart centres are accessed by disadvantaged and hard-to-reach communities (Hutchings et al. 2007 ), our study suggests that these centres may be utilised by single parents for advice and signposting. However, recently, funding to these centres has been significantly reduced in 2015, 156 SureStart centres closed, up from the 85 centres closed in 2014 (leaving a total of 3259 centres remaining in 2016 according to the Department of Education). Therefore, this potential source of support is being diminished, and may have an impact upon the welfare and wellbeing of single parent families experiencing poverty (Melhuish et al. 2008 ).

This qualitative study has explored a number of important issues in a small sample of single parents and this paper is limited in its generalisability to wider single parent populations, however, the findings have formulated the basis for research which will aim to quantify and identify predictive patterns between financial hardship, mental health, and help-seeking in single parents. Follow on studies exploring the issues raised by this paper in other contexts should also consider variables such as the income level of single parents and whether single parents with higher income are less impacted by psychological distress. Furthermore, more consideration needs to be given to the geographical location of single parents, for example, studies have highlighted the difficulties faced by parents in rural locations verses inner city locations (Simmons et al. 2007 ). Due to the qualitative nature of the present study these factors were not taken in to account, but our future quantitative research will give include an analysis of these variables. A further limitation of this study was that recruitment was based on a self-selecting opportunity based approach. However, this resulted in a sample dominated by female participants. This was not unexpected as 90% of single parents are female (Great Britain. Office for National Statistics 2016 ). Furthermore, single mothers have been found to have significantly less income than single fathers (Hilton and Kopera-Frye 2006 ), therefore, may experience the stressors associated with financial hardship and parenting to a greater extent. However, we acknowledge that some of the emerging themes may be constructed with differing narratives if the experiences of single fathers were explored.

Past research has identified that single parents in the United Kingdom face significant financial hardships. This study has highlighted that the stresses of parenting alone appear to heighten feelings of stress, uncertainty, and depression associated with finances. Therefore, it is vital that health and mental health services recognise this distress, and understand the impact that financial difficulties have upon single parents. It is important to consider the sources of help available to single parents particularly help related to mental health and help focused on helping long parents cope with financial hardship. A focus on mental health support for single parents in need may have an additional impact upon the adjustment and wellbeing of children growing up in single parent households.

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Stack, R.J., Meredith, A. The Impact of Financial Hardship on Single Parents: An Exploration of the Journey From Social Distress to Seeking Help. J Fam Econ Iss 39 , 233–242 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-017-9551-6

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Many scholarships are awarded based on financial need. In order to win these scholarships, you must explain the nature of your financial need. In the guide below, we’ll explain how to write these types of essays to increase your chances of winning. Check out these scholarship essay examples for financial need scholarships.

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Here are some tips for writing financial need scholarship essays:

• Maintain a positive tone throughout the essay . You do not want to come across as self-pitying. Focus on ways you learned and grew from past experiences – how they made you stronger.
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• Frame your essay around a specific event. You may add other details if you have space to, but use one experience as the thesis for your essay.
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• Tell your story with honesty. Do not fabricate any details to make yourself sound needy. Your past and present circumstances will speak for themselves.
• Don’t try to sound philosophical. Some students will do this because they think it makes them seem smarter, but it rarely has that effect. Focus on proofreading and writing solid content. That is enough intelligence on its own.
• Discuss your career goals, if possible. You may not have room for this if the essay is short. If you do have room though, discussing your career goals will indicate a plan for the future. Review boards reward determination.

You know why you need financial aid. Tap into the key elements of your circumstances and use them to craft the perfect essay.

Many scholarships are awarded based on financial need. In order to win these scholarships, you must explain the nature of your financial need. In the guide below, we’ve provided examples of scholarship essays for financial need scholarships, along with some tips to help you write your own essay.

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Example 1: “Provide a statement of financial need”

Some scholarships will simply ask for a statement of financial need. There are no parameters to follow. You’re left to write whatever you want. Typically, a statement of financial need is two or three small paragraphs. This will come out to roughly 150-200 words, but it could be slightly longer. Think of this as a cover letter for your scholarship application, highlighting the key elements of your financial need. Don’t build up to the thesis. Get directly to the point.

I am the first person in my family to graduate high school, and thus the first to attend college. Both of my parents dropped out of school when they were teenagers. Because of their limited education, they have always worked in entry-level positions, earning barely enough to put food on the table. My first job I got was at the age of 12 delivering papers, and I have worked hard ever since to relieve pressure from my family. I enrolled in Mississippi’s HELP program during my senior year, which covers tuition and fees at select colleges in the state. I also have a Federal Pell Grant to cover my housing. However, I still need funding for books, supplies, and transportation to campus as needed. I am an engineering student, and our classes come with high fees. My parents cannot contribute to my college expenses, and I cannot work much while I’m in school. This scholarship would help me avoid costly student loans that could take years to repay.  

Example 2: “Describe your financial need in 100 words”

This essay is even shorter than the financial need statement. It may be one of several short answer questions you need to fill out. Working with 100 words is tricky. That only leaves room for about 7-10 sentences, depending on length. Make compelling statements using the fewest words possible.

Also note that grammar errors and misspellings will be much more noticeable in this short essay. Carefully proofread your writing before submitting the scholarship application.

I got pregnant and dropped out of high school when I was 15. By the age of 20, I had two more children, and we all shared a one-bedroom apartment. I worked three jobs to pay the bills, but I never earned much. When my oldest started high school, I did the same. I got my GED at 29 and enrolled in nursing school. My financial status has improved now with a GED, but I’m still a single mom with three kids. I want to become a registered nurse to give my children a stable future. I appreciate your consideration.

Word Count: 100

Example 3: “Explain your financial need in 500 or more words”

This scholarship essay prompt is the opposite of the one above. You have much more room to discuss your circumstances. Talk about your family life, your income, and other restraints that contribute to your financial aid . Try not to throw too much in the essay though. You want the information to flow together seamlessly. Edit carefully, and give the readers a full view of your situation.

My name is Brandon Noviello. I am a sophomore on track to earn my Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. I need financial aid because I do not have a family to contribute to my education. I was in foster care for two years before I aged out of the system, and now I am pursuing a degree completely on my own. I was raised by a wonderful woman who didn’t always have a wonderful life. My mother got pregnant after a sexual assault, but she was determined to raise a smart, successful man. She went through an accelerated program to graduate high school before I was born. She devoted the rest of her life to supporting me, both financially and emotionally. My mother’s family cut ties with her the moment she became pregnant. Life wasn’t easy for us, but I never wanted for anything. She always found a way to keep me fed, dressed, and in school. Unfortunately, she lost a long-term battle with depression when I was 16, and I was put into the foster system until I reached adulthood. I did not have a positive experience with foster care, but I admit, I had no desire to. My mother’s passing weighed heavily on my mind, and I felt an overwhelming sense of anger, regret, and frustration. There was one gleam of hope in my experience though. I had a great social worker. I fought her decisions every step of the way, and she still managed to find a family to get me through high school. My social worker was the only person I invited to my graduation ceremony.  She helped me realize how much one person’s efforts can make a difference in the lives of others. I was only one of countless children she had helped over the years. I researched how to become a social worker so I could help other children like me. My plan is to work with the Department of Human Services in the foster care and adoption division after I graduate. In order to make my dreams a reality, I need financial aid. I am working as a server to pay for food, utilities, and basic necessities, but I do not earn enough to pay for college as well. I go to school during the day and work at night. Furthermore, I have a maximum Pell Grant to cover most of my tuition, but I still need help with other expenses. I did not do well in high school as a result of my mom’s passing, but I have done well in college. I have a 3.25 cumulative GPA, and I have never made less than an A in a degree-related course. As such, I am committed to being successful despite my circumstances, and I want to help young people find that motivation within themselves. I look forward to working with children and teens in the foster system, so I can be the hope that someone else was for me.

Word Count: 498

YOU SHOULD ALSO READ

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How to Write a Great 500 Word Essay

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How to End a Scholarship Essay

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• Scholarship Essay

Jennifer Finetti

As a parent who recently helped her own kids embark on their college journeys, Jennifer approaches the transition from high school to college from a unique perspective. She truly enjoys engaging with students – helping them to build the confidence, knowledge, and insight needed to pursue their educational and career goals, while also empowering them with the strategies and skills needed to access scholarships and financial aid that can help limit college costs. She understands the importance of ensuring access to the edtech tools and resources that can make this process easier and more equitable - this drive to support underserved populations is what drew her to ScholarshipOwl. Jennifer has coached students from around the world, as well as in-person with local students in her own community. Her areas of focus include career exploration, major selection, college search and selection, college application assistance, financial aid and scholarship consultation, essay review and feedback, and more. She works with students who are at the top of their class, as well as those who are struggling. She firmly believes that all students, regardless of their circumstances, can succeed if they stay focused and work hard in school. Jennifer earned her MA in Counseling Psychology from National University, and her BA in Psychology from University of California, Santa Cruz.

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Home — Essay Samples — Sociology — Family Relationships — The Importance of Family Problems and their Solutions

The Importance of Family Problems and Their Solutions

• Categories: Family Relationships

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Words: 510 |

Published: Feb 7, 2024

Words: 510 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

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Families play a vital role in society, financial difficulties are a leading cause of family problems, the effects of family problems can be far-reaching and long-lasting, solutions to family problems vary depending on the nature of the issue, prevention is always better than cure.

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