Financial suggestions for single moms on Mother's Day

Single mothers should be allocating for regular expenditures, investments and emergency funds, it is significant that a single mother also saves for her retirement and future financial goals. In addition to that, having sufficient health and life insurance is also a must, since as a single mother, you are the world to your dependent kid. Be sure to remember that your child is added as a beneficiary in all your schemes, since you would most definitely want him/her to avail the benefits of your hard work and money.

Delhi-based law student Ruchi Sahasrabuddhe recalls watching her mother Alka working relentlessly after she lost her father at a very young age of 11. "Aai (Mother) always made sure some portion of her earnings went into creating an emergency fund. She started investing in mutual funds early on and most importantly, taught us how to differentiate between needs and wants," she says.

The value of saving and investing money was instilled in her early on. As Ruchi remembers, she was always asked to keep aside at least Rs 500 bucks aside from her pocket money to maintain a contingency fund, something she follows to this date.

Investments in mutual funds, particularly index-based funds, can be a good starting point. But, thanks to the taboos attached to single parenthood in Indian society, the members of this community already have their plates full. Learning the financial vocabulary is tough, but equally important, says Tanishka Mehtani, a freelance journalist.

Life can be unpredictable, and if you're a single mother up against the world, you should start with having a solid financial background.