Contents
His portrait
Four years ago, Isabelle got pregnant “by accident”. Her love story has barely begun … Shaken by the announcement of this pregnancy, the couple separates.
Today, Isabelle is raising her three-and-a-half-year-old daughter on her own. With her work as an educational assistant, she receives € 735 net per month. Despite the social assistance it receives, the young woman struggles to make ends meet.
At 30, she regrets having to still sometimes seek financial assistance from her parents. The father of her child does not pay her any pension, but gladly helps her out when the little one lacks something.
By opening her wallet to us, this single mother gives us an idea of the fragile and precarious daily life of many single-parent families.
Income: € 1224 per month
Salary: € 735 net per month
Isabelle is an educational assistant in a primary school. She works 26 hours a week. This job allows her to be present at the end of school to pick up her daughter. It thus avoids daycare costs.
Personalized housing assistance: € 178 per month
Family support allowance: € 88 per month
Active solidarity income: € 223 per month
Fixed expenses: € 773 per month
Rent (charges included): 605 € per month
Isabelle and her daughter live in an 80 m² apartment in a small town in the Var. “I was extremely lucky to come across an owner who trusted me despite my low income. She didn’t even ask me for sureties! For three years, all my rents have been paid on time, ”assures the young mother.
Housing tax: € 300 per year
Electricity: 65 € per month
Isabelle never leaves her electrical appliances on standby. She unplugs them when not in use. She also teaches her 3-and-a-half-year-old daughter to be careful: “If I see that the light in her bedroom has remained on, I ask her to go and turn it off and explain to her why! “
Gas: 20 € per year
She uses bottled gas.
Water: 160 € per year
Internet / telephone subscription: 33 € per month
Mobile phone subscription: € 31 per month
Isabelle never exceeds her package.
Insurance (accommodation + car): 35 € per month
Income taxes: 0 €
Health mutual: 0 €
Isabelle and her daughter do not have a mutual health insurance: “I should be able to benefit from CMU *, but I cannot access my rights. My file is blocked because, working at the National Education, I am supposed to contribute to the MGEN ** ”. In the meantime, the young mother takes charge of all medical expenses. “Fortunately, we rarely go to the doctor. When we are sick, I treat us with homeopathy, it suits me like that… “
* Universal health coverage
** General Mutual of National Education
Other expenses: € 357 per month
Food shopping: between 120 and 180 € per month
This amount includes food and hygiene products. Isabelle only goes to the supermarket once a month and only buys first price. She gives herself a little pleasure from time to time, but, in general, favors the useful.
Clothing budget: 300 € per year
Our solo mom spends around 150 € at each change of season, to dress her daughter. Her own wardrobe, she does not renew it or very little… “unlike my daughter, I am no longer growing! “
Budget outings: 0 €
Isabelle recently took her daughter to the pool, the first time in three and a half years. Otherwise, she prefers walks in the forest, free exhibitions, the beach … outings that cost nothing.
Extras: more or less 10 € per month
Isabelle does not go to the hairdresser, nor to the beautician … Her little pleasures? Books and computer equipment.
Cigarettes: € 8,50 per week
If she has no more money at the end of the month, she no longer smokes!
Gasoline: around 100 € per month
The young woman drives a recent car, offered by her father: “I could never have bought it on my own. At 30, she regrets having to still count on financial assistance from her parents. Her mom sometimes helps her pay her rent or fill her shopping cart… “and she has as little income as I do! », She quips.
Baby-sitting : 0 €
Isabelle never employs a babysitter. When she wants to spend a quiet evening with her friends, she leaves her daughter to a friend or to her mother.
Holiday budget: 200 € per year
“I only count the gasoline and toll costs, because we are leaving with the family. I try to leave every school vacation, once with my father, once with my mother. They live in the departments next door. Of course, I would like to go further, longer, but financially, it is impossible. “
Canteen: around € 30 per month
Savings: 30 € per month
Isabelle sets aside € 30 per month in a blocked account for her daughter.
His tips for spending less
Do your shopping once a month
Isabelle prepares a very specific list before going shopping. She fills her shopping cart for a month, which saves her from going back to the supermarket several times and being tempted. The only downside to this method, she says, “is that we often eat fresh vegetables at the beginning of the month and rice at the end!” “
Restrict “outside” lunches
At noon, Isabelle never has lunch in the canteen or in the restaurant with her colleagues. She brings her lunch to work, often leftovers from what she cooked the night before.
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