Given the recession—and the crazy market—this is a smart time to boost your savings, no matter what your circumstances.

When I started advising Stephanie for The Money Fix, she’d already made her most important move by getting out of an abusive marriage. Now, as she rebuilds her life—and courageously, I might add!—it’s the financial challenges that loom largest.

My fingers are crossed for her, because if she can take the following steps, Stephanie could net a potential $750 in additional income. That would not only close her budget gap but leave her with $281 to save for emergencies and other vitals she’s had to cut.

	Close her $469 budget shortfall. Stephanie didn’t have much room to cut further, so her best bet is to add income. I suggested putting an ad on Craigslist to babysit evenings or weekends. But after exploring that route, with not much luck, Stephanie thinks that maybe she can earn extra cash by using some of her computer skills instead. Either way, if she can charge $10 an hour and work an extra 10 hours per month, that’s $100.
	Pursue child support. It’s a delicate issue, but Stephanie can contact her local legal services provider for help staying safe while also getting the $500 a month in child support that she’s owed. She should also pursue a childcare subsidy and contact a local domestic violence agency to get a free case manager and reduce how much she pays via the School Readiness program.
	Deal with debt and credit. Normally I’d say it’s best to pay what you owe. However, Stephanie has no cash to spare right now. She was advised against filing bankruptcy, so she should sit on the debt until the collectors are no longer able to take her to court. The statute of collections for unsecured debt in Florida is five years. That means they have five years from the date of last activity (the day the creditor charged the account off or the date she last made a payment) to sue her. I advised Stephanie to review her credit reports for those dates. She should use her credit cards with very low limits to charge a few items every month and pay the balance on time and in full. A small amount of positive activity can offset some of the damage to her credit report.

None of this is easy, but Stephanie stands to gain a lot from her efforts. Adding $500 in child support every month, $100 from babysitting or technical support, and $150 in childcare subsidies means a potential extra $750 a month.

Finally, she should go online and look for single-parent support groups. The more people she knows in similar situations, the better off she is—she’ll have more resources and guidance when it comes to legal matters, childcare and jobs. She’ll not only get through this hard time, but build a wonderful future for herself and her daughters.

Stay strong. How are you building your savings in this tough climate?

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