The hidden costs of being a single parent

Being a parent can be draining on your bank balance, especially trying to keep up with the latest toys and gadgets for your children while trying to keep food on the table and a roof over your head. It can be even harder when there’s only one pay check coming in. Single parents are often left out when it comes to deals and discounts on days out and trips away. 

The financial struggles of being a single parent are highlighted in this infographic from PayPlan. The graphic shows that one in four families in the UK is a single parent family. With around 1.7 million single parent families in the UK, it’s surprising how few offers there are available for single parents from attraction and travel companies. 

For a single parent wanting to take two children to the cinema, it could cost them a £12.50 difference in ticket prices. A trip to Flamingo Land could see a total difference of £49 and a trip to Cadbury World based on a single parent and two children can see a difference of £16.25. 

Given that one in four UK families is a single parent family, you would expect deals and discounts to be offered to all different types of families and not just the two parent and two children families. Not only would this be beneficial for single parent families but it could also generate more revenue for these companies, as people would be going on days out and trips away more often if they were more affordable. 

The infographic also highlights how one in ten single parents have used payday lenders or foodbanks in order to get by and a third of children with a working single parent live in poverty. It can be difficult to provide the best for your child, but if you are struggling with financial costs, you can turn to professionals for advice. 

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