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"  It would be very easy for this 42-year-old single mom with three elementary school-age kids who earns $40,000 a year to be bitter. Although she sticks to an extremely tight budget, she often has $0 in the bank on payday. The family lives in a suburb of Washington D.C., so the $1,500 in child support she receives every month from her ex-husband is just enough to cover the bare minimum of her children&amp;#039;s needs.  She&amp;#039;d like to relocate to a less-expensive part of the country, but due to their custody agreement; she cannot move without convincing her ex to move as well. While she doesn&amp;#039;t have any student loans of her own, she and her husband consolidated their deb with the Department of Education while they were married, and since her name is on the loan, she is now responsible for her ex-husband&amp;#039;s $48,000 student loan debt. It&amp;#039;s nearly impossible to take on part-time work in addition to her full-time job because the cost of child care would exceed any additional income earned.  &amp;quot;I know that I will be one of those people who works until they drop dead. It&amp;#039;s just not my reality. My priority is my kids and making sure they have a better future than I have. I feel like I&amp;#039;ve kind of just given up any thoughts of having a better life for myself, and really just try to focus on my kids,&amp;quot; the woman \u2014 who chose to remain anonymous \u2014 told The Billfold in a candid conversation about her life and finances.  And yet, the interview is a story of resilience and hope. When she lost her job in the private sector two years ago, her kids never knew the struggles she was going through so their lives didn&amp;#039;t have to change at all. Since their budget doesn&amp;#039;t allow for socializing, the family has occasional Netflix and pizza nights. She remains focused on raising &amp;quot;three good people&amp;quot; and not comparing herself to where others her age might be financially. Through a careful mix of optimism and pragmatism, this mom of three is making it work in a truly commendable way.  [Via The Billfold] Related: How to live happier on the money you have. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.redbookmag.com/life/mom-kids/news/a15269/single-mom-3-kids-40k-salary/?src=rss>