Working Single Moms: How Going Back to School is Now Easier Than Ever

If you are like most single parents, you face both tremendous time constraints and tremendous financial constraints. This can make the future look bleak. It can seem like bettering your station in life is simply unachievable. There just isn’t enough time and money to pursue an education while working and raising kids alone.

The Internet to the Rescue

The above assumptions were true for many single parents before the development of virtual schools, like Independence University. But, the age of the internet makes education more accessible for people exactly like you. Taking classes online saves both time and money. This is game changing for working single moms.

How You Save Time with Online Classes

The primary way such classes save time is by eliminating the commute to class. Instead of spending ten to thirty minutes traveling to campus, you can just sit down at your computer at home. If the trip is thirty minutes each way and class meets three times per week, taking it online eliminates three hours of commuting every week. This is time that can be spent studying.

When you are a single parent, the commute is often more complicated and time consuming. Picking a kid up from school or daycare and dropping them elsewhere on your way to class can be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Being able to skip the commute entirely can be especially valuable for a single mom.

How You Save Money with Online Classes

There are some obvious ways that online classes can save money. For starters, many of them cost less than traditional classes on a college campus. But, there are also hidden savings when you go to class via the web.

Because there is no commute, you are saving money on gas and parking fees. You are also not driving up maintenance costs for your vehicle. Maintenance is an oft overlooked cost of owning a car. The more you drive it, the more maintenance it requires.

You may also be saving money on parking or speeding tickets. People who are very time pressured may exceed the speed limit when trying to get to class on time. They may park in a no parking zone because it is the only thing readily available.

In contrast, the need for speed online gets handled by optimizing your computer or switching to the fastest internet provider in town. These are things that will not get you ticketed. No one really cares if you are downloading information online faster than the people around you. This does not make you menace to society.

You may also save money on insurance. Parking tickets and speeding tickets can cause your premiums to go up. But, simply driving more can also cause your premiums to go up. Conversely, driving less because you are at home studying or logged in to class can bring your premiums down.

You will also save money on child care expenses. You may need to teach the kids to be quiet while you study, or you might need to wait until the kids are in bed before you can concentrate. But, you do not have to hire a sitter to take an online class. You would know better than anyone how much of a burden childcare costs can be, and how much of an obstacle this is for pursuing any of your interests.

The other added benefit of taking classes online is making sure you and your children are on the right side of the digital divide. Lack of computer literacy can bar you from better p