I'm not a single parent and we adopted a newborn three years ago, but I can certainly speak to lifestyle changes and budgeting. We gave up season tickets to the indoor football league in our area. We do make one NFL game a year. If we eat in restaurants they are kid friendly places, not a nice upscale Italian restaurant or steak place. Free time? Not so much. Trying to read a book that doesn't have pictures in it is almost impossible. We rarely meet a friend for a drink after work. The Today show is now pre-empted by Dora. Buying work clothes or a nice new pair of sandals has to be planned for and weighed against music lessons, karate classes, and little outfits the next size up. Dusting? Sure, if there's time left after supper, bath, a couple of books, bedtime routine, dishes, laundry, basic cleaning, bill paying and checking my favorite Internet sites. Movies? Hmmm...... not the kind we used to buy. No money for that or time to watch them anyway. But Wonder Pets has a couple of great DVD's and Air Buddies is pretty funny. I should really get my hair done, but DD's braids are coming loose, so that will have to come first. And then there's groceries. We're really careful now to get fresh produce when frozen veggies used to suffice. You know the expensive apple juice, the kind with 100% apples and no sugar added? Yep, that's us. Of course, there are the obvious things like daycare, doctor visits and gas to get everywhere we need to get now.
But here's the deal. We LOVE being parents.
We love our new lifestyle. We love hugs and kisses, sidewalk chalk and the question "why?". We love jokes with no discernible punchline, jammies with feet in them and "Swiper no swiping!"
Lifestyle change? Big time. A whole different budget? Absolutely. The experience of a lifetime? You could say that. Hang out with some parents and kids and ask lots of questions. There are classes out there, too. At the end of the day you'll make your own decision and it will be right for you..