I’ve been the sole provider for my family of 3 (and 4 coming in January!) since nearly day 1 of my marriage to my sweetheart.
I love it. I really do cherish the ability and blessing to be that provider for my family and allow my wife to be an amazing mom to our growing family.
But, it can definitely be tough at times (and a bit stressful).
With some pending changes to my income and career coming up I’m diving deep into the financial books again and making sure we’re going to be able to manage the shift…
So, first off, are you a single-income family? If so, what are some ways that you’ve been managing a single income family?
Love to hear your thoughts!
BrianNotess says
This is slightly ironic since we 3 (soon to be 4) are not a single income family right now but will be soon.
Ironic, because instead of my providing for my family, like I would love to do, I’m being laid off from a salaried position and trying to work enough freelance to make up the difference.
I should be totally freaked out, but I’m not. I know God will provide exactly what we need. Hopefully that’s not me being irresponsible.
Garrett Moon says
1. Acquire no new debt, and work like crazy to eliminate all existing debt.
2. Budget tight, and stick to it. Some people like the cash/envelope method. Personally http://www.mint.com has saved my budgeting day.
Good luck!
Jason Cooper says
We have 3 kids and have been single income since the first one came along 6 years ago, and will be until the youngest (now 2) is in school. Even then, will likely only be part-time work for my wife. All on a ministry salary.
The biggest step to managing is just realizing we don’t have a “right” to have it all. We are not entitled to cable TV, internet, new cars, unlimited cell phone plans, Blue Rays, big house, toys (like motorcycles, boats, 4 wheelers, campers, etc.), hip clothing, ipods, new computers, ipads, eating out at will, etc… It is all about attitude. Most people CAN make it on one income, but usually comes with sacrifice.
We don’t have cable TV, or even an LCD flatscreen – just tube TV’s with rabbit ears and digital converter boxes (watch 90% of TV & movies on a 19″ or 13″). We have inexpensive cell plans. Entry level internet speed. Two used cars over 100k miles (ages 7 and 14). A small, box of a house in an older neighborhood. Vacations consist of staying with family NOT in hotels, or inexpensive getaways like camping. We trade babysitting with friends for nights out. We watch eating out – no sit down places with whole family – often split meals and just drink water. I make my own coffee and eat lunches at home or take my lunch to the office. I DIY all our house repairs – even replaced a hot water heater myself (never done that before). Get most kid clothes at garage sales & second hand stores or as hand-me-downs from friends. Don’t have Wii or Xbox or PSP.
Seems like most people get themselves into trouble by overbuying on house and cars primarily, then electronics and furniture and home improvements. Watch those things, and you can do it on one income. We do it and are well under national median levels, even under our state median (which is less than national).
Alastair says
We live on one income. We didn’t use to. It was a big impact letting go of one salary in the initial months. But now we’re used to it. It’s still a struggle sometimes, but all round less stress in our house is well worth it.
John David says
We are a single income family. We budget every dollar we spend and work hard to not spend them all. My wife does a great job buying store brand groceries and other items we need for the home. We use cloth napkins, towels and diapers. And because of these things we are able to afford some luxuries, like smart phones and Macs. I would rather give up some meals out or name brand food and enjoy other items. My wife blogs about our frugal and simple life at http://www.frugalandsimple.com
Kevin says
In addition to doing many of the things already mentioned, I use mainly open source software. I’m sure it’s saved me $1000’s if I tried to keep up with all the media software I use in the open source world. I did buy a laptop 3 years ago, but it still performs way above my needs because Linux has remained very efficient. I don’t expect to need another one for at least 2-3 more as long as I keep taking care of it.
Kevin
http://opensourcechurch.com
BenJPickett says
Second vote for mint.com. Being just me and my wife, the single income is a bit easier. We’re very aggressive on the debt that we each brought into the marriage and will be free and clear in just under a year. We also do have the ability to set a little aside or throw more at the bills every once and awhile through the occasional (frequent recently) extra job.
The one thing we do frequently that keeps us on track is going through the Total Money Makeover. Because of my income to what is required for our payments we have the ability to be a lot less frugal than we actually are. The yearly re-education on this is a constant reminder of why we need to stay focussed on this goal.
Nathan says
We decided that once we had kids, my wife would become a stay-at-home mom. She worked as a preschool teacher up to that point, so we knew we didn’t want that for our kids.
As far as budget, we had to make some major “habit” adjustments – and it’s taken some time to get used to, but we’re getting the hang of it. No eating out – that was killing our budget, so now we eat all of our meals together as a family at home. My wife also started couponing – she is a coupon queen and we typically wind up saving as much or more than we spend every time we go to the store. It’s been awesome.
Just those two things have been huge for us.
Kevin says
I keep seeing the comments on couponing. I’m not a fan and here’s why:
1) Coupons are meant to drive sales. Which means you end up buying stuff you don’t need or wouldn’t normally buy because you have the coupon. You may spend less on each item, but do you really need or even want that item?
2) For food, coupons are almost always on highly-processed, brand-name food that has high margins. It’s better to pay more for better food. Your waste-line (pun intended) will thank you as well as your future medical budget. Buying real food items in bulk is almost always cheaper anyway.
Here’s an example, instead of using the coupon to purchase Quaker quick oats packets (or really any cereal really), just make a bowl of organic whole rolled oats and add the stuff you want. You can still make it taste just as good by adding butter, salt and sugar. If you want to go healthier you can also control the amount of crap in it by substituting more fruit (a fresh apple or raisins or both) with less sugar. If you’re worried about time, just do what I do. Start it as soon as you get up and then go do something that takes 10-15 minutes like get the kids up, change their diapers, etc. By the time you’re done, so is your breakfast.
Kevin
http://opensourcechurch.com
Morehart says
8 years, 3 children, single income.
Here are some things we did. Remember every penny counts…especially hundreds and hundreds of pennys.
1. Coupons rock, subscribe to deal seaking mom (im not a mom), and Couponing 101 on facebook
2. Get rid of extra crap. We got rid of cable, shared internet with a neighbor
3. No car payments, and get rid of your debt ASAP.
4. If you need something, buy used..Amazing what you will save.
5. If you eat out, go to places where kids eat free…those little boogers can get expensive
just a few things we do. Not only have we had to endure a single income family for some time, but the last year has been a single income (unemployed) family. Even harder
Brandon says
We are learning the single income thing and we’re sick of it. According to my wife, she wants a job to keep her sanity. So, that when she comes home, she’ll have more energy somehow? and actually be excited to see our kids. She put in for 30 applications and got two interviews with no smidgen of hope. I tell her we are going to be good financially with my job alone, but I’m finding out it doesn’t matter to her. All she wants is to keep her sanity, and now I’m losing mine worrying over trying to find her a job. I’m not sure if this post is relative to the topic, but we need help and I fear our marriage could be ruined because she can’t land a job!