There are other benefits of living on one income. You soon learn how to have fun inexpensively, whether it’s by creating a date night at home, inviting friends over for a dinner and a game of cards or a board game. You’ll find some suggestions here.
These are some of the benefits but there can be a few negatives of living on one income. One that I know some stay at home wives and mothers have found hard to deal with is the attitude of others.
Sadly people tend to define others by what they do. A common question when meeting someone new and one I never asked was, ‘What do you do?’
When the answer ‘I’m a wife and mother,’ came back there was often a blank or a pitying look. Sometimes people would edge away thinking you couldn’t then have anything interesting to talk about. If that’s their attitude, it’s their loss and you probably don’t want to talk to them anyway.,
Incidentally it’s invariably been other women who are the harshest critics of the decision to live on one income. They seemed to equate being at home with being boring and that it means doing nothing all day. Hey, I have people still who think because I write and can do that from home it’s not really work. But there you go.
So another benefit of living on one income is that you become stronger in character by refusing to let others define and judge you by what you do. Just because you stay home, doesn’t mean you should have nothing to talk about if you keep up with current news, read, study or maintain contacts with others and don’t talk babies and children all the time.
Often if people asked me ‘Do you work?’ I’d reply ‘No I don’t have time to work outside the home,’ which was quite true. I was always busy with other activities. Or ‘Yes, I just don’t get paid for it.’
Another person I know used to respond by saying ‘I’m doing the most valuable job of all. I’m working on my marriage, caring for my children and shaping the next generation.’
I’d love to hear your comments and experiences, good or bad, about living on one income.
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12 Creative Date Night Ideas that Won’t Break the Budget
Being Fnancially Strapped Can Be Good for a Marriage