If you are living on one income or want to be, then you will want to read this post. It will give you information on how living on one income may work for you, even if you have your own home and children.
Living on one income seems to have become harder and harder to do. Still, many people choose this life as preferable, in order for one person to be able to stay home and care for children and or care for the family home. Others find that they can’t afford the costs of child care even with that second income.
The best advice I can give someone who is currently living on one income or who is contemplating it is this: the spouse who is not working a full time out of the house job should make it his or her job to make sure that the family can live on that one income.
There are several ways to create a budget and stretch it to meet the family’s needs. Frugal living practices can often allow you to live at the same quality of living for half of the average cost, sometimes even less. Of course, if you can downgrade a little bit, your goal will be even easier to attain.
Explore all of the opportunities and resources that are available to you in order to make those dollars stretch. Read frugal living blogs, check frugal books out for free from the library, check within your community for free entertainment and educational opportunities, and more.
Sure, cooking from scratch takes time and some skill, but if you can learn to do this, then you are essentially using that time at home, where you want to be. Bulk cooking and freezer cooking, often cut down on the time it takes to cook, anyway.
Cutting coupons also takes time, but if you save $100 with one hour of extra work a week, consider that time well spent. Where else can you make $100 and hour from home?
This is just general information, but I hope I made the point that living on one income can usually be done.