Last updated on March 5th, 2024 at 08:12 pm
Trying to afford staying home with my baby full-time often feels like Michael Scott asking the accounting department to just crunch the numbers again. Find a salary somewhere in there!
But despite the difficulties, we decided this is a major goal for our family. We had to make it work.
Shifting to the single income life after teaching
When I quit teaching for the second time a couple years ago, the plan was to live off of my husband’s income. We faced a move, a job transition and new baby, and still, we held to our conviction that living off of one income was not only achievable but optimal for our little growing family.
Leaving teaching, though difficult, was a crucial decision for what we wanted to get done.
That isn’t to say it’s never been an uphill fight to accomplish affording this lifestyle.
Not like a Florida hill, either (where we’re from).
Like the Rockies, baby, we’ve been scaling some jagged heights, for sure.
We’ve learned a whole lot, made a few missteps that we’re labeling as educational opportunities, and still trying to figure some pieces out.
Here is what we’ve learned so far that has had the greatest bandwidth of success in living frugally:
Strategies for affording life on one income
Decrease your household spending
This has been a project at least a year in the making, but we’ve continued to get creative with ways we can slash the budget. Learning from Dave Ramsey and the debt free community has been a huge help in this. We’ve had to honestly assess our needs.
Lifestyle inflation seems to run rampant– things we feel entitled to might not be actual necessities. I find it really helpful to study other people groups and their lifestyles. Their consumption habits vary vastly from mine. I am inspired by the Amish, for example. Forsaking worldly possessions in favor of more intangible rewards like family and community stability is a common tenant of the religion.
People from other generations also help bring me fresh insight and perspective. I ran into a beloved neighbor (who just turned 90!) and she was telling me what it was like growing up in a family with five kids. “We didn’t have anything– but we didn’t need anything, either,” she said.
Specific household costs to reduce
Reducing home energy costs:
I took advantage of a free class offered through our county extension office to gather tips on reducing energy costs. One of our biggest costs in Florida is heating and cooling (okay, most definitely cooling!) , and the recommended thermostat temperatures to save money was 78 degrees for cooling and 68 degrees for heat. We may not be perfect in implementing this tip, but the closer we are, the more dollars we save. I found this workshop really helpful– check with your county to see if they offer anything similar.
Reducing food expenses:
I love good food, so this is a hard one to compromise. But simple and thrifty meals can be really tasty! I recommend crafting a two-week menu to consistently move through. This simplifies mealtimes and gives us a good idea of what we’re spending on food so we can effectively budget for it. We like to make use of rice, potatoes, oats and eggs. We use every part of our meat and like to make warm, healthy broth from the bones.
Store-bought bread is becoming more expensive, and I’ve found I love baking it myself– for a fraction of the price. While I don’t always bake us a loaf, when we do, we’re adding up savings.
Snacks and sweets seem to really add up if bought in store. I try to keep snacks on hand for each of us, but these can be homemade to slash costs as well. While we’re not perfect at this, we are intentional. And, hey, buying one package of cookies at the store for the week is better than buying a whole cartload of high-priced snacks. Progress, not perfection.
Work on ways to increase the breadwinning income
This can be a really powerful financial independence tool (assuming you have a spouse). I could hustle my tail off in an exhausting side gig, or we could bring in the same amount of revenue or more by increasing my husband’s take-home pay.
Ways to increase an existing income include: switching jobs to higher-paying positions, asking for raises and promotions, becoming more efficient at the job, or taking on extra projects that add to pay.
My husband switched jobs 1.5 years ago, and his learning curve meant we weren’t earning as much during the transition time. But it’s been awesome to watch him get better and more efficient at his job. He gets paid commission and per job, so sometimes he’s able to squeeze multiple jobs into a day, earning more! We’re really happy for this.
My husband is also starting up his own small business. Once we get that off the ground, that will increase our earning potential. I help increase our income in this area by assisting with all of the administrative work. By focusing on the paperwork aspect, I can free up my husband to focus on working in our actual business.
Take up side jobs to supplement the main income
I know it’s not completely living off of one income, but you get the gist. While I mostly stay at home, I also work a few side gigs to fill in the cracks. My short-but-sweet earnings have helped us cover emergency expenses and pour that money back into our business as an investment.
My role as a stay-at-home-mom is important to us, so I try to balance those needs with the desire to bring in a little more cash. I substitute teach about once a week, if that.
We’re being strategic with these hours, however, so this can be a temporary situation. I’m calling this Part Time with a Plan.
It’s easy to let even part-time jobs swamp us and make us nearly as busy as the full-time jobs we left. That’s why I knew I needed to get organized and exacting.
Subbing gives me a completely flexible schedule, so subbing is worth it to our family in that respect. I can add a job whenever I want (or let them slide by when I don’t want!). Then we try to put what I earn (about $140 per day after taxes) into my husband’s business so that the money can grow.
That gives me an eventual off-ramp from subbing.
Another option is to use the money to throw at a debt or to invest in index funds. It’s not a flashy use of money like buying a new outfit or gadget, but it pays in dividends!
“I know it’s not completely full-time homemaking, but I substitute teach about once a week. We’re being strategic with these hours, however, so this can be a temporary situation. I’m calling this Part Time with a Plan.”
charmaine, Chocolate for the Teach
Making it possible for a family to live off one main income
We’re still on this adventure of making it, friends.
I’m sure you know how hard it is to keep up with the prices and needs of this life.
But by deploying these three tactics and maintaining healthy mindsets surrounding money and family, we’ve achieved some semblance of balance that we wouldn’t have otherwise.
I hope this list inspires you to work for this as well, if that’s a goal you and your family want to accomplish.
Readers, would you add any ideas to this list? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
