One question I received that I thought needed it's own post is how we live off on income. I have been asked this several times by different people including close friends. Both Brian and I graduated with bachelors degrees from college. He graduated a term early and temporarily moved in with the parents (and siblings) so he could find a job in the area. He had a job offer in Erie, PA after working an internship there but we decided we wanted to live close by to one of our two families. After talking and weighing the pro's and con's we decided Ohio would be the best fit for us. We were blessed that Brian secured a job (same one he has now --- almost 2 years with the company wahoo!) and soon after we bought our house and made Ohio our permanent dwelling place. I finished my last term and we both walked for graduation and two weeks later we walked together down the aisle as we were married. It was a crazy time of wedding planning, student teaching, job searching, house searching, and everything else wrapped up in one.
We had many lengthy discussions of where we wanted to be financially and how we could get there even before we were married. After Brian solidified his job and we knew what his salary would be, we decided that I would be a full time homemaker instead of searching out a teaching position. It was and has been the perfect lifestyle choice for us as we plan for me to be a stay at home mother in the near future. We had plans to have children right away but now almost 2 years later that has not happened, but I am certain that shortly our time will come. We are firm believers that your lifestyle expands and shrinks to fit your income level. We knew if we both were pulling in salaries then it would be difficult when we had a child to then live on one income. We figured if we couldn't live on one income now, then we wouldn't be able to later. We are both committed to continuing to make this lifestyle choice a viable option for us and honestly it is not as difficult as you may think. We have a budget and we stick to it. No we do not have to eat beans and rice for every meal either! We are completely on our own with health insurance, home insurance, mortgage, bills, car insurance, students loans, etc. To purchase our home we did receive some help from my parents originally which we are grateful for, but since we got married we have not had any help and paid back what was borrowed. Even when times have gotten tough I pride myself on the thought that we have always found a way to skimp by and always make it work in difficult times. Not that we are above asking for help, but I am proud to know we have been able to maintain our lifestyle on our own. With our baseline budget we know what we can truly afford and what we cannot. We cut back on the frills and aren't taking any cruises or trips to Panama any time soon, however I never feel like we are held back because of finances.
Firstly by being home we don't have to pay others to do things we would be too tired to do if we both worked. We don't need a lawn service, or a maid to clean our home, or someone to run our errands, or a dog walker, or in the future we won't be needing childcare which together all those things honestly could eat up one whole income! Those things can be ridiculously expensive and we won't be having a need for any as I am more than capable of doing everything above and more as a homemaker. I also have time to clip coupons and do smart shopping. By the way, beware of haircut coupons...ya for therapeutic reasons I won't recant that story. We grocery shop for almost every meal as making our own food is much cheaper. We buy in bulk toilet paper and paper towels when they are on sale and make our own laundry detergent for a fraction of the costs of store bought. Brian takes leftovers from the night before or makes his own lunch to bring to work, which think about fastfood is probably about $6 for lunch so that times 5 days a week is a savings of $30 which per month is a savings of $120 and what you bring from home is much healthier! That is not including going out for lunch each day which could cost more than $6 a meal. Brian also takes his own home brewed coffee from our Keurig in for work or drinks the coffee at work which saves a lot of money as Starbucks and other coffee places costs add up quickly. When grocery shopping we know for some items we can go generic and on others like instant mashed potatoes or peanut butter and jelly you just can't! We cut out a home phone when we saw that it was an added $50-something a month in our bundle to be harassed my telemarketers every day and honestly we likely could cut out cable but it would only save us about $25 a month with our internet-cable bundle and for that price we might as well keep it for the random times we do watch it.
Living off of one income from the very start we have mutually agreed we will stay away from credit cards like the plague. Yes we do have one credit card that is barely ever used but maybe for gas or random purchases to keep it open and fluid but are paid off immediately before it collects interest. We are trying to be a debt free family and at this point only have a mortgage and Brian's student loans to pay back. Our cars are both paid for and while we are considering in the near future purchasing a mini-van or large suv once we have children since 2 dogs and 1 child is both of our cars max, right now we have no car payment and we are just fine with driving paid off cars.
Being honest with ourselves and each other of what we can afford and sticking to our budget has made living off of one income much easier. For us Brian is paid every other Friday (a very happy recent change for budget purposes for us since priorly it was the 15th and end of the month). We know with our budget all of our household bills, mortgage and student loans, living expenses, groceries, etc. are paid for with one pay check. The second paycheck of the month we put into what we call our "invisible money". Our "invisible money" is our savings account that we only dip into for big purchases. Of course it always seems once we save a large lump of money it somehow dissipates to pay for taxes or some other large expense, but such is life and that's what it's there for! When you live on a budget and have to save for items you quickly learn how to prioritize your needs and wants. If something is really worth it we will take the time and save for it like we did for our fence, shed, house remodels, and most recently a playground. Before making a major purchase we always consider if it is a good investment. Is it something we truly need and would benefit from. We bought bikes for Brian's birthday knowing it would be a great source of exercise and free bonding time for us as couple, which it honestly has been and they will be used by us indefinitely since they are a nice brand and bikes last for some time. The playground while we may not need it this week, we are likely taking in foster children soon (that soon is all relative) and we have friends and family with younger ones and it was too good of a bargain to pass up. It may seem like a big purchase to us, however we know if we bought it brand new what we are paying for it lightly used is like pennies and it is a lifetime investment as the quality is top notch and will be well used for a very long time. Our fence has been the greatest investment we have made to date as it gives us a lot of privacy and a safe place for our dogs to run around and in the future will keep our children stuck in!
So that is how we do it on one income. We pray we will continue to be blessed but also know if the need arises I have a degree and the ability to work in the work force if necessary. It may not always be easy, but I know Brian and I can honestly say it is has been totally worth it for us!
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