Surviving on one income is definitely challenging. There are a lot of things that you have to learn to live without. The experience I have is being a single mother raising three boys on one middle class income.
I’ve learned a lot in the 16 years I’ve been a mother. I’ve always been decent about saving money but being a mom, especially a single mom, has had its obstacles for sure. Learning to budget for an entire family on one income is not easy and will take time to develop good spending habits.
There is a lot of patience and sacrifice needed at times but having self control and discipline, you can absolutely live comfortably.
The biggest thing to learn is how to budget. If you don’t have eyes on what money comes in and out, you are setting yourself up for failure in the long run.
Watch your Bank Statements
It always baffles me that this is not a normal habit. If you add up all the times you swipe your card, the results can be nauseating.
There is no downside to knowing your bank transactions. You should be making conscious spending habits. Being in tune with your finances can help you from going negative.
If you know there’s a problem before it becomes a habit, it’s so much easier to correct.
Take for example, you go every morning before work to buy a $5 Starbucks drink. At lunch, you buy a meal at a fast food drive-in that runs about $8. That’s $13 per day. If you do that 5 times a week over the course of a year, that runs $3,380.
I feel it helps to have a visual of where everything goes. Seriously, know where your money goes.
Make a Budget
First, list out all of your monthly bills. Use your bank statements as a guide. This will help you not miss anything.
If you have to round anything because of fluctuating payments, always round up. It’s better to plan for the worst in this case.
Highlight the payments that aren’t optional. Rent/mortgage, utilities, vehicle, ect. Use one color for this. These payments aren’t going to go away.
Groceries have become quite the expense lately. Highlight these in another color and see if maybe there are some changes you can make with your spending. Couponing is a great help. Watch the local ads for sales.
Looking over what’s left, what can you purge? What can you really live without? Maybe you can learn how to make your coffee drink at home each morning. Meal plan for lunch. It’s definitely a start.
If you think you’re paying too much in one area, call and see if there are ways to reduce the monthly amount. Maybe you can get a discount on car insurance for having a good driving record. It never hurts to ask.
Always have a cushion
Some people refer to this as an emergency fund. I’ve grown up knowing it as a cushion. If you fall short, have something soft to land on.
Have a minimum amount that you don’t let your bank account go under. If it does, in a case of emergency, this means it’s super tight spending the next month to make it back up. Set this goal and stick to it. There must be self-discipline here.
Life happens. There’s nothing worse than when your vehicle runs into a problem and you don’t have that extra to get it fixed. Your vehicle is the way you get back and forth to work to make an income, it’s necessary to have that.
Unbudgeted expenses can be frustrating, just know that you do have it in you to get that cushion built back up. If you get discouraged, don’t stay discouraged.
Stop impulse buying.
Impulse buying is dangerous when you live paycheck to paycheck.
This may mean you have to delete your shopping apps while you’re getting into good spending habits.
If you save for something, it’s going to hold more value.
You may have to skip or scrimp on your next vacation. You may have to say no to going out with friends or family on occasion. That’s ok. There is no shame in saying no.
Tax Time
If you’re a family and getting a decent tax return at the end of the year, consider using some of it to pay off loans. Interest rates can eat you alive but if you make extra payments towards the principal, you can lower the life of your loan and save yourself some money in the long run.
For example, I was told that with my mortgage that if I paid an extra $1,000 a year, it would knock my 30 year loan down to 17. That’s a lot of money saved. I also was fortunate enough to get my house before the economy took a turn for the worst so keep in mind that everyone’s situation is different.
Don’t put yourself out by paying loans off. Loans are set so you can pay the signed amount for X amount of time. It’s just good financially for you if you’re able to pay a little more on them once in a while.
These tips are how I’ve survived raising my family. I can tell you, teenage boys are not cheap. I’ve followed a very strict budget, and it’s allowed me to be in a house with a mortgage, completely owning my vehicle and being able to live comfortably with a decent cushion.