Tips for living on one income?

[crisi]

Good luck.

Cash flow is the name of the game. Try to have money left over each month - this is much easier when you don't have ongoing bills (car loans, credit card bills), and much harder when you are playing catch up to spending you did a year ago.

I'm not sure what mental/physical issues you are dealing with, but if you can find something to do that helps bring in cash that you can handle, that's always helpful. It might be walking dogs for neighbors or letting the neighbors know you can watch their kids when they are too sick to go to daycare.

Be careful with things like buying in bulk - sometimes its a false economy - when food goes bad before it gets used for instance - you'll have to be a good household manager - especially with just two of you. We have a "costco buddy" - so that when we get that bulk amount of lettuce, we split it with another house. But apply the "dryer sheets in half" to EVERYTHING you can. i.e. from "half the detergent in the laundry" to "washing your hair every other day." You'll probably discover a lot of things that work just as well in smaller quantities.

There are a lot of websites on frugal living out there.

(I'd get fired. Companies won't say how you got terminated, so when you go looking for another job, you don't 'fess up. But getting fired for a medical reason might get you unemployment - depending on the state, your medical condition, whether the company fights it, etc. Don't trust your EMPLOYER'S attorney here, they are looking out for your employer, not for you. Talk to someone from Legal Aid.)

 

[::danielle::]

I know you mentioned that you clip coupons but becoming an active couponer has saved my family A LOT of money. I'm not talking extreme couponing (like the TV show) but a scaled down, reasonable version of it. It has truly changed our finances. I'm saving about $200-$300/month. If you want details/advice/information, please pm me. I'm happy to share what I know!

 

[elwise1966]

One point to remember regarding utilities...now that you're stay at home, your utilities will be higher because somebody is home all day. Unless of course you sit in the dark house with nothing running and the a/c turned off.
We had this situation a couple years ago and couldn't figure out why for a while.
Computer, tv, a/c running when they hadn't been before used up a bit more electricity.

 

[AmandaRG]

I don't know the laws where you live, but there is FMLA, where your job is protected for 12 weeks for personal or family illness (as long as the company is large enough). Also, there could be the possibility of having a job modified for a disability. I'm not making any judgments, but it sounds like you might want to talk to the HR department or look further into some of this.

As for living off of one income, we have been doing that for 4 1/2 years now. I had planned to work for another year after our oldest came along, but family childcare did not work out, so home I came!

Thankfully we had started living on a budget years before, so I knew that it wouldn't be as fun, but we could certainly live without my income.

Good luck!

 

[prncess674]

(I'd get fired. Companies won't say how you got terminated, so when you go looking for another job, you don't 'fess up. But getting fired for a medical reason might get you unemployment - depending on the state, your medical condition, whether the company fights it, etc. Don't trust your EMPLOYER'S attorney here, they are looking out for your employer, not for you. Talk to someone from Legal Aid.)

Totally agree with this! I would not just quit.

 

[sarah4770]

Wow, thank you everyone for the well wishes and advice!

Right now I am actually on "forced" leave from work. My boss can see that I am unable to preform my duties and they really don't have the patients to wait for me to get better. So I was told to take 4 weeks unpaid time (to get better) or get fired. I had asked if being laid off was an option so I could collect unemployment, but my boss's lawyer said no. (The lawyer says since the company shows there is a lot of work, there would be no justification for laying me off. And I completely get that.)

So I "agreed" to take the time off, and had my doctor also submit forms for short term disability but that is still pending. So while I've been home during my "break" I received a letter in the mail from the company I work for. In so many words it said that I needed to be at 100% at the top of my game when I get back otherwise they would fire me. (I figure it's better to quit then to get fired. Because if I need to find a job down the road, my chances would be better if I wasn't fired from my previous job.)

DH and I are just trying to stay positive. For anybody dealing with mental/physical health issues you know how challenging life can get.

So I just got what may be my "last" paycheck. I dumped all it into savings to see if we can live without it. So far so good.

Thanks for all the tips! I just want to stretch every penny we have. I am trying to buy more products in bulk and I started cutting my dryer sheets in half, (a tip I got from another thread!)

diznee25

I no expert, but I do not think that is legal.I;m pretty sure your employer has to make reasonable accommodations for health reasons. I would file for unemployment. The worst unemployment could say is "no".
In my state you can collect unemployment for that, it is called voluntary quit due to health reasons.

 

[MrsPete]

Look at your car insurance and see if any limits can be lowered.

Or raise your deductibles (might have to be paid money) -- that'll slash your premiums (paid for sure money) by about 1/3.


Other ideas:

Go to the library and check out The Tightwad Gazette. It's a series of three books (or you might find The Complete Tightwad Gazette, which incorporates all three). It was popular around the time I got married, and it is FULL of small, specific ways to save money. All of them won't work for you, but you're sure to find a bunch that will help you save a little here and there.

The grocery store is convenient because you can buy everything you need in one place, but it's also the most expensive place to shop. Look for other places: Farmer's markets, bread outlets, butcher shops, ethnic food stores, salvage stores. Last week I bought a huge box of tomatoes, which I canned, for .35/lb. At the grocery store, look for less expensive options. For example, often I can buy a huge tray of chicken thighs for $4-5. I can boil them, and my family (4 people) can have at least two meals (chicken and dumplings, chicken enchilladas, whatever) from the chicken AND I get 2-3 containers of chicken broth to freeze.

Cut your grocery bill quickly and easily by looking at your beverages. The average grocery bill is 30% for beverages, most of which add no nutrition to the family's diet. Water is free, tea and Kool aid are very cheap.

Consider becoming a one-car family. It requires some planning, but it is very do-able, and it's probably the single one thing you can do to save significant money. Not only does it save you the cost of the car, insurance, upkeep, and gas . . . not having a car on a regular basis means you can't run out here and there and spend. Instead, you have to plan for a couple days a week when you'll have the car, and you'll spend more wisely.

 

[Natalie's Mommy]

honestly they can't 'fire" you for being sick, they can however terminate you for not being able to preform your job duties....i'd get termintaed so you can collect unemployment and it would also help your case to get dissability because you cant physically preform your job!

we are a one income family, to make extra money i babysit a little girl 3 days a week and i also work on night a week outside the home (for my sanity more for the money....although the discount dosnt hurt!) and we make it work very well for us. you have to remember that their are expenses that you have working outside the home that you wont have if you leave your job. Gas, eating out, mileage on your car, you can also lower your car insurance to leasure mileage if you don't drive alot (i don't my 2008 CRV has 22k miles on it!)

 

[Shopper_Kristi]

Do NOT quit! My parents have both been let go (fired) from jobs (they are in their mid-50's) one for poor sales performance and the other for violating a school policy (not a law) and they both qualified for unemployment in MN. Of course, your state laws may vary. I'm certainly not a legal expert by any means so definitely check with your state workforce office but I'd say you'd be better off getting fired than quitting. I'd also question whether or not you would qualify for short and long term disability depending on the nature of the illness. Hang in there!

 

[branv]

So sorry for your situation -- definitely sounds like you're between a rock and a hard place. I don't know your story (how your injury occurred, if it's work-related, etc), but I agree with a PP who said don't just go by what your employers lawyer says. In fact, you might consider hiring your own attorney in case workers compensation, disability, social security, etc comes into play as well as to make sure your employer is legally allowed to be doing things this way (as in, do NOT let them force you to quit and I'm a little concerned about your remarks stating they are forcing you to take unpaid time off rather than out right terminating you and letting you be eligible for unemployment). If you can't afford to pay an attorney, there are attorneys who will not charge you an upfront fee -- their payment comes from your settlement if you win one (but do your research on reasonable fees to select the best attorney). I know it would be ideal to not give up ANY potential aid or settlement, but it's better than getting none at all if you are owed it.

That being said, you've received a lot of good advice. I will add that one thing you might not expect is how stir crazy and/or depressed being at home and isolated from adult interaction can make you. It's not as hard if you have disposable income to entertain yourself with classes, shopping, lunch out. And even if people don't have the income, the impulse to spend your way out of boredom can be harder to overcome at times. So, it's important to figure out a way to interact with other people in inexpensive ways, to stimulate your mind rather than being isolated during the day. If your injury/illness allows, you can volunteer. Not all volunteer jobs are physical in nature, for instance a nearby SPCA asks for volunteers to spend time just petting/playing with the cats so they'll stay socialized. See what programs your local library or community center has. Though I live in a small'ish town, even our library gives free french and spanish lessons, yoga class once a week, and a book-of-the-month club. And our parks and rec sponsors scrapbooking/craft meetups. Heck, just go to the library and read some of their magazines. Never underestimate the power of being surrounded by people, even if you're not interacting.

Hope that helps, and best of luck to you.

 

[MrsPete]

Never cut out all entertainment. A budget that is so restrictive that you feel you never have any fun will be one you cannot live with.

Agreed. Ditto for meals out and other luxuries. Yeah, you can go a week without spending on ANY luxuries, but you're going to reach the point that you'll say, "Forget this!" and throw the budget out. Instead, budget a reasonable amount for fun and stick to your plan.

 

[budz211]

Hi everyone,

Due to unforeseen circumstances my husband and I have decided it would be better for me to quit my job and concentrate on some personal medical issues that I'm dealing with.

Reality is I don't know when/if I'll enter the work force again, so we'll be living off just my husband's income for the long haul. Even though we don't have children right now, it'll still be hard adjusting to one income.

Some things I'm already doing are: clipping coupons, decreasing Netflix plan, try to buy food that's on sale for the week, use pay-as-you go cell phones. We also put a limit on "fun stuff"; eating out, going to the movies, etc.

We are also charging/paying off everyday expenses like groceries, gas, etc. to our credit cards for the reward points so I can get gift cards.

At the moment my DH can work overtime and bring in extra money. We are using that to pay down bills, and I just paid off my car. (Next goal is to pay off his car.) We're trying to prepare for when DH isn't working overtime, so that we can still live off his income.

Does anyone have other tips or ideas on how to live off of one income? Please share your stories with me! There's a possibility down the road that I may want to be a stay-at-home-mom, so SAHM's please share your experiences as well.

Yes, in my siggie it does say that we're going to WDW and my DH wants to keep the trip. We've been through a lot personally this year and both of us really need a vacation. So don't flame me for that!

Thanks in advance!

Thanks,
diznee25

Hi,

My wife coupons. We save a lot of money on 1 income from this. It isn't nearly like the extreme couponer tv show where they get out of the store with stuff for free. We usually only save about 50 to 60% but if your normal purchases are 100$ per week, paying only 50$ is a great deal!

you should try out weusecoupons.com and do some searches for couponing and deals. What store do you shop at mostly there are sites that do just that store.

Also walmart will give you money back if your coupons value exceed the price of the stuff.

 

[shelwoj]

You've received a lot of great responses but I have one to add for free entertainment.

Check out your local high school (and college if you have one) for band concerts. Ours are always free and the talent is amazing. I also enjoy going to the school in the summer and watching the marching band practice. It's fun to see the progress from the beginning of the season to the end.

 

[amberdburke]

I just wanted to encourage you that it can be done. We are living off my husband's income only, and he's a car salesman, so we NEVER know how much he's going to have made. We certainly don't have $ for a lot of extras, but we are going to DW in October (we've been saving for a year). Good luck to you!

 

[mjantz]

-Check out Angel Food Ministries. You can fill your fridge for aboout $100. I use the meats from AFM to make my meal plan for the month. I don't do a day by day, just a general list based on what we bought with our order & what I usually have on hand. It really helps me to plan & remember when I need to get meat out to thaw the night before.

 

[Soben]

I'm going to second that "Do Not Quit!" There is no shame in having a medical issue that you need to take care of, and you're going to have a gap in employment anyway, so don't worry about how it's going to look in the future. Employers are also very constrained on what they can tell another employer who is checking your history, they can usually only confirm the dates.

But voluntarily quitting might lock you out of unemployment or disability. Of course their lawyer says you can't have anything. They are not the final judge on that.

Take your 4 weeks, recover as best you can, go back and try to do your job to the best of your abilities. If they fire you, then try to get unemployment and disability. Don't let them back you into a corner.

Good luck!

 

[Deealee]

I'm going to second that "Do Not Quit!" There is no shame in having a medical issue that you need to take care of, and you're going to have a gap in employment anyway, so don't worry about how it's going to look in the future. Employers are also very constrained on what they can tell another employer who is checking your history, they can usually only confirm the dates.

But voluntarily quitting might lock you out of unemployment or disability. Of course their lawyer says you can't have anything. They are not the final judge on that.

Take your 4 weeks, recover as best you can, go back and try to do your job to the best of your abilities. If they fire you, then try to get unemployment and disability. Don't let them back you into a corner.

Good luck!

This bears repeating!

The reason they want you to quit rather than firing you is so that you have no claims against them in the future for not making reasonable accomodations for your illness.


Take a day or two a month for you & dh to splurge on the cheap. Find a musuem or playhouse that has a free evening. Have a nice dinner at home that you don't cook. Pick up Lean Cusine Cafe Classics when on sale, to have on hand. One of the specialty salads in a bag, when you catch them marked down to 99c. Sliced fruit over ice cream or a nice sorbet and I can usually find a decent bottle of wine for around $5. I use my nicest dishes and glassware.

To make extra money try to do mystery shopping, focus groups and/or telephone surveys. Now is a good time to get a rewards credit card if you don't have one without a balance. Use the card only for things you can pay cash for. The rewards come in handy for gift giving. I get free gift cards and go shopping with coupons to strech them further.

 

[MEM]

I don't know the laws where you live, but there is FMLA, where your job is protected for 12 weeks for personal or family illness (as long as the company is large enough). Also, there could be the possibility of having a job modified for a disability. I'm not making any judgments, but it sounds like you might want to talk to the HR department or look further into some of this.

As for living off of one income, we have been doing that for 4 1/2 years now. I had planned to work for another year after our oldest came along, but family childcare did not work out, so home I came!

Thankfully we had started living on a budget years before, so I knew that it wouldn't be as fun, but we could certainly live without my income.

Good luck!

I was thinking this same thing - FMLA is a Federal Law so it won't matter what state she lives in but as you said, it matters about the size of the company. Where I work, people have taken their 12 weeks a few weeks at a time. They need a doctor's note in order to return but that protects both the employee and the employer.

 

[Tink-n-MrIncredible]

DO NOT QUIT

I would call the Department of Labor (TODAY). The equal opportunity commission. Do you have a person or department at work who handles equal opportunity? If so file a complaint in writing. Have you googles the Americans with disabilities act? I think there is also a website that helps people with disabilities with advice on situations like this. Maybe post this same question on the disabilities board, someone may have first hand knowledge of where you need to go to for help. Have you looked into a lawyer who handles "clients with disabilities"? I think you need to look into this situation a lot more and not just take their word on this. Good luck

P.S. Keep a copy of everything you give them and keep a copy of everything they give you. If they send you an email, print it. Make them give you a copy of all the reasons you need to take leave. If they mail you something keep the envelope (along with the papers) and write the date on it you received it.

 

[tefrench]

Just wanted to send best wishes and encouragement your way.

When we had our first child, we knew that we wanted me to stay at home. It never worked out on paper, but God always provided for all our needs, and sometimes also our wants.

I would agree on The Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn. I have all 3 of her books, and they really helped me learn how to not spend money. Tips sometimes that I never would have thought of - like getting shoes fixed at our local Amish shoe store for very cheap, etc. Our local library has these books also, I think.

Definitely get some legal advice. I was through something with my last job, and of course they are only looking out for themselves. I was able to get unemployment, and that helped tremendously.

It's been close to 12 years now! and it has gotten so much easier. Good luck and