Name: How we made it over 25 years on one income and how you can too
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How we made it over 25 years on one income and how you can too

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This is a dual purpose post. First, I would like to encourage women to catch the vision that it is entirely possible to afford to stay at home with your children. There will be ideas and methods that we have used over the years to save money. If you don’t have children, I want to encourage you to be at home to look well to the ways of your household and your husband.
Second, I want to absolutely refute the common and oft-repeated sentiment that both spouses need to work these days to survive. Not only do we personally know at least 20 families who manage, we have successfully lived on one income for over 25 years, lacking nothing that we needed.
When we first got married, I was working and going to college. I got pregnant with our first daughter immediately. Three years later, we had our second daughter. Shortly after, we decided it was time for me to stay home and take care of our 2 treasures, which doubled to 4 treasures when we adopted our son and daughter (We didn’t fundraise to pay for our adoption. We paid for it.)
My husband made a very basic wage for several of our married years, and still makes an average wage. It’s not like we can live on one income because he makes so much it is easy. Not at all.
I prayed (and still do) that God would show me ways to save money, and the ideas rolled in, along with a change of heart that made me willing to give up certain things. I’d like to share some of my ideas with you, and you can also pray for your own that fit your family. God is faithful in answering pleas for help, especially when you are trying to be obedient to something He has asked us to do, like being keepers at home (Titus 2:3-5).
First on the list of reducing outgoing payments, and consequently reducing our budget, was getting rid of all the vehicles we owed money on. This was definitely part of my heart change, because I had a BEAUTIFUL, loaded, emerald-green Camaro Z-28 that I adored. In my more fleshly moments, I still miss that car! But we were serious about minimizing debt and expenses, so we let it go.
From that day forward, we only financed one other vehicle, and it was used. We needed a larger vehicle for our growing family, and this van was an excellent deal we couldn’t pay cash for. However, we paid it off early, and we are still driving it. We have hauled all of our grandchildren and children in it because it seats 15 passengers.
Other than that one instance, we have paid cash for all of our used vehicles -very used (we have never purchased anything newer than 10 years old other than our van.)
Here’s the thing about buying used vehicles. Even if you had to pay $1000 a year (which averages out to only $83 a month) in repairs (which we have only done once), it would still be cheaper than buying a brand new car.
The average car payment is $551 per month for 69 months, over $6600 per year. You could pay for a lot of repairs with that amount. You can replace an engine for $3000-4000, which is still less than one year’s worth of car payments.
And unlike rare large repairs, with a car payment, you have to continue paying that yearly amount every year for 5-7 years. It just doesn’t make wise money sense to purchase new vehicles.
The idea in purchasing used vehicles for cash is to start today saving as much as you can, so that you have cash in hand when you need repairs or a new-to-you car. If you can afford a car payment, you can afford to put that amount in savings, and you will have plenty of cash when the time comes for a used replacement vehicle. If you can’t afford to save that much, make a budget and save as much as you can towards your next used vehicle.
Worse case example – you buy a car for $3000. We usually aim for paying less than that. But if you paid $3000 for a car that only lasted one year (it’s only happened one time to us), and you didn’t want to repair it, you are still ahead by over $3500 on what you would spend for car payments for that year.
It just makes more sense to buy used, because new cars are wayyyyyy overpriced and lose value immediately. They also need repairs just like used vehicles, usually right after the warranty expires. Insurance is also higher because you are required to carry full coverage.
Try to avoid used car lots with their inflated prices and buy straight from a private seller. If you keep an eye out for a few weeks when you are in the market for a vehicle, you can usually find someone who bought a new car and needs to sell their older one.
The purpose of vehicles is to get you from one place to another. They do not have to be tricked out just to boost our pride in an attempt to impress the people around us.
It is so much more freeing to be debt free than to live for the praise of others. Going to work so that you can buy a ridiculously priced vehicle that gets you to work is really kind of silly when you think of it like that. Freeing up budget space also frees up what you can afford to do.
None of our vehicles have all the gadgets on the steering wheel, heated seats, or wireless capabilities, and we survive just fine. We still get from Point A to Point B, just a lot less expensively than most Americans.
We also save money on car insurance, because we only carry liability on our vehicles. Since we didn’t pay very much for them, it doesn’t make sense to pay a lot more for full coverage. We can put this extra savings towards replacing the vehicles if they are totaled in an accident.
Switching to used vehicles and liability coverage would mean extra money in your budget to assist you in staying home.
The second change we made to manage on one income was buying as much as we could second hand, especially clothes. I avoid the mall like the PLAGUE. I’m not even kidding. Who doesn’t overspend on things they do not need when they go to the mall?
I also do not go pleasure shopping anywhere. My “pleasure shopping” consists of hitting the yard sales and Goodwill. You can find a lot of nice things. I’ve been going to them throughout our entire marriage, and rarely have to buy new. Items are usually 80-95% off of original prices.
Moms working in part just to have money to blow is unwise. We all have too much stuff, and we don’t actually need most of what we buy.
We REALLY don’t need closets and drawers packed with clothing. I go through my clothes regularly and get rid of things that don’t look flattering or items I seem to avoid wearing.
I know not everyone can do this, but I actually put my clothes in a box in my closet as I wear them and wash them, so that I rotate through everything that I have. Every time I put something on, I make sure it still looks nice and that I still like it. If not, into the donation box it goes.
I also never dry our clothes, instead I hang them on a two-tiered dryer rack. Our clothes look nicer longer because they don’t wear out from dryer use. I keep our rack in our bathroom because we don’t have space in our laundry room for it.
It was an inexpensive purchase that makes an actual difference in our budget. Would you like one? https://amzn.to/34j5VGr
A big part of being able to afford staying at home is changing your mindset. STOP listening to anyone and everyone regarding how our lives should look. We actually do not have as many real NEEDS as we think we have.
Being willing to downsize, make do, pay cash, and stop frivolous shopping are imperative to this lifestyle, as is being content with what you have. I find joy in my husband, my children, my grandchildren, and my garden, not in the sum of my possessions.
Things that aren’t needs: expensive cell phones, costly vacations, two cars, Netflix or expensive cable/satellite plans, ridiculously pricey name brand purses (oops, my pet peeve came out there), boxes and boxes of shoes, big houses, new furniture/HGTV decor, boats and atvs, etc. There’s nothing wrong with them if you become able to afford them on one income, but we can absolutely live without them.
I actually find a lot of name brand clothing and shoes at yard sales and Goodwill. That’s the only way these would find a way into my possession. I usually pay around $2-$3 for shoes and $1-$3 for purses. I don’t buy shoes much anymore now that my children are grown. I use my purses until they get too stained or start falling apart.
I do buy things just because I like them, but it doesn’t break our budget because I’m only paying a couple of dollars for them. Just like cars, purses are functional. They are meant to carry things. They are functional, and don’t have to match every outfit or advertise that we can afford name brands.
We used to pay for our vacations by saving our change for an entire year. The point of vacations is to spend time with family. We don’t need exotic vacations to do that. It’s another one of those mindset changes to stop trying to compete with those around us. There are tons of inexpensive vacations to be had.
Sometimes all that is required is gas money, if you are willing to pack your own food. An inexpensive used pop-up camper can be a good investment for vacations. They can just be day trips. They can be to places with scenery and no admission fees. They can even be stay-cations. Abandon all the usual routines and have fun at home.
We purchased most of our kids’ toys at yard sales and Goodwill. They did get presents for special days, but we were not extravagant, and I almost always bought them on sale or clearance. We did not cater to every whim and fancy that they had.
We did not fund a lot of expensive electronics. They didn’t have cell phones until they were adults. We didn’t give them tons of pocket money to go shop at Gap or Old Navy, but they did have nice brands that I found used.
But guess what? They had happy childhoods because they knew they were loved. They had a mother at home with them to take good care of them, to protect them, and to make nutritious meals for them every day. They were secure because we spent a lot of time at home, instead of running around and dropping them places every evening. They knew I was always there for them.
I have so much more information on this because we have lived this way for so long. I am going to end it here and do a second part.
Part 2 here : https://debthemom.com/2019/11/24/part-2-how-weve-made-it-on-one-income-and-how-you-can-too/
Blessings to all,
Debbie at debthemom.com
YouTube- Home at Serenity Springs

This is a dual purpose post. First, I would like to encourage women to catch the vision that it is entirely possible to afford to stay at home with your children. There will be ideas and methods that we have used over the years to save money. If you don’t have children, I want to encourage you to be at home to look well to the ways of your household and your husband.
Second, I want to absolutely refute the common and oft-repeated sentiment that both spouses need to work these days to survive. Not only do we personally know at least 20 families who manage, we have successfully lived on one...

How we made it over 25 years on one income and how you can too

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