6 Practical Tips for Living Well on One Income

Three potted succulents on a table.

 

This post was originally posted in September 2014 and has been updated for your convenience.

6 Practical Tips for Living Well one One Income

Some may choose to live on one income because they want to stay at home with their kids or beef up their savings account, but due to current circumstances, many families are being forced to live on one income and may not know where to turn.

I hope these practical tips for living on less will help you and your family take steps towards making ends meet and getting through these hard times. If you have any other tips to add, please do so in the comment section below.

Prioritize 

To make living on one income work, the whole family has to understand why it’s important to live on less. Why is living on one income a priority for your family?

Keep these reasons in the front of your mind and understand that it’s more important than the things you may be giving up to make ends meet. Frugal living is a mental game, so coming up with your why is important for the long haul because it can help you when it seems hard.

Make Sacrifices

Let’s face it, to live on one income you’re probably going to have to make some sacrifices. Decide with your spouse which non essentials you’re willing to give up (cable, Netflix, magazine subscriptions, gym membership, eating out, etc) and cancel them. I bet you won’t even miss most of these things, especially if they weren’t a high priority for you in the first place.

Downsize

Evaluate how much house/car you really need and cut where you can. Did you know that the average American home has doubled in size since the 1950s, yet families are smaller? If our ancestors survived with less space, then we can too. Plus, smaller house = lower payment = more money in your pocket.

The same goes for vehicles. Does your family need more than one? If so, can you sell one of your current vehicles and use the money to pay cash for an older one? As long as your car gets you safely from point A to point B then what else matters?

Be Smarter than the Joneses

Did you know that the average American is $90,000 in debt?!? Chances are the people who you envy that have nice houses, cars, etc. are stressed out because of the debt load they’re carrying.

Don’t be like them. Be grateful for what you have. If you have food in your fridge, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep then you are richer than 75% of the world.

Focus on the blessings that you have instead of what you wish you had or things that you think would make you happy.

Commit to No More Debt

Seriously. Like yesterday. Cut up your credit cards and make it a priority to pay off your debt. Imagine how good it will feel when you don’t owe anyone anything.

If you need help in this area I would recommend reading Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey and following his baby steps. You can also visit DaveRamsey.com for more resources.

Cook from Scratch & Eat Simply

When you read books like, Little House on the Prairie, what types of food was Ma usually cooking? Potatoes. Soups. Homemade Breads. They ate simply because they didn’t have a choice. Things like out of season produce and candy were luxuries to be enjoyed on occasion.

If you can learn to cook from scratch and simplify your menu plan (think spaghetti, chicken noodle soup, beans and rice) then you will save tons of money. Unless you find an awesome deal on convenience food, you can normally make it yourself for way less.

Additional Resources for Eating on a Budget:

30 Frugal Meal Ideas (for when you’re broke)
40 Groceries to Stop Buying and Start Making to Save Money
15 Cheap Pantry Meals with 4 Ingredients or Less
How to Feed Your Family on a Tight Budget

Follow Graceful Little Honey Bee on:
Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube

Living on one income is possible for a lot of people if you're committed and focused. Check out these tips to help make your stay at home mom dreams come true!

Similar Posts

53 Comments

  1. A good money saving tip is to trade services with locals in your area, family friends etc. Each take a turn cooking one day a month, babysitting etc. It really saves money, time and energy and makes great friendships!
  2. These are such great tips! I am passionate about this and write about it a lot on my blog. To take your idea of making sacrifices a little farther, we discussed the things we enjoyed doing or having that cost money and found alternatives. We have learned to find cheaper or free entertainment. I have learned to cook our favorites at home. Mostly, we have learned to make do with a lot less and we find that we are just as fulfilled because we are happy to be together. Thanks for the encouraging post!
  3. We lived on one income our entire marriage, though right now we both have jobs, we plan to only "use" one of those incomes to live on. You can have a lot of fun in life without buying into the belief that you need to buy a lot of extras. I think our biggest money saver is that we just really don't buy things we don't really need.
  4. Great tips!! I agree with every single one. We've been on one income the last 11 months and while it's been hard in some ways, we've really done well managing with what we have. I value being home with my daughter so much more than having a shiny new car! Thanks for posting!
  5. Perfect list. When I decided to stay home giving up the second car was a must! We rarely buy anything these days without a discussion and a few weeks (or longer) to save for what we need/want! I feel like it may be work living on one income but it is so worth it! We have been doing it for almost 4 years and can't imagine doing it any other way!
    1. Your right it takes effort to live on one income when the rest of the world seems to be doing the opposite! Once it becomes habit though it gets easier. Thanks for stopping by!
  6. Patience is a money saving tip I am working on! We don't need what we want right now. As a matter of fact, if we wait a bit, we may find we don't want it at all;0) We also look for ways to have fun for less!
  7. We committed early in our marriage that we would live off of one income so that when kids come, the adjustment to me staying home would be easy. Our first is just about 3 months and I am glad we don't have to cut back now, we are use to it. I just bought a 20 pound bag of rice today! We have been eating a lot of rice recently to make this stretch. Better than pasta for us! And that huge bag was only $9. Not too shabby. Great tips!
  8. We went through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace class and paid of a lot of our debt. The relief we felt was almost immediately. I would also add that making and sticking to a budget is VERY important!!
  9. Great tips. It can be a big adjustment at first but totally achievable. Shopping around is good too, for utilities and services to find a lower price for the same services.
  10. We also live on one income and I looked around and found out there are people in the area who have fruit growing in their gardens and no time to pick them. I offered my fruit picking services to them for share of the produce. This way I now have 50 jars of apple butter and 20 jars of blackcurrant and redcurrant jam (currants are popular here in Norway). Also, I proposed to spend late summer Saturdays picking blueberries in the forest (it's legal here, and somewhat of a national pasttime) and I have 20 jars of blueberry jam. How delicious! :)
    1. Great foraging tips! A lot of fruit goes unpicked these days simply because people aren't looking for it and they prefer the "pretty" looking stuff from the stores. Sounds like your larder is full! Thanks for commenting!
  11. I love these tips. I have made the decision to stay at home with my kids because I know how important it is. I would feel bad going back to work just so I can afford that new boat..you know?
  12. I want to commend and encourage you ladies that are striving to manage on one income. When my children were young, I also made that a priority. You just have no idea how valuable those skills may be later in life. A spouse's illness, care for an aging parent, the desire to help with grandchildren...many things may come up that make you want to live on one income again. These are life skills you are learning and passing on. They give you options.
  13. This all sounds great, but I feel it's impossible. Do any of you ladies have student loans? I'm sure most of you have mortgages, too. I am going to be getting married soon, and we'd love to add to our family (he has a 12 YO son from a previous relationship). I don't want a stranger to raise our babies,but I can't see us being able to afford one income. I want children of my own, but it doesn't seem right if I can't raise them the way I want to. I think I need some words of encouragement! :(
    1. Sara, I'm sorry you are feeling discouraged. The best thing to do would be to sit down with your husband-to-be and write out a complete budget to see what cuts (if any) you can make. I would recommend going to DaveRamsey.com for more budgeting tips and resources. You are smart to start thinking about this now before you are married and have kids so that you have time to put a plan in place. Since I don't know your specific situation I can't really give much advice, but I would say try your best to live just on your husband's income once you are married and use your salary to pay down as much debt as possible. Let me know if you have any questions! Blessings, Missy
    2. Even if you want to add to your family, it's probably not something you have to do immediately. (I realize you replied 3 years ago, but this goes for anyone in a similar position.) In fact, it's kind of nice to spend some time as just a newlywed couple before adding sleepless nights and big bellies into the picture. (Can you tell I'm pregnant right now? :D ) We waited one year and then had some bad luck for the next 8 months, but the timing was perfect. He just got a promotion at work, and his little brother is in his final months of school. (We're paying for his education; I sometimes joke that my brother-in-law is our eldest child.) So, unless you're over 35, it's not a bad idea to take some time to work and pay down those debts before having children. Also, consider an inexpensive wedding. We made a lot of economical choices for our wedding which maybe didn't result in anything you'd see on Pintrest but included the important thing: getting married to the love of my life. The whole thing cost us about $1,000. (We calculated it out that the actual cost would have been around $2,000, but we bartered for some services and other people offered their services as a wedding gift.) We did a lot of the decorating ourselves with the help of a couple family members and a friend. Lots of people go into *huge* amounts of debt on their weddings.
  14. This is a great article! Some of those articles found on Pinterest have great headlines, but don't deliver new, fresh information. This post, on the other hand, did. My family lives on one income and these tips will surely help. I am currently trying to convince my husband that we should sell one of our cars...hopefully this post will help! Blessings :)
  15. Cheap food doesn't have to be boring like potatoes,soups and homemade breads. East Indians, Middle Eastern and Asians spend much less on food without resorting to tasteless potatoes, soups and homemade breads as Ma Ingalls did. There are recipes with lentils, chickpeas, spinach etc that are very tasty with the addition of very inexpensive herbs and spices such was garlic, cilantro etc.
    1. I think you may have misunderstood my use of words. When I said simple I was referring to wholesome and homemade. I definitely don't think frugal has to mean boring and tasteless. You're right herbs and spices (even in soups and breads!) are an inexpensive way to add tons of flavor and should definitely be utilized in frugal cooking.
  16. My bf and I are living off one income, and it's my disability. We both decided that life is too short to spend working in an office building. Well, I can't work, but he could. Instead we decided to move to the mountains, live a simple and frugal life and spend all of our time together. Last summer we fished, hiked and swam in the lakes. This winter, we go for walks and mostly watch movies. I do my hobbies, he does his. We have one very old car, currently renting to save for a downpayment, and are paying back our debts slowly but surely. We shop according to flyers - only twice a month. We don't use the car unless it's necessary. We don't have a television, but we do have internet, though we limit our bandwidth. I cook everything from scratch and we eat well. We've never been happier! I think that people get too caught up in lifestyle and immediate gain/quick fix. We've been doing this now for 8 months and though it took some getting used to, we love it now and we'll never look back! In fact, one of his friends who has a high paying job is so stressed out he's ready for a breakdown. My bf used to be envious of everything his friend had, not the roles are reversed and his friend sees me and my bf as having the perfect life. Thanks for the post :)
  17. I been living on one income for years now. We still eat out but we are smart about it. We've signed up for eclubs so we go places so gives great offers. Also if we are invited to a special celebration then we usually get a soup, salad and share a meal, you can cut out the drinks and we normally don't go over $25-$30 :)
  18. Came across your advice through Pinterest, I'm on a single income as I am a single parent to a toddler, I'm a young adult who's been raising a child on a single income since the birth of my child. I live in the UK, I have a job, house and car etc, I don't allow myself to have a credit card and thankfully I have 0 debt, I'm very careful with my money, I do 4 weekly food shops and I set a budget of £40 (Sorry don't know in dollars) then each week I spend £10 on fresh produce - milk, bread, fruits and veg. I also shop around for the best offers and deals to save money. This helps me from over spending on food and avoiding food waste. I also agree on making your own meals, not only is it healthier but can be cheaper and when buying food I look for food quality, not beautiful packaging ( tho it is pretty ) I'm also really careful with my electricity and heating as to not make big bills. It's hard living on a single income but by being so strict with my money it means I can spoil my daughter and save for her future. I enjoyed reading your advice :)
  19. I stay home a lot. We go to parks and cheap places for entertainment. I've cut back a lot on fast food... it helps a lot. I don't drink fancy coffee or buy fast food soda anymore. That saves hundreds per month, when you add it all up. My sister in law price matches at Walmart. She gets their groceries for $150 every two weeks. We also don't use a lot of meat. It's never the main course. I mix it in with pasta.
  20. I have been a SAHM for 20 years and our youngest is going to college this fall. We have absolutely zero credit card debt b/c we choose not to - is it hard? Sure, but we figured it out. One important thing to remember is entertainment - and date nights for the parents. It is amazing the number of things you can find on the internet and your local chamber of commerce of free things to do in your area. Pack a picnic and go and enjoy free or low budget destinations. Or? Stay at home and have the movie night or a game night. You would be surprised how much your kids and husband/wife love these types of ideas. Life isn't cheap - no doubt, but you don't have to keep up with neighbors to be happy. None of us have ever watnted for anything - yet we manage just fine. Not bragging, mind you, but I think credit to have "things" is a great downfall of our society. Have what you need but don't pay interest simply to get the things you want.
  21. We have been living on one income for years. My husband was in a career that didn't pay much, but he took online classes (while working full-time) and got a better job. He learned new skills and got experience and better pay. Until recently we had one vehicle. When I wanted to use it during the week day I simply got up early and took my husband to work then picked him up. We now have two used, paid-for vehicles. There are lots of cheap or free family fun ideas- fly kites, parks, picnics, hikes, the library has lots of free activities for kids, storytime, rec center classes, game night, invite friends over, cookouts, bike rides... Instead of a vacation we do day trips or overnight camping trips. It did take a while to collect the camping gear, but by slowly building up we have learned what we need; like sleeping bags, and it was only a little bit of money at a time. Now that we have almost everything we need we will only pay for food and the camping fee, which is under $20 a night. I shop clearance sales for the kids' b-days and Christmas all year long. I know what they like and when I see it marked down I get it. Also memberships to local museums and National Parks make good gifts.
  22. that was so true. i love it. most iportant at the end of the day is family, being happy!!! tanx for sharing these tips... sometimes we do forget what is important in life...
  23. I completely agree! Living in an expensive area, our families didn't think we could make it on one income. We proved them wrong and made it go right for me to stay home with our little ones. Other things that have worked for me are: calling our phone provider, Internet provider, etc. and requesting lower rates. Most were able to work with us. We also take full advantage of our public library. Ours offers free access to lots of local museum - a huge savings!
  24. Great article! I teach families with special needs kids to create awesome learning environments at home on my blog. Teaching at home, with primarily DIY toys and activities, saves a ton of money too and is so much fun! Thanks for this great post! :)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.