Those who are new to my blog, I sometimes get personal on here. Not TOO personal! But I share a whole lot from my daily life. Well, I have to say, that this post is the most personal I have been!
As most know, I was a full-time salary paid employee before having my first baby boy. Sean and I would buy what we WANTED when we WANTED it, and we went on more vacations than most have the opportunity to. We lived life to the fullest with the income that we both had.
But we did not prepare for becomeing that One Income Household.
We were not the type of family to put money aside. If we had it, we spent it! Granted Sean and I have so many memories from those trips and fun things we did…but we are going through the stress and panic now because we didn’t prepare.
One of the main things getting me through is knowing that I am not alone. So many other families have become a One Income Household for many different reasons. Whether they are like me and became new parents and one is staying home with the baby, or someone had to face the unfortunate layoff, or are just starting out on a new venture in their life. It doesn’t matter why a family is in this situation, it is still hard and stressful.
I found this amazing article on MSN a few days ago, and found it interesting that today Good Thing Utah highlighted the same topic as one of their table talk topics. I also thought it was very interesting that so many people had something to say about it. Not just on MSN, but on Good Things Utah’s facebook page as well.
In the article, they provide 7 steps that will help any family in coping with this change in their life.
1- Track where your money is going
2- Pay off toxic debt
3- Build up savings
4- Live on one income while you still have two (some can’t do this)
5- Slash your spending
6- Adjust your withholding
7- Get help if you need it.
Sean and I have had a very hard time coming down to one income, and we have had to suffer some consequences of it. Our hardest obsticle was to cut back on the non-necessities around the house. We couldn’t realize that we did not NEED 6000 chanels of satelite TV, the fastest speed of internet, all the add-ons on our cell phones, and more.
It took us a while before we realized it was time to cut back.
Now, we take it day by day and are still struggling to cope with the money shortage.
I love to read about how others are getting along on one income. If you are willing to share what you have done that might help others, please email me at [email protected] or leave a comment on this post.
I’m sure that everyone would love the support and help of others!
~Get your thrift on!
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