5 Tips for Frugal Living on One Income
What steps did we take to let me be a stay at home mom with one resident income?
I’m gonna just cut to the bottom line. I was a pharmacist making over $70k NET income part time and my husband is a medical resident making a little over half that for take home pay. As a medical resident they get paid peanuts for the amount of hours worked, and responsibility of the job. We are talking around minimum wage and probably less than $20 an hour. While this post might not resonate with everyone, it is our experience of how we were able to be financially secure on his salary alone.
1. Budgeting my Income While Still Working
I had no plans to transition from career woman to stay at home mom indefinitely. I wanted to have a more lax working schedule or maybe even work from home part time but there wasn’t really anything in my field (pharmacy) that caught my eye that would be worth it. When I was pregnant, I knew that I wanted to be home for at least 4 months and up to 6 months would’ve been ideal. In order to do this I wanted to make sure we were covered financially for our largest expenses: rent, vet bills, labor and delivery bills.
What I did to calculate my income needed to sustain 6 months
- I took the amount of time that I would take off work (6 months) and calculated how much of my income I would need to sustain us. My husband and I would split all costs equally, and eventually he would become the only person bringing in an income.
- I did this for every bill imaginable: loans, electric, utilities, vet bills, groceries monthly, hospital estimates, and more. I wrote every expense out for each month and I calculated it for 6 months. My totals definitely started to add up!
- After figuring out all the bills for my time out of work to give us a cushion, I started estimating my monthly income. I knew I would only work for a limited amount of time before taking maternity leave, so I started planning this early in my pregnancy.
- Found out I was pregnant in June/July — Started estimating how long I would work (until February even though I was due late March)
- Starting getting a pharmacist salary in October and saved from then on (about 4 months of saving)
- I don’t remember the exact numbers of how much I saved from my income, but I was able to save enough to cover me for 6 months of my half. I eventually got disability for the pregnancy, which covered me for another 4 months of just rent. During this time my husband was able to continue saving. We had enough in our emergency fund to feel better about me leaving my job.
2. Eating Out Less
My advice for people wanting to save money – eat out less. Guys, I got an orange juice from a place and they charged me $4 for a TINY CUP, one time fill. That is seriously so insane to me. At another place they charged $4 for a side of strawberries – I could have gotten a whole carton of strawberries for that price.
I’m very fortunate that my husband is a great cook and it also helps that where we currently live, we have limited food options that are actually tasty. But deciding to cook more meals at home has definitely saved us money EVEN WHEN WE THROW OUT LEFTOVERS. Yes, this is not ideal. Try not to throw away leftovers. I am so picky with food that by day three I am very much over eating leftovers, so they typically don’t get eaten fully.
So eat out less. You will save on outrages charges that you had no idea were coming your way. You’ll also notice that if you bought that wine, beer, or other beverage of choice at home, it would be way cheaper. Food is one of my favorite things to experience in life, but if you’re tight on a budget, buying groceries for making meals is a better option.
3. Buying Less Clothes
My husband lives in scrubs since he’s at the hospital all day. Being pregnant and having a 14 month old has limited my energy so I stay home most of the day. Meaning, I can wear big shirts, shorts, home dresses, and can put them on repeat. Whenever I needed to buy something, I would check amazon for cheaper prices or I would check out the thrift stores. I found a lot of my business casual clothes at thrift stores for work and for pharmacy school.
4. Having No Car Payments
There are so many people that go out and get a new car and make expensive car payments. I don’t really understand why – these people have virtually zero need to get that new car. Some people need to upgrade because of kids, so I get that. I have had the same car for over 10 years and I love it (hyundai sonata!!). My husband has gone through a ton of cars from wrecks or the car completely dying off, but they have always been used cars. If you don’t have the money now to invest in a new car, I would hold off and get a cheaper, more affordable car.
5. Cut Costs and Bills
Cut costs where you can. If your phone bill is expensive, look at other providers. Maybe your internet provider decides to up their price overnight and then again the next night with spotty wifi and tons of issues, maybe try to change. If you can’t change (like us) then try to downgrade wifi for a cheaper price or see if they are running any promotions. Any way you’re able to cut down on a few dollars here and there on recurring bills would be a good place to start.
Not everything is practical
Not every family is able to cut bills or costs. It might be hard when you have to factor in school or daycare prices. Maybe you despise cooking so it’s a must for you to have a cooking service provided to you. Be open to cutting back a little here and there. Set goals and have a plan to follow through. If you really want to be able to live off of one income, you will have to put in the budgeting work.