Steps to a one income family...
Okay...I don't claim to be Suze Orman but it seems as though I had some interest in my Jan. 31st post about the decision to become a SAHM, hence one-income family. I thought it might be helpful for me to write about some of the steps we took to make this dream a reality.
First, I made a household budget. I recommend this step for everyone, not just SAHM. You can download a template here to get you started!
Second, Based on the amount of money you have left over after all your categories are paid, determine what the minimum amount you need to live "comfortably." note: Designer jeans are living beyond comfortably in my book.
Third, after completing steps one and two, I then saved the same document a second time (with a new name being sure not to save over the original) and added in childcare. This was to see if my salary was really bringing in enough to be "worth" what I was giving up.
Fourth, I compared the two docs. and started analyzing were we could make cuts. I was surprised how much we were spending on gym memberships, eating out, and car payments. This would be a good time to trade-in that dream car for a mom friendly version. I personally drive a Honda Pilot and love it!
Fifth, be prepared to make whatever changes possible, and try not to feel too overwhelmed with these changes. Sometimes change is a good thing. During our move we sold, and are still selling, our "stuff" on Ebay. Amazon also has a cool trade-in program that I'm currently looking into, but haven't used yet.
We are now a one car family, work out at the recreation center (not a fancy gym), and are on a strict grocery/eating out budget. I am under no illusion that it is easy for everyone to just cut things here and there and everything is hunky-dory. Make no mistake that this was 1-2-3 for us. It took my husband finding a new company to work for (to get paid what he's worth), trading-in a car to lower our monthly payments, and moving to a town-home to cut back on living expenses (ex. sprinkler system/lawn care). I also had to go back to work when Brewer was 6 weeks old, till we were 100% we could make mortgage payments with one income. I think he was around 5 months old when I became a full-time SAHM.
At least by doing these steps you have a goal to shoot for. So when your husband gets that promotion or you pay off a credit card you can have your resignation letter already typed up and ready to hit "send."
*If you missed my original post, you can read it here--->
**If you have questions you can ask me here--->
