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rp...Questions for SAHMs

MrsEzStarMrsEzStar member
in Multiples

How hard was it for you to go down to one one income.  MY dh and I ran some numbers and it might be possible if we sell both of our newer cars and bought two really cheap 10yr+ old Cars/Vans.  It would be so freaking tight money wise, but I know it will be better in the long run, then trying to pay for Daycare for 3 babies.

 Did anyone have to go through any extremes to make it work/ Any suggestions on how to make it work? Any ideas appreciated!  Thanks!

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Re: rp...Questions for SAHMs

  • blairsgirlblairsgirl
    I got laid off 3 days before my maternity leave was over.  And get 7 months severance, so I am still getting paid for another few months.  We are very fortunate with mh's job and we will feel it a little bit of a pinch but not too bad.  And now with the third one on the way, it didn't make sense for me to go back to work.  Half of my salary would go to childcare every month.  We also own one of our cars and have one car payment (which we are making extra payments on since we got it in October to be done with it the middle of next year).  The only debt we have is our mortgage and monthly utilities.  That makes a huge difference.  And the insurance covers the formula for both girls since they are on a special kind.  So that has helped out a lot too,  
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  • Fa1ryG0dm0therFa1ryG0dm0ther

    Budget planning, creative menu planning, and conservation are key.  I don't know what your income is, but by the time I added up gasoline, work clothes, lunches out, childcare, additional expenses because of daycare, I wasn't actually bringing home that much.  Reaching a point to pay off one car helped tremendously.

    Planning a menu ahead of time once every week or two and sticking to the grocery list is a huge deal.  I know that I'm able to shave a ton off of our monthly expenses that way. 

    GL!

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  • sfitz0711sfitz0711
    Our situation is unique.  3 months after our girls were born DH graduated college and we moved and he got a new job.  His new job is making us the same amount of money that we had made when I worked full time and he worked part time.  But still, we pay attention to our spending.  Lots of menu planning.  We're working on paying off a car.  
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  • RinnieRinnie

    We went down to 1 salary when my DD was born.

    The deal was it would be a year to year thing - meaning if we were struggle to much and we couldn't make the bills I would have to go back to work.

    Then I got pregnant with the twins - so we would be in your situation - 3 kids in daycare.

    In order to be able to afford that - I would need to find a job at which I had before I had my DD.  That isn't going to happen, so any other job I got would just be eaten up by daycare.  So it isn't worth it.

    It's tight - but my DD is almost 3 and my boys are 14 months.  We also get a lot of handy me downs on clothes for the boys and I take whatever I can get.

    I happened to get lucky and get a small part time job - 8 hours a week.  I do it at night on Monday & Tuesday & work an hour or two during the day on Wednesday.  It is working with our church & doing the bulletin.

    I get less then 75 dollars a week.  But it is my spending money and I start saving it around August/Sept for Christmas. So it helps.

    You have time - so start trying to cut corners now and pay off things.  My one girlfriend gave me great advice.

    If you want to see if you can make it on your DH salary now - start doing it now.  Just bank your pay each time you get paid and don't touch and use the your DH paycheck to see if you can do it.

    That is what we did - other then the money I used to pay off the car of course.

    GL

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  • jacobandcrystaljacobandcrystal member
    Well we knew I'd be a SAHM from day 1 of our marriage, so we always made decisions based on one income, even when I was working.  That said, during my 1st pregnancy I quit my out-of-home job and started working for my MIL from home doing medical transcription. It was a great way for us to have some extra income because I could work as much or as little as I wanted, and whenever I had time. I'd look into other possible ways of bringing in some money from home! : )
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  • tiki_ttiki_t

    Quitting work to go single income was one of the hardest decisions that I've ever made. I had been with the same company for 10 years so it was really emotional but I knew it was the right thing to do for the kids. 

    Once you let go, you can make it work. You just have to make a budget and stick to it. Resist temptation to spend like you use to. Stick to making lists when you go to the store. If it isn't on the list, you don't buy it.

    I think the hardest thing was getting DH to make his lunch instead of buying it at work but it saves a TON of money.

    If you buy older cars/vans, understand a few things. Budget in for maintenance. It is cheaper to maintain a car than repair it. Understand the expected life span of a car. For example, my American made truck, I only expect it to last until about 140K miles. That's because that's when my previous one needed a complete engine rebuild and even after that, it was never the same. So if you are buying used American, you had better make sure it has low miles on it. If you buy a  Honda, it's probably going to last you to 200K miles. They might be more expensive up front but they will last longer. 



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