going from a 2 income home to 1

unexpectedmama25 · August 2015

So I'm almost 25 weeks, I wanted to work until 35 weeks but was fired last week. I'm not really worried about the 2 months before the baby comes, I'm worried about getting super comfortable with baby and not looking for a job after. Has anyone went from 2 income to 1 and was surprised at how good the transition went?

Squirtgun · August 2015

We went from 2 incomes to 1, and it has worked well for us. The biggest advice I would have for you is to sit down with your SO and make a budget. (If you need frameworks, etc as a place to start from, Dave Ramsey has some great budget advice.)
If you and SO are on the same page with it and are able to budget well, it can work!

oliarnmom1517 · August 2015

We are doing something similar but since I have my own business where I can work from home we are just going from 2 bigger incomes to 1 bigger income and one smaller income..

kmkrushi · August 2015

When DD was about 18 months I was let go and we went from 2 incomes to 1. It took some adjusting, but we've managed to make it work. You'd be surprised how much you save by cooking instead of eating out and cutting out "work expenses", like work clothes.

brianna91chavez · August 2015

Squirtgun said:
We went from 2 incomes to 1, and it has worked well for us. The biggest advice I would have for you is to sit down with your SO and make a budget. (If you need frameworks, etc as a place to start from, Dave Ramsey has some great budget advice.)
If you and SO are on the same page with it and are able to budget well, it can work!

I second Dave Ramsey!
We went from 2 incomes to 1 but it wasn't very hard because my SO alone brings in what most two income households bring in.... My income was just for fun and play money. With Dave Ramsey's advice and models were able to live comfortably and still have a nice savings account.

lwentland · August 2015

No advice here, just in the same boat. I will be laid off mid September. I'm so bummed out by the situation but am trying to accept it as everything happens for a reason.

dogsombrero · August 2015

I'd recommend a budget as PPs have said. Look into things you can cut/reduce and try to get a financial cushion or grow it if you already have one.

We use netflix instead of cable, reduced our phone/internet bill, I coupon/budget cook and anything not from grandma/special occasions clothes comes from a kids resale shop for our 14 month old ($0.50-$1 per item for name brand stuff!). I also use some cloth diapers on my son.

Try checking out Pinterest for all kinds of budget help.

Knottie68754264 · August 2015

We have been debating this for quite some time but my biggest fear is covering insurance costs. It's already going to be super expensive to add baby to either of our insurances but if we have to add two of us to an insurance policy I don't know if we'll be able to afford it. Any suggestions or ideas or even personal stories?

VexedMommy · August 2015

Knottie68754264 said:

We have been debating this for quite some time but my biggest fear is covering insurance costs. It's already going to be super expensive to add baby to either of our insurances but if we have to add two of us to an insurance policy I don't know if we'll be able to afford it. Any suggestions or ideas or even personal stories?

Most of the insurance plans I've seen go from single to family so there's really not a big difference between adding one person or adding two people.

rox7777 · August 2015

We went from two incomes to one when DH got relocated overseas right after we got married. I was the "bread winner", so it took some adjusting, but if you follow a set budget it can be fairly easy.

Look at your extra expenses. We're a one car household. On days when I need to run errands I drop DH off at work and he usually has someone drop him off. We also try to minimize eating out (1-2 times a month) and buy the majority of toddler/baby things at consignment stores.

Our biggest thing was learning how to break down bills. We can't afford to take rent out of one check, so now we take it out of each check (he's paid 4 times a month) to minimize how much comes out per week.

VexedMommy · August 2015

rbradshaw77 said:

We went from two incomes to one when DH got relocated overseas right after we got married. I was the "bread winner", so it took some adjusting, but if you follow a set budget it can be fairly easy. Look at your extra expenses. We're a one car household. On days when I need to run errands I drop DH off at work and he usually has someone drop him off. We also try to minimize eating out (1-2 times a month) and buy the majority of toddler/baby things at consignment stores. Our biggest thing was learning how to break down bills. We can't afford to take rent out of one check, so now we take it out of each check (he's paid 4 times a month) to minimize how much comes out per week.

I'm also the "bread winner" in a single income household. We've found that actually having a separate checking account for bills has been incredibly helpful. I transfer a portion of my paycheck into it and into savings each week and when the bills are due, the money is always there. There are no miscommunications and no overspending from that account because it's only for household items such as rent, electric, water and previously discussed items like vet bills or furniture.

ash413 · August 2015

VexedMommy said:

Knottie68754264 said:

We have been debating this for quite some time but my biggest fear is covering insurance costs. It's already going to be super expensive to add baby to either of our insurances but if we have to add two of us to an insurance policy I don't know if we'll be able to afford it. Any suggestions or ideas or even personal stories?

Most of the insurance plans I've seen go from single to family so there's really not a big difference between adding one person or adding two people.

Not all are like that. My insurance through my employer has 3 separate prices, employee only, employee with 1 dependent, and employee with 2+ dependents.

Insurance is the big reason why I will still work. I work for a large global company that provides great insurance and covers a significant portion of the cost. My husband's company only employees 7 people, basically we would have to get our own plan and they would reimburse us 50%. We would pay 4x as much for a $2000 deductible vs the $300 one we have now.

Cook3133 · August 2015

We went from 2-1 incomes almost a year ago. I did go from full to part time and that seemed like a bigger adjustment then going full SAHM.

You really have to figure out what your needs and wants are. I buy second hand for my kiddos or clearance. We only eat out for special occasions, I make a menu plan for the month (this cut down grocery cost a ton!) and cut out bills we didn't need. It was a lot easier than I thought. And with me home I spend less on gas and eating out.

It actually makes more sense for me not to work then to work. With fuel, daycare, and food even with a decent paying job in my area I would have only taken home about $2-300 a month and that just wasn't worth it to us. I have decided to babysit to supplement a bit of income for spending money, only because I want to

. I like getting my hair done every 2 months

unexpectedmama25 · August 2015

Thanks for all the suggestions ladies I really appreciate it. One more question have any of you started a new job almost in your third trimester? I really can't imagine not having my own spending money.

lovearoo · August 2015

brianna91chavez said:

Squirtgun said:
We went from 2 incomes to 1, and it has worked well for us. The biggest advice I would have for you is to sit down with your SO and make a budget. (If you need frameworks, etc as a place to start from, Dave Ramsey has some great budget advice.)
If you and SO are on the same page with it and are able to budget well, it can work!
I second Dave Ramsey!
We went from 2 incomes to 1 but it wasn't very hard because my SO alone brings in what most two income households bring in.... My income was just for fun and play money. With Dave Ramsey's advice and models were able to live comfortably and still have a nice savings account.

...I hate you.

MadBloom · August 2015

We went from 2 to 1 incomes and have survived. We started to feel a little stressed last Christmas because we had just moved and the moving expenses on top of our daughters first Christmas hit us harder financially than we had expected. Then I feel like we got caught up again and had some savings put away but we had to landscape this summer so we didn't lose our landscaping deposit so that was an expense that came up so we're feeling it a bit more again.
Having that extra bit of income would have been really handy this year but we will survive. We do really well with not eating out and limiting what we spend on miscellaneous items. I breast fed for a year and we cloth diaper so that saved quite a bit of we really tally it up.
Your spending will for sure have to adjust but you should be fine as long as you budget properly.

japostolova · August 2015

We've been on one income before, it helps to budget for eating out/ non necessities. Once you know what discretionary income you have to work with that month prioritize what you'd like to do with it. We could have had more discretionary spending each month but contributed to 401 k and kids college plan instead thinking that would be better in the end. As for insurance, we went with a private plan... I think the company name is HCG and it has Coventry coverage ( not marketplace or employer bc they were significantly more).

HopefulMNMom · August 2015

I am going through the process of becoming a SAHM. I am leaving my job a few days before my due date. We both have good jobs right now bringing in about $180k annually. We will be losing about $75k annually when I stay home. This will be a huge adjustment for our family but I know people do it with much less. We have been saving for me to stay home so my bills will be covered for at least a year. We do not have any credit card debt but I do have student loans. We have budgeted and all we can do now is see how it goes! If it's not working, I can always go back to work.

seelwood · August 2015

Hoping to piggy back on this topic. I see a lot of pp have mentioned meal planning and how it helps in budgeting. I make an effort to plan a week ahead ( baby steps) and always seem to stray.. Any tips and tricks to keeping on track, how did you develop the routine etc?? I know it would help financially and am interested in how to make the most of menu planning when I have a newborn around.

Thanks ladies !

Want a personalized experience?

going from a 2 income home to 1

Re: going from a 2 income home to 1

Choose Another Board

Search Boards