Common Cents
A post about the economy over on DadTalk got me thinking about the sacrifices we make in order to have one parent at home with the kids.
It's not that hard, folks. Or maybe it is for some of you.
Here are a few things that we do in order to live comfortably on one income:
Haircuts: I cut the kids' hair. Scissors for my daughter, clippers for my son. Last week my wife did the unthinkable and allowed me to lop five inches of her long hair off. The next day at work, everyone raved about her haircut. They didn't believe her when she told them who did it. As for me, I cut my own hair with the clippers. And that is why I am easily recognizable around town with my University of Idaho baseball cap always firmly in place. Monthly savings: $50
Entertainment: No cable TV. It saves us alot of time, too, as we aren't tempted to plop down in front of the TV for marathon sessions of House Hunters or Kumars at No. 42. We have a subscription to Netflix at $17.99 a month, so we still enjoy TV shows and movies, only without the commercials. We don't go out to the movie theater except for a family film a few times a year. Books are from the library. Games and puzzles were mostly Christmas presents from relatives. Monthly savings: $40 to $60
Food: This is easy. We just don't eat out very much. Maybe once a week, and even then we usually go to a place where you don't have to tip. No, not fast food. One step up from that, like a fresh burrito or Chinese express type of restaurant. In fact, one of our favorites, Qdoba, has a "kids eat free" deal on Sundays. $12 for a family of four, and it's good food! As for groceries, we don't keep cookies and pop in the house... Things like that add up quickly and aren't good for your kids. A bag of baby carrots is cheap, healthy, and long-lasting. Monthly savings: $50 to $100
Home Maintenance: I do most of it myself. With the amazing resources available on the Internet, a person can figure out how to fix just about anything in your home. As for landscaping and house-cleaning, I'd love to have someone come in once a month to spruce the place up, but those services are usually wildly expensive. There's just no need to pay for that when you can do it yourself. Plus, the kids will see you working and learn to do those chores when they're older! Monthly savings: $20 to $50
Clothes: My wife will disagree, but I'm perfectly content with my two pairs of old jeans, five various t-shirts, and one classic sweatshirt. I have some dressy clothes somewhere, but in my line of work it's better to just wear the old stuff because it's a daily inevitability that something will smear itself on me (usually peanut butter, milk, or cat barf). The kids have more clothes than us, but that's because of their grandparents. Still, when I buy them stuff I head for the clearance rack at Target or Wal-Mart. Those $4 t-shirts do the job just fine. Monthly savings: $100 to $200
Newspaper and magazines: Who needs them when I'm already paying $35 a month for Internet access. Besides, I received two great magazine subscriptions (Smithsonian and Rolling Stone) as Christmas gifts this year. More than enough "office" material for me each week. Monthly savings: $5 to $20
Those are a few things that we do to make sure one of us is home and that our budget isn't stressed. No matter what your income situation, if you took a serious look at your family expenses you might just be surprised at the savings you could find if you learn to cut back and do without. You'll never miss that stuff, really! Just don't forget to buy a nice hat to cover up the funky haircut.
It's not that hard, folks. Or maybe it is for some of you.
Here are a few things that we do in order to live comfortably on one income:
Haircuts: I cut the kids' hair. Scissors for my daughter, clippers for my son. Last week my wife did the unthinkable and allowed me to lop five inches of her long hair off. The next day at work, everyone raved about her haircut. They didn't believe her when she told them who did it. As for me, I cut my own hair with the clippers. And that is why I am easily recognizable around town with my University of Idaho baseball cap always firmly in place. Monthly savings: $50
Entertainment: No cable TV. It saves us alot of time, too, as we aren't tempted to plop down in front of the TV for marathon sessions of House Hunters or Kumars at No. 42. We have a subscription to Netflix at $17.99 a month, so we still enjoy TV shows and movies, only without the commercials. We don't go out to the movie theater except for a family film a few times a year. Books are from the library. Games and puzzles were mostly Christmas presents from relatives. Monthly savings: $40 to $60
Food: This is easy. We just don't eat out very much. Maybe once a week, and even then we usually go to a place where you don't have to tip. No, not fast food. One step up from that, like a fresh burrito or Chinese express type of restaurant. In fact, one of our favorites, Qdoba, has a "kids eat free" deal on Sundays. $12 for a family of four, and it's good food! As for groceries, we don't keep cookies and pop in the house... Things like that add up quickly and aren't good for your kids. A bag of baby carrots is cheap, healthy, and long-lasting. Monthly savings: $50 to $100
Home Maintenance: I do most of it myself. With the amazing resources available on the Internet, a person can figure out how to fix just about anything in your home. As for landscaping and house-cleaning, I'd love to have someone come in once a month to spruce the place up, but those services are usually wildly expensive. There's just no need to pay for that when you can do it yourself. Plus, the kids will see you working and learn to do those chores when they're older! Monthly savings: $20 to $50
Clothes: My wife will disagree, but I'm perfectly content with my two pairs of old jeans, five various t-shirts, and one classic sweatshirt. I have some dressy clothes somewhere, but in my line of work it's better to just wear the old stuff because it's a daily inevitability that something will smear itself on me (usually peanut butter, milk, or cat barf). The kids have more clothes than us, but that's because of their grandparents. Still, when I buy them stuff I head for the clearance rack at Target or Wal-Mart. Those $4 t-shirts do the job just fine. Monthly savings: $100 to $200
Newspaper and magazines: Who needs them when I'm already paying $35 a month for Internet access. Besides, I received two great magazine subscriptions (Smithsonian and Rolling Stone) as Christmas gifts this year. More than enough "office" material for me each week. Monthly savings: $5 to $20
Those are a few things that we do to make sure one of us is home and that our budget isn't stressed. No matter what your income situation, if you took a serious look at your family expenses you might just be surprised at the savings you could find if you learn to cut back and do without. You'll never miss that stuff, really! Just don't forget to buy a nice hat to cover up the funky haircut.
Permalink posted by Phil at 12:05 AM
8 Comments:
great post Phil.
This is exactly the kind of stuff I was talking about. Its some of the simple stuff that can be given up to make our choice affordable. Factor in the cost of daycare and you've got a hefty sum on an annual basis.
I could use a haircut the next time you're out this way.
Howdy, you wrote about my blog, small ages and I adore you for it. But now, I love you that much more. You are a blogger for the ages, real life stuff that we think about day to day. I'm a sucker for my magazines, and will find it hard to give them up but am seriously considering all other options. Thanks!
Let me tell you, this stuff works. My dad did all the traditionally male jobs (the yard, fixing the cars, building bookshelves, house repairs, growing food in a huge garden), and my mom did the tradtionally female jobs (cooking, cleaning, driving us around, limiting clothing purchases to items less than $25), and now my parents are sitting on bank. It probably helped that they both grew up on farms, where you do everything yourself anyway.
I will say, though, that their good habits have not necessarily rubbed off on me--I like clothes a lot more than my mom ever did, and I'm also single without kids, so practicing denial hasn't appealed very much to me. :)
We follow the same guidelines as you list here and we also do without cell phones. They just still don't seem necessary. I had a treo that was provided from work, but I no longer need it and turned it in.
We love Qdoba, so it is great to have Fuller eat free! D works hard to keep our grocery budget down, clipping coupons, following sales, etc.
For a while we followed a rule of only buying clothes for Fuller that were under $5. Now that he is bigger it is a little harder to follow that rule, but it helped keep me from buying the store when I had that rule to live by.
You are right, it isn't that hard.
We do a lot of these same things, too, Phil. And it's not like we feel we do without. Compared to so many people in the world we've got plenty. My kids always have tons of books, toys and clothes (grandparents who feel guilty because they're far away) and I hardly ever need to buy them anything except the occasional pair of shoes. I'm not a big clothes shopper- I much prefer a pair of jeans to anything, and my sister is a shop-a-holic and gives me her clothes when she's bored with them after a few weeks. In fact, I was trying to give her advice on saving money as she's been having a hard time budgeting and told her to give up her daily "mochachino" at the Dunkin' Donuts and instead buy a nice quality coffee to brew at home. That will easily save her 15 bucks a week. So many simple ways to save, even if you don't have generous relatives like mine.
That is so true, but I also think you have to really want to do it!
We do the same things. I cut my hair and Seth's. (I don't dare try my wife's, though.) By the way, use a 4 and you won't need the hat. I don't.
We get one magazine now: Consumer Reports. But the money you save by skipping crappy products is worth it.
One big difference: we buy a lot of our food from the Farmer's Market because even though it is somewhat expensive, the quality means Seth actually likes some fruit and vegetables.
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