Advice for transitioning to a one-income household??

queenofhearts1728 · August 2013

Hey All,

My SO recently left his job to head back to school, which I am completely supportive of!

not only because it's going to put him into a career his loves rather than a job he hates (and let me tell you, he HATED IT haha) but also because he supported me almost completely for 3 or so years while I finished college. The little I did contribute was like 150-200 per month on a part time job I had. I feel like I owe him the next year or so while he changes his path!

He has a good amount in savings, which we are using towards school now, so we haven't really had to rely on my income until this month. Everything is paid for so far, we have had enough for food, bills, and a few extras on my salary. My main concern is that I don't feel like I'm prepared for an emergency or anything major that might come up. I don't have a huge amount of savings as I had to pull money out for car repairs a few months back. Not only that, but I am just starting out in my career, so I didn't have a 'big girl' salary until around April, meaning I've only had a few months to REALLY start saving.

Does anyone have any advice for me? Were there any major 'shocks' when you went to one-income? Any habits you had to give up/lifestyle changes you had to make? How did you budget, plan for savings/life events, etc??

Any help would be appreciated

I know it will take awhile to build the type of savings I would feel comfortable with, but I want to feel like I'm preparing properly and doing everything I can to get us on the right track for the next year or so.

brij2006 · August 2013

The best way to get started is to put together a budget. Take your bank statement from the last month, and add up what all you spent in each category. I.E. Mortgage, gas, utilities, cell phone, food, entertainment, etc. Then plug those into a spreadsheet along with your monthly income.

This will show you whether or not you will be able to continue to live your same lifestyle while your husband is going through school. If the numbers are in the red, then you will need to sacrifice things or budget accordingly in order to make ends meet each month.

When my husband was laid off for a few months, we cut eating out, limited driving with our vehicles, meal planned more, and cancelled any monthly subscriptions like Netflix, Xbox live, Sirius radio, etc. This helped us to get by much easier than if we wouldn't have cut things.

Sisugal · August 2013

Start with fixed items (car payment, rent/mortgage, utilities, insurance)

Meal plan and take advantage of sales & weekly specials. Take your lunch to work. Limit (or eliminate eating out)

gas, car maintenance and license/registration

medical co-pays and deductibles

personal care (haircuts) - skip the extras

clothing - wear what you have, buy on sale or clearance or consignment for what is NEEDED

OK - still have money?

Consider saving a bill - every month! That will help you improve the e-fund.

cell phones - talk only - at the cheapest plan

internet - only if necessary

TV - use Netflix/hulu etc - in place of cable/satellite services

set aside a SMALL amount of fun money

set aside a SMALL amount of individual personal money

set aside a small amount for gifts (Christmas/birthday/weddings) so you are prepared when they occur

DO NOT LIVE on your credit cards! Learn to live on your current income --spend less than you take home. Save first for an item - then buy.

You can buy almost everything on sale or clearance. Many items you can borrow or rent.

Can your SO get a PT job while in school?

Ducktale · August 2013

Sisugal gave some great tips. Planning is going to be your best friend. Budgeting for sure, limiting spending to needs, and planning for the extras (car repairs are inevitable; plan for them instead of hoping they don't happen). Under almost no circumstances take on credit card debt. IMO, if an emergency does happen, it would be better for YH to take a semester off and work than start getting into cc debt.

Wulfgar · August 2013

When you are down to one income you really need to create a solid budget and stick to it. My parents did this when I was younger and they would budget it down to the penny. Since this will only be for a year or so I would limit your "extras" until your SO gets through school and has a new job.

queenofhearts1728 · August 2013

Thanks guys!! Those are some great tips.

We've had a few things cut out of our lifestyles for awhile just because we didn't utilize them (like cable tv), so right now, it doesn't feel like much of a change outside of giving up our fun money/eating out. Because we always had extra money left over on two incomes, we never had an issue getting something if we wanted it. Now we'll have to reign ourselves in and plan for those sorts of expenses.

I'm definitely going to start tracking our spending to make sure everything is going where it NEEDS to go. I'd really like to get ahead of all of our bills by a month, if possible, so we have a cushion to still pay on time in case we need to spend for an emergency. And start setting the extras aside

His schooling will truly only take about a few months as it's more of a technical school/short program, but I'm planning for a year just in case it takes awhile to get on his feet afterwards. He is going into business with our landlord, and will be doing some training courses that are fairly quick to get through, they are just a full time job in themselves (8-5 every day for a few weeks at a time). I'm really excited for him, though. Thanks again!!

:):)

Advice for transitioning to a one-income household??

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