one income?

[cameorose]

Can you really make it on one income? And live comfortably, I don't mean like royalty, but with what you need not with what you want. My husband want's me to quit. I just found out I have A-fib. Although the Doctor says I'm fine just have to take medication. He's say's it will save money in the long run. I don't make that much any way. My job is seasonal. What do you all think?

[creditcardfree]

I have been a stay at home mom since 2002, initially my husband worked a full time job, and 2 part time jobs so I could stay home with our babies. He know has one full time job (military) and we have done very well. We save for retirement and college and don't have any debt other than our mortgage.

I suggest you save ALL your income until you quit, whether that is in 2 weeks or 6 months from now. It will give you an idea of what living only on your husbands income. There are things you can accomplish at home while he is working that lends itself to more time together while he is off work. That has been our experience anyway!

[MonkeyMama]

We have never relied on second income (just saved it when we had it).

Of course, it depends on your situation. Things I notice: we spend less when not working, we pay a LOT less taxes. & I can make more money at my job with spouse supporting me and taking care of all the domestic stuff. I think people tend to look at the "one income" thing as very linear. Like, they are trying to wrap their brain around how we live on "half as much income". When maybe really it's like "10% less" once you factor taxes and other cost savings.

Your mileage may vary.

I'd figure out exactly how much you are taking home after taxes, commute, working expenses, etc. & see if you can make up in other ways. Maybe you can do something more relaxing or less time consuming, from home, to make up the difference.

[cameorose]

thanks

thanks for your feed back. Our home is paid for so is our cars. their old but run good. we have no credit cards my husband hates them. but the cost of living is so high. lights,phone,heating,air,insurance,cars&home. we take medications, even with health insurance its still quite a bit. plus the saying goes"its always something" I think we can do it, but its scary!

[feh]

Can you really make it on one income? And live comfortably, I don't mean like royalty, but with what you need not with what you want.

Obviously, it depends on the one income and your expenses. Only you can answer this question.

We've been a single income family for most of the last 15 years, without problem.

[disneysteve]

Obviously, it depends on the one income and your expenses. Only you can answer this question.

We've been a single income family for most of the last 15 years, without problem.

Agreed. We've been married for 21 years. For more than half of that time, we've been a one-income family. When DW was working at her last job, it was PT and 50% of her gross went into her 401k, so even then we were essentially still operating on one income.

Most people can be one income if they choose to. The problem is most people want a lifestyle that they can't afford on one income.

[scfr]

Our home is paid for so is our cars. their old but run good.

If you stop working, could you get by with only 1 car? When I was growing up my parents always had only 1 car. Once a week my mom would drive my dad to & from work (or he would take the bus) so that she could go grocery shopping. My husband works from home so periodically over the course of our marriage we have chosen to have only 1 car. i'd say we've been 1 car about 15% of our marriage. The years we were with only 1 car on work days my husband would walk to do errands, and on days when he really wanted/needed to use the car he would drive me to & from work.

For some it may seem like a radical suggestion (the thought of not being able to just grab the car keys and go any time they choose is almost unthinkable), and it truly is convenient to have 2 cars, but in many cases having only 1 car really is doable and a 2nd car probably is more of a want than a need when one person does not work.

This is a way you may be able to cut back your expenses by quite a bit. I know the cars are paid for but you do have to insure and maintain them. If you think it's not worth it to sell one, at least think long and hard before buying a replacement vehicle when one dies.

[Petunia 100]

Can you really make it on one income? And live comfortably, I don't mean like royalty, but with what you need not with what you want. My husband want's me to quit. I just found out I have A-fib. Although the Doctor says I'm fine just have to take medication. He's say's it will save money in the long run. I don't make that much any way. My job is seasonal. What do you all think?

Of course you can. It's a good thing too, or we single parents would be in trouble.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

SAHM here and yes since 2010. We have been single income going on 4 years. I can honestly say that I've been crunching numbers more and more, and honestly I'm not even sure it's worth it for me to go back to work. Even without the high cost of daycare, pretty much my income would be eaten up by housing, my DH would spend it on a more expensive place and savings.

The problem I see with dual incomes is you get used to a certain lifestyle and have to have to. You pay for a lot of convenience stuff that you don't with one income. You pay a premium for everything from grocery shopping, daycare, clothes, house cleaning, etc. Everything you pay for 100% and rarely shop deals because time is too valuable since both people work. Vacation are usually more because it's a special treat.

By staying at home we can vacation when DH wants and it suits us. We buy stuff on sale and I try to shop during the week with the kids so weekends are to hang out family time. I'm not saying it always happens that way but I try. Seriously a lot of people never consider what they are really buying with the second income.

[cameorose]

one income

thanks for all the input, We have decided that we can make this happen. So I am going to turn in my notice tomorrow. No use in waiting any longer. We have never tried keeping up with the"jone's" I think we will be just fine! thanks all!

[MonkeyMama]

Good luck cameorose!

[snafu]

What is your preference? Would you feel more confident running the numbers using the traditional 50/30/20 formula... 50% Needs, 30% Want, 20% Savings/retirement. Expenses related to work like transportation, parking, clothes will be eliminated and it has potential to reduce grocery costs and small slippage. You could reduce your car insurance rate since it would no longer be driven to work. You could also reduce the deductible if the car is older.

Would you feel more comfortable taking awhile to think about it with a plan to continue to the end of March for example?

[cameorose]

one income

We have taken all that into consideration. Plus less money puts us into a lower bracket on tax's. I drive the car cheapest on gas. So he will drive it now( he drives further ) That is a big savings. If I need to go anywhere I'll drive his, we live close to town. My needs are few, and I could never afford my want's anyway. I think maybe I had a mind set of "I have to work or else" It has been ingrained that a woman has to work these day's. I guess that was my problem, after sharping my pencil and pushing it around, I can do this and maybe even live better and save more. Thanks All

[creditcardfree]

It sounds like you know exactly what you are getting into and how to make any necessary sacrifices! You will be fine.

[LiquidMercury]

Absolutely doable. Before you got married you were doing it on your own most likely. I'm not married, have no roommates and just bought my first house. Manage expenses, find new income streams, and constantly be looking to improve your situation.