https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Wed, 15 Apr 2026 05:05:17 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-the-best-tips-for-living-on-one-income#post-2712838 Mon, 20 Mar 2017 09:23:35 +0000 snowjewelz 2712838@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't get maternity leave paid either. When we found out we were expecting DD2, I started saving right away (I used YNAB). Wasn't much but at least it was something. I also tried to buy most of the household/baby stuff I needed in order to have the least amount of expenses possible while on one paycheck. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-the-best-tips-for-living-on-one-income#post-2712803 Mon, 20 Mar 2017 08:38:08 +0000 T.H.O.U. 2712803@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would come up with a plan right now. You have about six months. Maybe spend the next 3 months stocking up, pre-purchasing etc. After that try to spend the last 3 months in a trial living on one income. Or even one income plus half of your income (and save the other half). That way when it comes time for your leave you aren't going through a drastic cut. </p> <p>The biggest key here would be to have a plan. Set out a list of everything you need to buy for the baby (what does that cost), are there any projects that need to be done before baby, how much will it cost to stock up on some other things. And most importantly, what are areas that you can cut back on looking at your current spending. If eating out costs a lot of money, and you wont be able to do that, plan ahead with freezer meals. Or maybe buy restaurant gift cards ahead of time (a lot of places offer buy $50 get $10 free or something). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-the-best-tips-for-living-on-one-income#post-2712792 Mon, 20 Mar 2017 08:19:19 +0000 looch 2712792@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I thought of something else, is it possible to prepay anything so that you can take advantage of a discount? Like if you're paying tuition, could you pay the year up front for 10% off, or something like that?</p> <p>If you're a spender, like me, remove all your credit card information from saved sites. Sign up for alerts so that you are informed if someone spends over a certain dollar amount, it might also help to alert you to impulse spending. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-the-best-tips-for-living-on-one-income#post-2712750 Mon, 20 Mar 2017 06:44:56 +0000 SweetiePie 2712750@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Could you do a practice month or two now? It will be less stressful because you know you have your income as backup. Make the budget ahead of time like some of the other Bees said and see what happens if you put your paycheck into savings. Maybe you'll find that it's really hard/impossible but you'll have lots of time to figure something out (sell some stuff, someone gets an extra job to put into savings, etc).<br /> Or maybe you'll see that it's not that bad and you can start living on 1.5 income now so that when your unpaid leave comes you have .5 your income saved and you can continue on 1.5 during those months. Does that make sense?<br /> (I've never actually done this but trying to think creatively).<br /> Also, @gingerbebe: is the queen of this stuff. Take her advice as gospel. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-the-best-tips-for-living-on-one-income#post-2712728 Sun, 19 Mar 2017 23:12:44 +0000 birdofafeather 2712728@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Since you do YNAB, make a category for the expenses you'll have during the 1 income time: medical bills, tuition, etc and figure how how much you need to save by September to cover it fully. Knowing you will have that gap then and having a tangible goal of what you have to save will make it easier to shave off from your budget now. If you're using YNAB, then you're 10 steps ahead! 🙌🏼</p> <p>Also, plan for making the outback work for a least 6 months post baby, longer if you can! You know we have outback love. I have 2 cleks and could totally make another work! Dionos, etc for a lower price point! Look for sales now because 3 car seats are cheaper than a big new (or even new to you) car! 🚗 </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-the-best-tips-for-living-on-one-income#post-2712699 Sun, 19 Mar 2017 19:37:16 +0000 matador84 2712699@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@petitenoisette: husband carries our insurance </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-the-best-tips-for-living-on-one-income#post-2712687 Sun, 19 Mar 2017 18:57:59 +0000 petitenoisette 2712687@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>This is what we did for my first maternity leave. It was partially paid but last six weeks weren't. I cut everything humanly possible from our budget and figured out what the shortfall would be on my DH's paycheck alone. We then saved that amount of money during my pregnancy. This was obviously easier for us bc we were kid free at the time. Some things we cut were going out to eat, didn't need our dog walker, less money spent on gas. We're about to TTC number two and I'm formulating the same plan for this time and it will be workable since we will either take LO Out of daycare or reduce to two days a week. </p> <p>Is your health insurance covered by you or your husband? That's a potential additional expense. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-the-best-tips-for-living-on-one-income#post-2712683 Sun, 19 Mar 2017 18:45:48 +0000 Bao 2712683@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@gingerbebe: I just love all of your responses, again, great tips!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-the-best-tips-for-living-on-one-income#post-2712610 Sun, 19 Mar 2017 12:42:18 +0000 gingerbebe 2712610@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>For freezer meals, I personally found individually portioned fully cooked meals to be easier to deal with postpartum. We bought black plastic takeout containers from Amazon and basically just a little more of what we cooked for dinner the last 2-3 months of my pregnancies - like enough for 2-4 extra servings of the meat and starch. I would put the meat, the starch, and a scoop of frozen veggies in the container, label it with masking tape, and throw in the freezer. Doing this enabled me to have like 100 individual meals or more in our freezer and I didn't have to worry about cooking for a while. We'd just pick out a few entrees every few days and throw them in the fridge or counter to thaw and nuke them. Rice based meals freeze very well.</p> <p>Same with meat sauce, taco meat, pulled pork, stew, soup, chili - make double and freeze the extra flat in gallon freezer bags. </p> <p>You can make PBJs or plain meat and cheese sammies ahead of time assembly line style and freeze them. You can throw them in for lunches and they thaw by lunch. Or you can eat them for quick meals.</p> <p>You can freeze hot sandwiches - just assembly line hoagie rolls with whatever meat and cheese you like, wrap in foil, and then bake them in the oven until hot and bubbly. You can make ham and cheese, chicken and bacon, pepperoni and cheese (and dip in marinara!)</p> <p>When you set aside money for savings each month, put a name to it. Like "this is October's power bill" or "this is October's gas." That way you feel like you're checking off things as you go.</p> <p>At Easter there will be a glut of cheap hams, so grab one for Christmas. Fourth of July is when you would stock up on condiments and hot dogs or sausages and burger patties. </p> <p>The dollar store has surprising good toiletries and school supplies for cheap. Hair ties and bows, puzzles and coloring books, OTC meds like generic mucinex and DayQuil, Neti pots, Colgate or Crest toothpastes including the kid kind, toothbrushes, floss, hand sanitizer, cough drops, bandaids, BATTERIES, LIGHT BULBS, greeting/birthday cards, gift wrap, tissue paper and bags, I get it all at my Dollar Tree. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-the-best-tips-for-living-on-one-income#post-2712595 Sun, 19 Mar 2017 11:29:01 +0000 matador84 2712595@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thanks ladies I knew you all would have good tips.</p> <p>Fortunately we have both our cars paid off so hopefully we won't worry about a car payment. Since it will be our 3rd child, we're looking at a bigger vehicle, which I might be able to delay until I'm back at work and receiving a check again.</p> <p>We do buy our meat in bulk from a meat lab and store in our garage chest freezer but I can do a better job about stocking up on tp, detergent, all the things that @gingerbebe: mentioned would be smart.</p> <p>@looch: Not much to sell now, I do usually have a garage sale in the summer to get rid of stuff (mainly kids toys) and last summer got rid of so much stuff. But, we are TG with this 3rd baby and since I already have a B/G, I will probably sell the old clothing of what we don't have when I'm on maternity leave. </p> <p>@Bao: Yes, DH gets a pretty sizable bonus check in July/August and we usually tuck it away into savings. It will be nice to have but I'm praying we also don't have to touch it because we are financially prepared! </p> <p>@Eko: We did switch insurance and bundled our car and homeowners last year and also have had our cable cut for two years. Best savings ever. This reminds me though when DH's contract ends with Verizon this summer we need to look at bundling our cell phones! </p> <p>I feel like I'm so much better at meal planning when I'm not working than when I am working--so I am looking forward to that as well! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-the-best-tips-for-living-on-one-income#post-2712575 Sun, 19 Mar 2017 10:21:28 +0000 youboots 2712575@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Meal planning.</p> <p>Since your situation is temporary see if you can skip a month of car payments if you have them. Mine lets us 1x in a calendar year- which I utilized when I had a 4K repair bill. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-the-best-tips-for-living-on-one-income#post-2712565 Sun, 19 Mar 2017 09:38:21 +0000 Eko 2712565@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I agree with @gingerbebe. I would look into stockpiling what you can now. I did that with my first and it was a lifesaver. I would have bought a small freezer too if my apartment could afford the space. I did meal preps, stocked up on household items, stock piled diapers, etc.<br /> I would also take a look at your bills, fixed vs. flexible, and cut down on that stuff. I consider mortgage, utilities, car payments, daycare all fixed. You can shop around insurance policies, cut cable, etc. See if that reduces your monthly cost. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-the-best-tips-for-living-on-one-income#post-2712538 Sun, 19 Mar 2017 07:21:55 +0000 Bao 2712538@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@gingerbebe: GREAT tips!</p> <p>Budget is key, not eating out saves a ton. Sell things and stash away that cash. I just sold some really small kid items this week and made $80, not a lot but it adds up. </p> <p>It was already mentioned but buying in bulk is so worth it. Trash bags/dishwasher detergent/toilet paper last us a long time when we buy in bulk. Also mentioned was the deep freezer, ours was only $150 and it's been a life saver. I can stock up on sale items, or freeze meals I've doubled/tripled. </p> <p>DH gets an "extra" paycheck in June since there are 3 paydays in that month, is that something you could count on? Tuck that paycheck away? </p> <p>Good luck! It's hard but you can do it! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-the-best-tips-for-living-on-one-income#post-2712533 Sun, 19 Mar 2017 07:15:28 +0000 looch 2712533@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Can you sell anything? Or can you defer any payments you make to yourself, like savings? </p> <p>Another idea is to get a side job, but I realize this isn't always possible (my employer is really strict on this, it would have to be disclosed and I am not sure it's worth the hassle), but for some it might be an option. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-the-best-tips-for-living-on-one-income#post-2712521 Sun, 19 Mar 2017 02:55:57 +0000 gingerbebe 2712521@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>While you have two incomes stock up on the toiletries and diapers and what not. Paper towels, toilet paper, shampoo, diaper cream, dishwasher soap, detergent, etc. It won't cost much more to collect that stuff ahead of time.</p> <p>Put money away now for the holidays or start buying gifts and stashing them now since you're up against the holidays for your leave. </p> <p>Cancel or downgrade your cable.</p> <p>You're in a shoulder season for kids clothes - try to see if you can sell off a bunch of clothes at a kids sale like Just Between Friends now and get the back to school and fall/winter clothes squared away in the summer before leave.</p> <p>Get a chest freezer and stock it with meals and food you find on sale (like meat and frozen veg and convenience foods like burritos or frozen waffles). Again if you add a few items on sale every week it won't cost too much extra and you can just buy fresh things on leave.</p> <p>Stock up on vitamins or supplements or OTC meds before leave so you don't need to buy them during.</p> <p>Get Halloween costumes early. Goodwill always has a good selection in September. But skip on passing out candy.</p> <p>Have a spare change jar and have everyone put their coins in it for a special night out (dinner) after the baby is born that will motivate your kids to pick up pennies for. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-the-best-tips-for-living-on-one-income#post-2712512 Sat, 18 Mar 2017 22:45:11 +0000 matador84 2712512@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Pen: can't reduce, they are at a private school. I might be able to get them out of extended day for two months though and that would save some money. @Boopers: I wish!!!!! I looked into it with my second child but no luck. @Banana330: they go to a private parochial school so it's a little different than daycare. But, I do want them to stay in school to keep the routine and my oldest is in a prek/kinder class anyhow so he wouldn't miss anyway.<br /> @2littlepumpkins: trying to plan now!</p> <p>I will add, we do use ynab religiously!!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-the-best-tips-for-living-on-one-income#post-2712507 Sat, 18 Mar 2017 22:16:47 +0000 2littlepumpkins 2712507@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It's difficult to say not knowing the specifics and because it's short term so it's not like you want to redo your whole budget. We have mostly always been on my husband's income (because even working ft I made 1/3 his pay and now I work pt.) Things we have done to save include not eating out, pinching pennies even with regard to not making more laundry and remembering to shut off the ac as much as possible and make less laundry and run the dishwasher efficiently, and no browsing Target/Amazon/shopping for fun. It gets to be a habit but it was tough to start. Really just monitoring better what we were spending helped us cut down after I stopped working ft last year (and I had mostly worked after having lo2, so we had a second kid eating real food, needing diapers, etc. and weren't used to not having the same level of disposable income..) You have a decent amount of time to save, so it'll probably work out ok if you start now! :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-the-best-tips-for-living-on-one-income#post-2712505 Sat, 18 Mar 2017 21:45:30 +0000 Kemma 2712505@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Our biggest money saver is to stop buying takeaways and eating out. Our weekly grocery bill usually tops out at $150 but we can easily spend up to $100 on extra food each week.</p> <p>My other money saving tip is to avoid going near the shops or the mall, most of the stuff I buy is on impulse and completely unnecessary so if I don't go to the shops I'm not tempted!</p> <p>My last bit of advice is to work out what our essential expenses are (mortgage, insurances, utilities and food etc) so I know what our basic cost of living is. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-the-best-tips-for-living-on-one-income#post-2712498 Sat, 18 Mar 2017 21:20:49 +0000 bhbee 2712498@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>we've been living off one income since we got married and my husband was laid off for a year plus. we lived on my income, then when he eventually went back to work we stayed on that budget and saved the extra. that helped us with leave, my eventual transition to part-time and then SAH. </p> <p>anyway, figure out the one income take home (use an old paystub or paycheckcity's online calculator) and work backward on the budget. I did mine custom to what we use but there are many programs out there too. fill in all the must-pays like bills, mortgage, car payments, anything. then see what's left and divide it up among necessities (gas, medical, groceries, etc) and fun money (eating out, clothes, etc). I assume you won't try to save anything those months. you can look at old credit card or bank statements to get an idea of what you've been spending if you aren't tracking it now and see how much you'll have to cut. especially when starting on a new budget, I like to track against it at least weekly to see how on track we are.</p> <p>I also like to try to write out the big expenditures for the year (or maybe in your case two months) and see how I want to cover them - like hospital bills for the birth, for example. no surprises is the least stressful way to live on less money! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-the-best-tips-for-living-on-one-income#post-2712497 Sat, 18 Mar 2017 21:17:53 +0000 Banana330 2712497@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>can you sublet your daycare spots (assuming someone is looking for short term interim care)... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-the-best-tips-for-living-on-one-income#post-2712495 Sat, 18 Mar 2017 21:04:59 +0000 Boopers 2712495@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@matador84: does your district offer any sort of short term disability coverage to help cover any of your time off? </p> <p>Other than that I would stash away any extra penny possible until you have the baby. I'm assuming you've already planned to save the money you won't need to spend for childcare during the summer. Is there anything else you can do? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-the-best-tips-for-living-on-one-income#post-2712493 Sat, 18 Mar 2017 21:00:23 +0000 bookwormmama 2712493@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>This isn't always possible, but with my first leave I got no paychecks (two different part time jobs) so we saved the paychecks from one job for a couple months. One of my paychecks wasn't very big (only 3-4 shifts a week) so we often didn't need them for bills. We saved all of my paychecks from the lesser paying job for several months. Those paychecks almost covered my loss of pay for my 8 week maternity leave. If we had planned ahead a little better I could have covered all of it, but the idea didn't come to me until I was 3 months out. It was hard though. Not getting any pay really sucked!</p> <p>ETA: we also tried to stock up on cheap pantry or freezable items when there were sales at stores and I was getting all of my pay. Having a lot of simple pantry foods (beans, pasta, rice) helped keep our grocery bills down. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-the-best-tips-for-living-on-one-income#post-2712492 Sat, 18 Mar 2017 20:52:57 +0000 brownepiano 2712492@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>For us comes down to budgeting. If we didn't stick to our budget we would not be able to live on one income because it is too easy to overspend. </p> <p> We use goodbudget, but there are several options out there. I like the zero-sum, or envelope method. And there is a big difference between keeping track of how much you spend and actually budgeting. </p> <p>I had an injury that put me out of work 3 months before my unpaid maternity leave and it was tight but we managed because of our budget. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-the-best-tips-for-living-on-one-income#post-2712489 Sat, 18 Mar 2017 20:40:23 +0000 Mrs. Pen 2712489@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Could you reduce daycare hours? Our lady is allowing us to cut down from five days to two days while I'm on maternity leave, and then will take both boys once I return to work. </p> <p>I'm on reduced income while on leave, so I just did my best to scrimp and save so I have a small amount of savings that should get us through my maternity leave. </p> <p>Good luck! It's not easy 😬 </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-the-best-tips-for-living-on-one-income#post-2712487 Sat, 18 Mar 2017 20:24:16 +0000 matador84 2712487@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>When I go on maternity leave in October and November, I won't receive a paycheck. We are trying to plan now to prepare, but we will have 2 kids in childcare (it's a 10 month contract so I can't pull them out while I'm on maternity leave) and a mortgage so I am kind of freaking out (among other things, ha ha). </p>