Hellobee Boards

@runnerd: we went down to one income last year (I do work for DH's business, but it's unpaid- we take the equivalent of one salary between us). We cut back majorly on holidays, eating out and currently are not putting any money into savings.

When I became a SAHM we really needed to change things around, but it was also really an eye opener as to what we were REALLY spending our money on. We made a list of all the things we were buying (groceries, gas, candy bar at the store, take out on Friday, etc)...we were spending so much on unnecessary things. Also, by me not going to work I saved almost $200 a month on gas. I was able to cook more meals at home because we weren't both getting home late, tired, and wanting what was quick and easy, like take out. I learned to check the store ads for sales, instead of just buying whatever. I love thrift shopping too! I would start by looking at what you spend, and see what you can cut out and see what you will save by not working.

Subscribing! Im interested to see what people say

@runnerd So true! We moved back to our hometown last spring and we eat out so much less since there aren't as many places to choose from. Also, living closer to family we eat together with one of our families at least once a week so that cuts down the cost on food a bit, too (every bit counts!).

This is an interesting question. Here is my list on what I would do.

Things I would do if we lost an income
- cut back on eating out
- start clipping coupons
- start walking places
- cancel cable tv
- cancel gym membership
- start selling unused items on ebay (clean house!)
- start doing more DIY projects (like making my own cleaner, making my own baby wipes, making my own anything)
- stop buying online fire sale items that LO doesn't really need.
- spend less money on gifts

Other things to find another job if you are looking for a job
- brush up resume
- start networking heavily
- think outside the box (maybe a different career path?)

DH just took a pay cut because he wasn't happy with his job. For us just having DH take his lunch to work instead of buy it saves a lot of money. I started DIYing things around the house, like laundry detergent. We're starting a garden which should save on food. I know longer buy things that aren't NEEDS. DH cancelled his gym membership (that he never used). For gifts I buy when I see something on sale, even if it's a year before we have to give the gift. Literally.... I bought some christmas things on sale after christmas this year to give next year, it was so cheap!

@runnerd: I'm also guilty of picking up gifts just because they're on sale and I have nobody in mind to give it to. I try not to do that unless it's an amazing sale. Like I found a great swaddle blanket at Ross for $5, it's usually $25 but was on clearance. I knew someone would eventually have a baby and I'd be able to gift it, and they have no clue I only spent $5 on their gift.

Love this thread! We decided we needed to cut spending just to save more (not out of necessity!) and the first thing we did was not eat out. It is amazing how expensive that gets. I pledged to make sure we had planned meals for a month (I made weekly menus and grocery runs) so there was no excuse to go out. Basically, so we wouldn't eat out due to not having anything to make at home. We still went out if friends were in town or whatever, but it drastically cut down our expenses! Another perk is that we usually eat MUCH healthier at home too!

Are you also looking for ways to save money now?

If you know this might happen it might be a good chance to build up your emergency fund.

You can do all this advise starting now and build up a good emergency fund to transition you into less income. Just a suggestion.

There are some very money savvy people responsing here.

When we found out we werent' deducting enough from our paychecks, right after taking out 401K loans to pay for my surgery, we had to majorly cut back in order to jus tnot be in the red every month. It is way easier than you think! Here are some things we did and some things we could do in order to save even more:

-Got rid of cable, internet and phone and signed up for internet only with a different more affordable carrier. We use an HD digital antenna for TV (which is free) and through our internet connection can stream netflix or any downloaded videos/movies.
-Got rid of gym memberships. DH now signed up for one again, but it is sooo much cheaper than it used to be and he uses it every day. We would cut it out completely if we needed to.
-Cancelled all 'monthly' expenses that weren't necessary. Some of them we weren't even aware of! This included magazine subscriptions, amex travel book subscriptions (that we never signed up for) and credit monitoring services that again - we didn't even know we were paying for.
-Got smart about cooking at home. We already packed oru lunches for work, but I started also getting strategic about making more affordable meals and figuring out ways to make them last longer.
-Stopped buying clothes. This was really hard, but I had a bad habit of falling for 'deals' every time I got an email. Now other than essential work items, I rarely purchase clothing for us.
-Obviously, stop eating out unless it's free. This is such a huge expense that it really goes a long way. Now we only go out if it is for work or if our parents are treating us or a VERY special occasion.
-Switched our credit card to one with airline miles. We never pay for flights now which used to totally bust up our budget. We put everything on this card and pay it off in full every month so the points really build up.
-Take the time to get rebates, discounts, etc. on things you would have skipped over previously. This could include coupon clipping (which isn't an option in NYC) but for me I wait until things go on sale that I had to buy anyway adn always search for coupon codes before purchasing. I also negotiate price whenever possible, I've saved us over $1,000 just in the past few months by doing this.
-I signed up for Amazon Prime and buy most of our essentials for deep discounts and get free shipping. It was one big upfront cost, but Amazon carries everything and with prime the shipping is free. Most of the time the price on amazon is only about 75% of what a store in NYC charges for the item so I really save a lot by doing this
-We could also get rid of our car and not pay the parking garage fee, but right now we can afford it and having a car is a huge help since we use it at least once a week.

@runnerd: LOL, I think food expense is a major problem for everyone! I definitely know where you are coming from.

We don't have this issue since both DH and I work. But if I decide to be a SAHM, here is what we would adjust.

1. Cut LOs Gymboree lessons
2. Eat out less
3. Have DH bring lunch instead of buy
4. Eliminate dog walker and maid
5. Cut daycare
6. Do better job budgeting food and actually eat what we buy.

I think pp have given you great ideas. I would also look at why you are eating out. If it is because you are tired after a day at work hat about doing crockpot meals? There are lots of ways to trim eating out bills. Go on a specials night, split a dinner with your dh, drink specials, coupons, etc. we et out a lot s I use a variety of these o make our dollars stretch further and still eat out.

@runnerd: One way we save $$ with our eating out (which was also BAD to start with!) is to make up a line by line budget with every little thing in it, and then take our grocery and eating out money for the month out in cash. The bill pay money stays in the account for the direct debits, all savings and reserves (saving up monthly for maintenance and annual bills) go right into the savings account, and we only use our credit cards for gas purchases so we can track that clearly. Having ONLY cash for food really makes us more conscious of what we're spending and when we're about out. A few months of that and now we're doing a great job of staying within the budget.
Like a PP said, I highly recommend the Dave Ramsey course or books. They've been amazing resources!

We haven't been forced to cut back (yet) but I've always found it way easier to save on the big things than the little ones - so I could cut out ALL little luxuries (eating out, buying organic groceries, clothes, movies, whatever) OR keep all of those things but just live in an older apartment with ugly formica countertops and character-less carpet, and drive my old paid-for car. I prefer the latter - in the past it saved at least $1,500/month, which easily paid for a few indulgences and we could still save a ton, instead of having to be frugal about every little thing. Now we're in the opposite situation - living in a crazy expensive place (though not luxury, just a high cost of living area) and trying to cut back on things here and there, but we're never going to make much headway because our fixed expenses are so high.

So...I'd say find the cheapest place to live and mode of transportation, sit back and watch as the dollars pile up (even with the occasional dinner out!).

Since my husband has been trying to get a contract and hasn't had any luck for the last couple years we've been trying to cut back to build our savings to be able to pay for daycare when we eventually have a kid. The things we've done have been pretty similar to everyone else, cut back on some luxuries (eating out, going out, buying clothes, etc), starting shopping sales for presents in advance, I've even bought some baby stuff even though I'm not pregnant yet because they're necessities and were at least 70% off, we consolidated all of our credit cards onto one card using a 0% balance transfer offer and so we're starting to get all that debt paid off, I refinanced my car and consolidated it with another loan I had to lower the interest rate on each and they'll be paid off quicker, we've been meal planning monthly, and the biggest thing has been couponing. We've saved so much money couponing and are slowly building a stockpile that we've been able to "shop" out of and save having to make big trips to the grocery story (we still have to go for fresh items).

We have temporarily dropped to one income over the summer twice as I've changed jobs. While it hasn't been ideal, we've definitely survived.

- Eating out is a biggie for us too, we love it! One of the things I found too hard was cutting out date night so we made it sort of a high school date challenge. You know how back in high school you didn't have a lot of money so you had to be creative about how you would plan dates? It's fun to try and do that again. Set a price limit and take turns.
- cancel gym memberships. You have so much more time to exercise outdoors, so use it! I am definitely my fittest over summer break
- be the first to jump in with suggestions of social events with your friends. If you wait for them to suggest, then you may have to awkwardly back out of a dinner you can't afford. Get in first and suggest a potluck dinner at the park!
- if you are pregnant, milk that as an excuse all you want for not heading out. It's the one time in life that people seem to be most understanding of your limitations!