Times are hard for many families right now. We are a one income family and things were tight before the gas prices soared. I wanted to share some ideas with my readers on how to survive on a one-income budget. I'm no expert, but here are some things we have done.
Healthcare:
My kids are on Medicaid. I'm not one that likes to "live off of the government," but I have a deaf and dwarf child and two accident-prone children. I need insurance. My kids haven't been sick in years since we eat natural and use natural remedies.
I would like to add a humorous story. I had reapplied for Medicaid and had a one-month break. Now I've never had to take my kids to the doc or ER for injuries - Praise God! - but I was waiting for the day. Now during this one-month break of insurance, my son managed to get a toothpick jammed into the palm of his hand. $160 later the 1/2 inch of toothpick had been removed and we were home. Oh well!
My husband and I don't have coverage. We paid our midwife cash for the delivery of our newest member. So for us, I just joined a group called United Project. It is free and you can either buy memberships to discount programs or participate in contests and/or invite others to join to earn memberships. Please check it out by clicking on the link and I will get credit if you join. It's FREE! I will let you know that I will be getting Vision benefits for anyone I refer. I need an eye exam badly!
Food:
This is a huge expense. I prefer to buy in bulk. Yes I know it is not always cheaper, but it means less trips to the store. I see that as cheaper since I drive a diesel ($$$$) and I'm not at the store picking up unnecessary items.
And of course I make almost everything from scratch. For cooking tips, recipes, etc. you can visit Cooking for Health and Fun.
And an obvious one is limit dining out! This is so hard to do because it requires advance planning. We carry an ice chest around in the back of our truck for drinks and snacks. This reduces runs to the restaurants and convience stores.
Gasoline:
Obviously - drive less. Combine trips, reduce trips to the store, carpool, stay home more, etc.
Drive slower. We discovered that if we drove 60 mph instead of 70 mph we gained two miles per gallon.
Utilities:
Do the best you can to reduce electricity usage. Turn off lights, keep curtains/blinds pulled during the day, use fans, turn off/down A/C when not home, etc. If you can afford it, install new appliances. We can't afford it and most of you probably can't. But if you can - go for it! You can also turn down your water heater and cover it with a water heater blanket.
Cancel cable! I know some of us can get addicted to the television, but you CAN live without it! It is a wonderful thing when you can sit around your living room instead of every piece of furniture facing the box! We get our news via talk radio and internet. And when we can't afford internet, my husband pays $5/month to get news and weather on his phone. I'm not going to get into the effects of television on our familes, but you can visit Media Talk 101 for more info.
We need phones. We don't have a land line, just cell phones. But that can get expensive. We move a lot, so cell phones are a necessary part of our lives. Our phone number never changes! We just have the smallest family plan available with our service provider, which is shared between three phones. Our deaf daughter has her own phone so that she can text message.
Children:
We are trying out cloth diapers. I haven't done the math, but what it cost to buy 1 weeks worth of newborn diapers, I can buy one cloth diaper. And if you do prefolds it is even more cost effective. So after 2 months I could have enough cloth diapers to cycle daily. Then I can use them on the next child. I am liking cloth and the savings.
Thrift stores are a wonderfule thing! It is cheaper for me to buy used clothes for my children than for me to sew them! I do like to sew and have sewn an outfit or two for them, but why spend the time when it doesn't really save me money?? We even bought all three of my older children bike helmets at a thrift store for $1.50 each!
Breastfeed your baby!
Household:
We are using cloth napkins now. Not only does paper towels fill up the trash can, but my kids think they need them for everything!
As far as laundry goes - I line dry and make my own laundry soap. Running a dryer is expensive and I only use it when it is raining or for fluffing. My 8 year old son makes my laundry soap for me. It's that easy. If I get enough interested I will post our recipe. (This means I need people to comment on here - hint hint hint.)
Homeschool:
Used book fairs are wonderful. But for a book addict like me, they don't really save me money. Half.com is also good, but watch the shipping charges. Pick one thing and stick with it! This saves me money because it gives me a guideline. Otherwise I just buy everything that looks interesting!
I love August! All the back-to-school sales are happening. Last year I bought a bunch of Elmer's glue for $0.09 ea. This year I found spiral notebooks for $0.05! This is a great deal if you pass up all the other merchandise. I get crayons for $0.25 every year. I just buy a whole bunch so that I have enough all year.
I have to mention Rainbow Resource here. Best discount homeschool catalog. They even carry school and office supplies at cheaper or equal cost as Wal-Mart. And shipping is always free on orders over $150.
Well that was just a sampling of ideas. I hope you gained some insight.
7 comments:
Hi Felicia,
I find it cool that you use eat natural and use natural remedies, and, because of that, your kids have not been sick for years.
Looking around us, the opposite is true -- kids who take western medicine just seem to get weaker and sicker! No surprise at all...
Do you have any difficulties getting your kids to adhere to such a junkless diet? All the rubbish foods available today do worry me.
We live cheap with one income, too! I can share you with some tips of how we save money.
Cleaning Products:
I buy a large container of vinegar and dilute it with water in a spray bottle for my daily cleanings. You can clean the kitchen counter, toilet seat, wash the windows and mop the floor with vinegar. It works just great! It cost me only $2.50 a year!
Use Borax for toilet bowl, bathtub, sinks, and other tough stains around your house. It is inexpensive at Target for about $3.00. It usually last 6 to 12 months for me!
For laundry and dishwasher, I use half of the recommended amount of detergent so the soap would last longer. Our dishes and clothes came out clean anyway! The detergents usually last for three to four months which is fine with me.
The only cleaning products I have under the kitchen sink are vinegar, laundry and dishwasher detergents, and borax. That's it...maybe a few other things! They are all purpose cleaners! (Instead of buying many individual cleaning products such as Windex for windows, Clorox for tiolet bowl and bathtub, floor cleaner, etc).
You can use rubbing alcohol to remove a stubborn "sticky" on your mirror or glass. Alcohol also kill germs when applying on your kids' cut. Inexpensive to buy, too.
We do not have a car. Well, yes, we have a broken car that is stuck in Idaho. We live very close to the grocery store, so we walk over there once a week to shop. We have a very good bus transportation system in Austin, TX which is very useful for us. No worries about car insurance, car repairs, car inspection, car registration, tire and oil changes, and the list goes on and on!
We buy less meat now and eat more vegetables, fruits, beans, and some fish. We go out to eat once a year!
Yes, we go to thrift store, too! I usually go to Salvation Army on Wednesdays since they have their Half off on everything!
We are sort of sinking with our hospital bills and other debts, so we have to live cheap to get those debts paid off.
Hope those tips help you to find more ways to save money!
"Do you have any difficulties getting your kids to adhere to such a junkless diet? All the rubbish foods available today do worry me."
Well all my kids have known is "health food." But I am always trying new things. They have to at least try it. If the majority like the new food/recipe then we keep it. Otherwise we throw it out and try something else. They do want to eat the junk they see other kids eating. And they have tried it from time to time. My oldest doesn't like sweet stuff. She will turn it down or give it back. Her taste buds are just trained differently. I have the most trouble with my son. Which is ironic because he is the one that has the most reactions to food coloring and artificial flavorings. But he will ask if it is natural most of the time before eating anything questionable. He even had his gramee read him the ingredient list and he told her he couldn't have that because it listed corn syrup! But my son understands the consequences of eating that stuff, so he is pretty good about not. But he does slip from time to time. Hey he's a kid!
Thanks verytinyladybug for your tips.
I wanted to add that we use baking soda to clean the stove and bathroom sink and bathtub. Sometimes we will add 2-3 drops of orange essential oil to the baking soda. This makes a great cleaner!
I feel your pain. We are not a one income family but long to be. Other suggestions are to pack lunches for work. We have been buying large cans of tuna or chicken and making salad sandwiches out of them for lunches. Also, we eat oatmeal or homemade oatmeal pancakes ALOT for breakfasts... way cheaper than most breakfast foods.
We also only drink water. We keep milk in the house but really only use it in cooking. Milk is more than gasoline around here and not even really good for you.
We also have a once a week 'left over' night. That way no food is wasted.
And although we eat meat with most every meal, we use less meat and add beans or lentils. We usually have a pasta, potato, or brown rice with each meal as well. Great fillers (very important with a teenage son who eats more than the rest of the family combined)
Oh and one more thing... we try to use the oven all at once. If we are making a casserole in the oven, I try to make rolls, muffins, or the like while the oven is hot. If there is room to make them both at the same time, then I do. Otherwise, it is one after another.
And once a month cooking saves time and money. Time with cooking every day. Money with less dishes, less convenience foods and eating out, and you can buy in bulk without things spoiling.
There is my two cents.
I am praying for you my friend. Gas is killing us too. Especially when you live in the middle of nowhere where we wish you were still living.... our middle of nowhere. :o)
I'm loving all the great ideas! Thanks.
Hubby packs a lunch and we pack along snacks everywhere we go. That does save a lot.
I dream of the days that I can do bulk cooking! I'm working on having enough freezer space, but I don't get uninterupted time in the kitchen. Not my season!
Howdy im fresh on here, I stumbled upon this forum I find It vastly accessible & it's helped me out a lot. I should be able to give something back and guide other users like its helped me.
Thank You, See You Around
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