SURVIVING ON ONE INCOME IN A TWO INCOME SOCIETY
With the rise in unemployment hitting all time highs, it’s affecting a lot of families in a negative way. Companies have gone on hiring freezes and raises/bonuses are becoming few and far between. Budget cuts are taking affect and families are finding themselves going from two incomes to one, or one income to none. A loss of income is stressful on anyone, but there are ways that you can stretch the money that you have to carry your family further by making changes in your everyday life, spending habits and by cutting back on the extras.
TIP 01. File For Unemployment
If you or your spouse were recently laid off of work file for your unemployment as soon as possible. Do not hesitate to do this thinking you will get another job very soon. This is not always the case and I have seen people who have been unemployed for a year or more. Although the amount of unemployment that you will receive isn’t the exact amount of income you were bringing in when you were employed, some income coming in is always better than none.
Further Tip: Depending on how much your household income is after the unemployment takes place, you may qualify for other government assistance such as food stamps, WIC or Medicaid for your children. Contact your local agency and find out the eligibility requirements for each of these programs.
TIP 02. Learn How To Coupon & Apply It
Buying groceries is one of the “biggest budget busters” that a family has. It is also the easiest area to curve your spending costs. A family of six can easily eat on $350 a month, that’s $75 a week, if you plan your shopping trips and learn how to use coupons effectively.
My philosophy is “throwing away a coupon is like throwing away money.” A $.35 coupon may not seem like a lot at first, but when used at a grocery store that doubles or triples the value of a coupon, plus combined with a sale, and you can use that $.35 coupon to get an item for cheap or even free.
Wisely plan your shopping trips and implement coupons to start saving your family money automatically.
TIP 03. Eliminate The “Extras”
A lot of families acquire a lot of “extra” bills when their income can afford it. If you find yourself suddenly without the income that you use to have, then you can start preserving your money by cutting back, or eliminating, the extras.
I. House phone: Cut back on all of the extras that come with a house phone. Get rid of call waiting, caller ID and any other bells and whistles that you may have until you are down to just a basic line.
Further Tip: Switch to Skype. For less than $10 a month you can get VOIP services which are just as good as regular landline services.
II. Cable/Satellite: Cut everything back until you are left with the bare minimum. For just $10-$13 a month you can get the base channels on your televisions (which can be anywhere from 8-13 channels).
Further Tip: If you do not want to miss your “must see” television shows, try watching them online. (Check out this article “13 Best Places to Watch TV Online for Free.”) Also, take advantage of free rentals at RedBox whenever you need your movie fix.
TIP 04. Create, Or Fine Tune, Your Budget
Now is the time to write down everything that you spend. For one week, keep track of every penny that comes out of your pocket. Whether you swipe your debit or credit card, write a check or pay cash, keep track of your spending habits for one week. (The $1 that you put in the vending machine counts as well.)
Start on a Monday and track your spending all the way until Sunday. On Sunday sit down with a pen and a highlighter and highlight all of the extras that you have spent money on that week. Any luxuries that you have purchased and anything else not deemed a necessity should be marked.
Are you shocked at the amount of unnecessary money that you have spent that week?
Once you have done this you need to create a budget. Set aside all of the money that you need to pay your bills. Come up with a total and divide this by however many times you get paid in a month. This number is what you must save out of each paycheck each month to pay all of your most important bills. Whatever is left over you can then allocate it to other things. Make sure you have all of the necessities covered before you purchase any extras.
TIP 05. Start Preparing Your Meals With Cheaper Ingredients
No matter how big, or small, your family is I can guarantee that a nice sized portion of your budget goes to buying food. (As covered in Tip 2.) You can further curve your grocery expenses by preparing meals for your household with cheaper ingredients.
I. Go vegetarian. For 3-4 days out of the week go meatless. Do not prepare any of your main meals, such as lunch or dinner, with meat. Experiment with casseroles and soups, which can be just as filling as meat.
II. Prepare items from scratch. Stop buying pre-packaged foods. If your family eats a lot of bread, learn how to make it homemade. For the price of one loaf of bread you can buy the ingredients to make 5-10 loaves. You can also experiment with different ingredients to come up with different flavors of bread. (Like homemade Cherry Almond Bread.) STOP buying microwaveable dinners.
III. Buy meat on sale and stock up. Whenever you can catch meat on sale, stock up. Separate it into meal sized proportions, place them in plastic zippered baggies and freeze it.
IV. Start incorporating more rice, potatoes and beans into your meals. These three food items are very inexpensive but alls very filling as well. Experiment with more recipes whose main ingredients is one of the three.
BONUS TIP:
Whenever you find a great frugal website subscribe to their email updates. That way you won’t have to continuously search online for new savings or frugal recipes. They’ll be delivered to your email on a daily basis.
Do you have any tips to share? Post them in the comments and get them published a future article.
One Dollar photo credit to Rob Lee | Shopping Cart photo credit to BruceTurner
Kat @ For the Love of Chaos (51)
Rita (33)
Priscilla (28)
Jennifer (27)
Kenesha Causey (16)
For entertainment, go to your local library! Put holds on the DVDs you want as early as possible. You can also get CDs, books on CD and check your email. They probably offer great programs for the kids, too. Just be sure to bring your items back on time so you don’t accrue fines.
Dear Elita @ Blacktating,
I forgot all about renting movies at the local library. Thank you so much for reminding me that the library is a great resource for free and fun entertainment. I will definitely have to put this tip is another article soon.
Take care,
Shynea
Thanks for sharing!! I am still upset with myself for not filing for unemployment after I lost my job in September. I’m not sure exactly why I didn’t, but it sure would have helped as I’m still not working!
Food definitely is a huge expense. As you already know, I cut down a LOT out of our budget without even changing the way we eat just by planning my meals and buying according to what we’re going to prepare instead of just getting random things and throwing them together through the week. It makes a HUGE difference.
Thanks for the tips!!! I know you covered home phones, but I wanted to add – cut out the contract cell phones with all the additional fees. They have prepaid plans now for as little as $45 for unlimited monthly service and even cheaper if you don’t use many daytime minutes. When I had a phone with a contract, my bill was $130 for ONE phone. Ridiculous.
Dear Kat,
I pay about $75 a month for cell phone service, but I don’t have a house phone at all so I think that this is a pretty good price. (I will be scaling back on my cell phone bill soon because my budget is cutting it close.)
I have no idea how I forgot about meal planning since I practically begged you to start doing it. I will definitely have to remember that tip for the next article.
Take care,
Shynea
These are great tips, Shynea. We are living on one income by choice, and it is so tough. I am getting better and better at it though. You’re right about groceries being the biggest budget buster. My husband and I used to spend almost $150 a week just on the two of us. Now I have gotten it down to around $75 for our family of three. We don’t have many grocery options in our area, so I can’t get the great deals some do, but I’m pretty happy with it.
I’m going to be blogging soon about cell phones. I know most families these days use cell phones a ton, but we had ours only for emergencies or very occasional use. We were paying over $70 per month for a family plan and we used on average only 15 minutes each month, plus texts here and there. I switched to prepaid and will pay about $200 per YEAR for both phones.
Dear Jennifer,
I can’t believe that you can get a cell phone for about $200 per month. That is a REALLY good deal. I will have to link your article from my next frugal post.
Take care,
Shynea
OK, you peaked my interest! I thought my fam of 4 (soon to be 5 in May) was a little excessive spending $300/mos groceries. My husband is a pretty healthy eating guy (6′3″, 215 lbs) so scaling back is seems like “not an option” BUT I really want to. I do coupon as much as possible. Any suggestions?
Dear Chrissy,
I am writing an entire series of frugal articles for 2010 and one of the articles will cover how to minimize your grocery budget by at least 25%. I’ll give lots of tips and link to lots of resources.
Take care,
Shynea
LOL Looks like Kat and I were thinking alike while we posted at the same time!
I second her advice to plan meals – it is kind of a pain in the butt for me, but that made the biggest difference in our food budget, even more than couponing.
I have been laid off since April of last year and on my second tier of unemployment. Also each state across the US offers CHIP for all uninsured children. The monthly rate are dependent on your income. The paperwork is pretty easy to complete, the processfor me was between applying and selecting my HMO was completed in 30 days for one child. A little longer for my other child because I needed to send proof of citizenship. Also in PA (not sure if this is offered across US) there is money available in different counties to take classes, i.e. $4000 for my county check with your local Career -Link office(unemployment office). They also offer workshops on resumes, interviewing, creating a profile in the career link system to search for jobs posted with your prospective state office.
Thanks for the tips on the utility bills especially the cable bill. I will call Verizon and my other suppliers tomorrow.
Dear Alanda,
These are all REALLY good tips. Thank you so much for sharing them with us. I will definitely have to bring up the school thing in my next article. I didn’t know about that resource. Do you know what agency a person would have to call in their area to check on that?
Take care,
Shynea
Shynea,
Contact your local unemployment office for the information. These are all free services. Definitely apply for unemployment benefits, all companies owe that to its employees if you are laid off or downsized. President Obama also instituted giving all unemployment recipients a dependent credit of $25/dependent child, you receive this every other week.
Using fluorescent bulbs can save on the electric bill. Also, check the local parks for free events and farmers market for vegetables.
Dear Valerie,
I forgot about the Farmer’s Market. That is a really good tip because I shop there in the summer and can get fresh, organic fruits and vegetables for a lot cheaper than what’s in the grocery stores. They are also bigger and taste MUCH better. The park tip was a really good one too. I never thought about that.
Take care,
Shynea
I just posted about the cell phones here: http://www.jenspends.com/?p=1482
We use our cell phones very little, so for some people this might not be practical, but it can save a ton of money if you are just an occasional user
Dear Jennifer,
Thank you so much for linking your article. I will have to link it in my next article on living more frugally in 2010.
Take care,
Shynea
Thank you for the opportunity, Shynea! I usually feel hesitant to link my own posts on other blogs
Dear Jennifer,
Never feel hesitant to link your posts on mine. I am trying to create a central place for useful information and this article is going to be SO helpful to a lot of people.
Take care,
Shynea
We use only cell phones, no house phone, & we cut back to only bills that’s necessary. We eat out when there are deals, or we have coupons. And I truly try to buy nothing without a coupon. I’ve become such a recessionesta that when I don’t use a coupon I feel bad about it. And even my husband and three kids ask when we’re in the store, or when we need something, ‘do u have a coupon for that?’
Dear Suzette,
I LOVE the name recessionista. (I use frugalista a lot too.) I agree with you, I hardly ever go anywhere without my coupons. I have become a little lazy with this pregnancy, but I am jumping back on the “penny pinching” bandwagon because we are down to just one income. So I revamped my couponing system back to what I was using before, because it’s more convienant for me to take it with me that way.
I think you are doing a good thing, and that your children know about coupons and saving, that is even better because you are teaching them a really good life lesson.
Take care,
Shynea
Turn the lights out when u leave the room, wash clothes before 8 am, or after 8 or 9 pm, your water bill (if u have one) will be cut by 50%. Keep your thermostat set @ 75 or 76 degrees & don’t touch it in the winter especially, watch your electric bill level off. And some electric companies, if u pay on time each month, they offer a service where they will levelize your electric bill every month so you pay the same amount every month no matter the season, check with your local electric company. There is a phone company that if u receive government assistance will give u free phone service or a reduced price phone service, I think it’s called Home Telephone, but check your local areas. Also, when @ Walmart buy the generic brand for medicines once u check the ingrediants, most of the time it’s the same & half the price. Lastly, find your side hustle, if there is something u do well, & u can make money @ it, start doing it :>)
Dear Suzette,
These are yet some more really good tips. Thank you. I didn’t know that there was a phone company that will give you free/discounted service is you are on government assistance. I do know about the cellphone company that will provide you with a free cell phone and 75 minutes per month as well. (I probably need to write about that as well.)
You have given me so many useful tips. I also try to keep my thermostat on one temperature, but with this pregnancy I have heat flashes and often find myself touching the thermostat when I shouldn’t.
Thank you for helping out other people by sharing your tips. I really do appreciate it. As long as we share tips I’m sure we can help another person figure out a way to pinch pennies that they never thought of before.
Take care,
Shynea
Our utility company offers a budget program that allows you to pay the same amount each month. I would suggest factoring this out over 12 months because sometime you may pay more on a budget. For example in the first few months of spring no AC is used so bills are typically lower than during summer months. A budget payment does not make adjustments for peaks and declines in consumption it is a set amount. I would suggest installing a digital thermostat, set low when out of house and sleeping at night. This keeps our bill pretty consistent month to month.
I agree with Target OTCs, ibuprofen, acetominophen, multi-vitamins are almost 1/2.
In addition to my coupons that I carry everywhere I go I try to budget everything for my household. If you have credit cards, student loans, or even mortgages, call them a lot of times the companies will lower you payments and interest rate if you tell them your situation. Some companies look at your payment history and if you are on time for most of the time they will make arrangements. I have had companies suspend my payments due for 3 months without penalty. Most companies are willing to work with you. All utility companies have budget plans based on income. If you are low income in PA, you may qualify for LIHEAP(Low Income Heating Assistance Program) or CRISIS grant money to help pay for your heating. Every state has a different program so you will have to contact the utility company in your area. Join as many budget programs as possible. Grouping home and auto insurance can save hundreds. I also group my home phone, internet, and cable for about 100 a month after taxes and fees. I get unlimited long distance and local calls, unlimited internet and cable tv. If you have a cell phone, they may even give you a discount for being a long term customer. I get Loyalty minutes and bonuses for staying with the company for a long time. I found out for me that calling the companies no matter who they are is always the best way to get a response. Your situations can only change if you take an action to make it change.
Dear Jennifer,
This is a great tip, grouping your bills together to get maximum savings. This is yet another good tip that I forgot to post about. (I currently group my cable and internet together to get a good amount of savings.)
Thank you so much for providing these tips. I will make sure that I add them to my next article.
Take care,
Shynea
If you do decide to freeze things, make sure that you know how long they will last with the same quality. You don’t want to throw money away because the checken that you froze 14 months ago is now not as tasty.
Thursday’s Houshold Tip- Freezing Food
Dear Angie,
Thank you SO much for this link. I have always wondered about bulk cooking and freezing it and your post gives me a helpful outline of how long food can last in the freezer.
Take care,
Shynea
What a great post! Thanks for sharing. I agree that there are many ways to cut down expenses and tighten up budgets during lean years. There is always something more we can do. It brings confidence and hope to get through financially difficult times.
Great post, gonna share it with my Facebook Familia…
Thanks!
Dear Rachel,
Please, share away.
Take care,
Shynea
I thought of a couple other things we do in our household. To manage bills more easily, we pay for most expenses with a rewards credit card. We get points for all our purchases that can be traded in for gift cards and such. We pay off the balance at the end of each month, so we never pay interest. Every three months or so we qualify for a $50 restaurant gift card, which my husband and I use for date night
If I have to make a big purchase I always shop online first and look for free shipping and coupon codes. I am also becoming a big fan of the Bing Cashback program. If you make purchases through the Bing Shopping website, you can get a percentage back. They work with big-name companies like Walmart. I just received $15 back from one purchase, and have another $15 pending. I believe Google has a similar program, but I haven’t tried it.
Dear Jennifer,
I find myself starting to shop online more too as well. Especially for my children’s clothes because you can often find sales, and an additional coupon code for another percentage off, plus free or cheap shipping. It makes it easier to clothe them without lugging all of them into the store, and I can just let them sit next to the computer to find things they like without arguing with them in the store.
Take care,
Shynea
We got rid of the home phone and have one cell phone from Straight Talk for all of us. We got the $45.00pm prepaid option which gives us unlimited usage, and it’s also on Verizon which is good if you travel! I get the phone in the morning and the kids take turns after school and homework. My husband uses it when he wants and our total Budget is $45.00pm even though the kids spend hours on the phone!
GMA financial advisor Melanie Hobson did a report on credit cards on Wednesday and she said the best credit card that she carries with rewards is the blue Amex card. This card does not hold a balance, annual fee of $95 but you earn rewards. She cautioned on cards with rewards if they require a spending amount i.e. Discover spend $3,000 and earn a % of cash. I would check the link on gma.com. After my experience I am anti-credit cards rewards or not. I have learned a valuable lesson and feel they are credit score traps. My goal is to get one card with $500 credit limit for emergencies only.
Here’s the link
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/MellodyHobson/mellody-hobson-apply-rewards-credit-card/story?id=9733559
Ebates.com is another site that rewards you for purchases. Most major retailers are linked with ebates.com.
Dear Alanda,
I feel like you about credit cards and I refuse to have one. I haven’t had one in over three years.
Take care,
Shynea
Write down your monthly budget, include what is coming in and out: (1) Helps it sink in and (2) is a constant reminder to stick to it.
If you go out to eat, buy the gift cards at a store that gives fuel perks. Do the same if you generally give gift cards for gifts.
Call the people you owe money too. A lot of them will take less than what you owe them. I just did it with some bills from my daughter’s birth and I saved almost 1/2. You usually have to make one big payment, but it’s worth it if it can save you some money! You can put your federal student loans in deferrment if you can’t make the payments.
Don’t buy bottled water. Get a filter and reusable water bottles.
Set aside brand loyalty. A lot of the store brands taste about the same and cost a lot less. Look for “manager’s special” on things like meat. You can freeze it and it’ll still be good when you need it. That’s the only way we buy steaks. Also, try to shop at a local butcher shop if you can. The meat is much better quality and cheaper (at least around here it is!)
Dear Shaun,
I have to take your advice and stop buying bottled water. That is the only type of water I will drink but a water purification system and refillable bottles, although more in the beginning, will save me more in the end. Thank you for this tip.
Also, brand loyalty and setting it aside is another great tip. I use to ALWAYS use the store brand, because it was cheaper. That was before I learned how to use coupons. Now I have a mixture of both in my cabinets. The only downfall about store brands is that there are never any coupons for them.
I try to buy all of my meat on “managers special” as well. I have found steaks for less then $1.00 and packs of hamberger meat priced the same.
Thank you for the tips.
Take care,
Shynea
AWESOME tips, Shynea! I’m actually favorite placing this so I can come back and make sure we take care of some of these. We were just talking about dropping our house phone and cable and going with Skype and something else for cable. Anything we can to stay within or under our budget.
Dear Mandi,
That is where I am financially right about now. Dropping some “extra” bills so we can stay within our budget.
Take care,
Shynea
my husband (who was the sole income) was laid off over a year ago and he is still unemployed. These are wonderful tips and a lot we have already incorporated into our life style. Thanks for the advise
Dear Kelly,
You are very welcome. I love sharing frugal tips with my readers. My husband was just recently laid off and we are managing okay for the time being. I have no idea how we would do if it stretched on for months.
Take care,
Shynea
Hi everyone I must say that we have had to minimize our spending and tighten our budget since I lost my job in November.I have done many of these tips but I have one to add. There are local churches that assist families in need with food, clothing and sometimes utilites.. Some people may not want to go this route but in hard time you have to ask for assistance if needed
Dear Rona,
That is a very good tip, and one that I will have to add in my next article. I know that quite a few of the bigger churches will help with not only utilities but with medical expenses as well. In times of need we have to put our pride aside and do what is best for our family.
Take care,
Shynea
In an attempt to clean house, I thought about organizing the kids clothes for Ebay. Initially I was intimidated by Ebay but it is very easy to set up an account. I think the key is to organize what you are selling, take pictures and load on the site. My daughter’s clothes and shoes were added. Now I have to tackle my son’s stuff and see what I have.
Dear Alanda,
I believe in selling my children’s good hand-me-downs. I usually throw a big yardsale once every year. For the nicer things, I will take to a consignment shop. With eBay and Craigslist readily available, that gives me yet another avenue to turn my unused stuff into a little bit of extra cash for my family. Hey, I might even have to do an online yardsale and sale some things on my website.
Take care,
Shynea
I have to say that the reason why I started looking at Pennypinchingdivas.com was because my company closed down and my household lost 1/2 of our income. What a shocker that was to me! I was used to buying whatever I wanted, when I wanted to get it without question. But instead of getting depressed, I got smarter and when I came across this site, (I think in an Ebony edition), I fell in love with it. Thank you so much for your weekly posts and tips. I thank God for you! I’ve saved so much just by checking here every week and I made a vow to shop smarter even when I get that income back!
Dear Angela,
I am glad that you found my article in Essence magazine and that the tips and deals that I have posted have been able to save your family some money. I know that couponing was, and is, a BIG money saver for my family. I hope that you continue to visit and leave me comments on your money saving progress.
Take care,
Shynea
Shynea,
I am so grateful for the article you wrote for Essence magazine last year or I may have never discovered your blog or money saving tips. I am learning slowly the coupon game. I went shopping this week and saved about $20.00 in coupons alone that did not include the store sales. It may not seem like much but every bit helps. Thanks for being a blessing to so many families. I have told all my friends about your site as well.
Fabulous tips. I already employ many of them and will add many more of your suggestions. Thank you so much