If you're considering living on one income – find out how this was the smartest financial decision that we've ever made! 
Living On One Income – The Smartest Financial Decision We Ever Made!
Goodness, I have been so hesitant to share this but feel like there might be someone out there who needs to read it. Please know that I grew up ina single-parent home and I COMPLETELY know that for many of you this is not an option (I don't know how you single mommas do it all!), but I felt like it was something worth sharing. And I know that weALL come from different financial places, but this is something that's changed our finances and might help you out too!
Several years ago, My husband and I had a long drive back one weekend with three sleeping kiddos in the car after visiting Cedar Point for a conference, and started talking about our finances (and really, how we got from HERE to HERE.)
A long time ago (way back in 1996 to be exact), we decided as a young married couple that we wanted meto be able to stay at home with our kids.So, when we bought our very first little-fixer-upper house (even though I was working), we based every financial decision we made on my husband's income alone. (I never made much more than minimum wage, so it wasn't all that difficult a decision in some ways!)
In fact, when I sat down to interview for a better paying position in my first job, the interviewers asked, “Where do you see yourself in five years?”
Naivelystupidly(at age twenty-one), I replied, “Um, I really just want to be a mom.” 😉
Yup, moving up the ladder to success with that position clearly wasn't going to happen.
Thatvery clueless comment was the truth though, and shaped the way we looked at every financial decision we were faced with. It made us purchase homes that we could affordon just one income (even while we both worked outside the home), and forced us to stay frugal when our children were small as we were determined to stick it out.
That's when welearned to justlive a frugal life. And how to clip coupons. And how to watch our grocery prices. And it's when we decided that we wouldn't live in debt other than our home.
Fast forward 18 (plus!) years.
All those things I learned in those early days apparently paid off, and I'm lucky enough to write about them for a fewseveral hundred thousand readers each month. (Can I just tell y'all that'scrazy?????)
And while this blog does now earnan income (learn more about how to make money blogging HERE and HERE), we'vechosen not to spend any of the money we make from it.
(We have spent a little of the income on a few specific splurges, but the bulk of it goes towards saving for our kid's college and for giving.)
I wish I could give you just a taste of what it feels like to have that financial freedom after years of working towards it. It's still so weird to know that if something unexpected comes up our finances are in decent shape (which was an incredible blessing during our recent move!), and I wish I could just let you feel for a momentthe peace that comes with that.
Do you know what's the coolest thing about our decision? That one choice hasgiven me so much freedom as a business owner. (I really don't think of myself as a business owner, more a crazy-momma-who's-too-excited-not-to-share-a-deal-with-you all day long?Ahem.)Our choices early ongave me the opportunity to learn this crazy blogging thing; it gave me wisdom in an area thatsome folksdon't really understand; and it gave me the ability not to worry about making an income while I was learning the ropes of blogging and running a business.
We didn't make the decision to live on one income purposefully because we wanted an extra savings account or extra cash flow or anything. We simply decided that it's what we wanted for our own family (and don't feel like it's bad at all for moms to work– it was just what we hoped for when we looked at our future!) However, in a crazy turn of life, it's turned out to be the best financial decision we could ever make.
I have no idea where your family's finances are at. I do know that we areincredibly blessed to be in this position after many years of hard work, and I know that it simply won't work forsome folks.
But, maybe you're a young couple just looking at your future and trying to determine where youreallywant to go. Maybe you're a momthinking about re-entering the workforce now that your children are a wee bit older. Or maybe you're a family that does have two incomes, and have never considered trying to live on one and allowing the second to go towards savings.
I encourage you to maybe consider what life would look like with living with one income (if that's even a possibility – I know it absolutely won't work for everyone!) Even if you have two incomes (which is fantastic if both of you love your jobs – I'm not at all against mommas working here!), consider what would happen if you continued those jobs and chose to live on just one income to allow the excess to bulk up your savings account?
I firmly believe that theonly way we did it in those early lean years was by clipping coupons and shopping the sales ads. Even today our grocery budget rarelyexceeds $300 a month, and I talk to so many folks who are spending two to three times that on groceries alone (almost enough to be a second income alone!) Please understand that I know this won't work for everyone, but as we've watched the peace that's come fromyears of penny pinching, I guess I don't want to miss this opportunity to tell you something that we (truly accidentally) learned along the way.
Your turn now?I'll be honest, I've been a little afraid to share this post as I hate the thought of offending anyone, but I'm so thankful (truly, overwhelmingly thankful) for the peace that we're finally feeling after so many years of penny pinching. I just wanted to mention it as a possibility to consider, and would love to hear your thoughts too.
If you're looking for a unique look at your finances and to get everything in order, check out the Passionate Penny Pincher Money Planner. This has everything you need to keep your finances in order (and is undated so you can start at any time!)
Curious about how blogging works?See how I make a full time income as a stay-at-home mom.
