In our society today men and women are barraged with the lie that it’s too expensive to have kids, and absolutely impossible to live off of a single income. While it may be scary to live off of less, it’s absolutely possible to live off of one income. And you don’t have to just survive it either. Here I am going to share how you, too, can be a stay at home mom on a budget.
My husband and I struggled financially for several years early on in our marriage, but we had a goal. To live off of my husband’s income alone, and raise our kids with me as a stay at home mom. Now seven years into our marriage with four handsome boys, our hard work has paid off and we have the skills and knowledge to make our money provide for all of our basic needs. With enough left over for enjoyment as well :).
Goal: Find financial peace as a stay at home mom
First off, it must be stated that this goal isn’t possible if you don’t have the support of a wonderful, hardworking man by your side. That is a gift never to be taken for granted, so if you haven’t thanked him today, go do that now. 💕
Now, on to the finances part.
To work towards this goal, you’re going to need to take a good hard look at your finances. How much money do you bring in every month and how much money goes out? Do you have any debts? If you haven’t already, everyone looking to live a more financially free life should read Dave Ramsey’s book, The Total Money Makeover. And look into the seven baby steps to financial success. Also, start practicing zero based budgeting. Again, Dave Ramsey has an excellent app for this.
Your first step to living as a single income family, is to get out of debt. If you need to move into a cheap apartment, do it. If living with family is a better option, do it. It won’t be luxurious, but it’s worth the sacrifice to get out of debt asap.
We lived with our family for many years so that I could be a stay at home mom. It was a humbling experience to say the least, but it gave us the chance to get on our feet, and raise our kids ourselves, instead of letting someone else raise them for us.
Now that you’ve got a clear view of your monthly expenses and income, it’s time to look at where you can start cutting down your expenses.
First, what expenses could you eliminate all together?
Do you need a Netflix subscription, or Prime? (You can still get free shipping if you are willing to wait a little longer for the delivery.) Do you need a gym membership, or could you work out from home? How often to you go out to eat? Could you learn how to cut your own hair, and the hair of your family members, instead of going to a salon?
Think of any single use item in your house. Can you find a reusable alternative that you are willing to use? Could you replace single use diapers for cloth diapers? Rags and dishcloths instead of paper towels? A simple hand held bidet instead of toilet paper?
Second, what areas in your budget could you lessen?
Do you need to buy top of the line beauty products? Or band name clothing? Could you instead buy clothing at thrift stores or accept hand-me-downs? Can you learn how to cook from scratch? Are your kids involved in any expensive extracurriculars? If they are, is there a free alternative through the public schools, or would you be willing to pull them out of that entirely? Afterall, family is more important than any sport.
When it comes to budgeting, make it something you and your husband do together. Decide together what you will and won’t spend your money on. And don’t feel guilty if you leave a little money every month for something enjoyable.
Is it possible to spend less on groceries???
Groceries are second only to housing expenses in most families budgets. Your family needs to eat, so how do you go about lessening how much money you spend on food? Go ahead and check out this post on simple ways to save money on groceries, after you finish reading through this post.
The quickest way to save money on groceries is to start buying in bulk and cooking from scratch. Start little by little lessening you dependence on premade foods. Pick one thing you want to replace, get that down until it becomes a habit, then add another thing to replace.
Little by little as you learn more skills, you’ll be able to walk past items in the store you previously thought you always had to buy. Some great things to start making instead of buying are bone broths, yogurt, and bread. Choose one, get it down, move on to the next.
Another idea for any non-dairy folks, is to start making homemade nut milks. It’s a very simple process that saves a ton of money, all you need is a blender and a nut bag or cheese cloth.
You could also look into gardening. It’s an amazing activity that can be a great supplement to your families grocery needs. And with some simple strategies, it doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg just to grow some basic veggies! Check out how to grow a garden that actually saves you money, and how to start a garden for less than $50 if you are interested in adding this skill to your repertoire.
You actually save money being a stay at home mom!
I hear pretty often that kids are super expensive. Maybe my family is just an odd ball, but aside from maternity care and birth, kids really aren’t that expensive. Because I’m home with the kids full time I’ve been able to breast feed instead of purchasing formula. That saves our family about $1,200/year.
Older babies don’t eat enough to make a difference in the grocery budget. We do something like baby led weaning. And I don’t worry about making special foods just for the baby. They eat what the rest of us are eating, making sure it’s something easily chewable and of course watching them closely.
Your baby also doesn’t need fancy gadgets and clothing. Over the years we’ve really simplified our baby needs and kept clothing to pass down to the next kiddo’s. You can limit the amount you spend on diapers if you use Costco or Sam’s Club, or you could practically erase the expense if you chose to do cloth diapering. We haven’t attempted cloth diapers at this point. We buy our diapers from Costco. In our area they cost $45 dollars and that lasts us for two months. And their baby wipes last most of a year and are only about $20 per box.
Getting your family a warehouse club membership is worth it. And with Costco’s business membership you can actually get back the whole cost of the membership every year. Just a tip.
It almost goes without saying that you’ll also save yourself the cost of day care :). Not only is that a cost savings in itself but your kids will be healthier, too. That saves your family anywhere from $5,000 to $15,000 a year! Most importantly you will be the one to watch them grow through all of their milestones. That’s truly priceless.
You also won’t be traveling as much so your gas and car maintenance costs will go down. That’s approximately another $2,000 saved every year!
By cooking your own meals from scratch you can save your family another $3,000. The average American spends $3,600 on restaurants/year, yikes! You’ll likely still eat out from time to time but probably only for special occasions or dates. 🙂 An added benefit is that you will greatly benefit your families diet and health by cooking from scratch meals. No more harmful ingredients in your families food. Win, win. 😀
You are an asset to your families financial success, even if you don’t “make” money
Being a stay at home mom is a full time job that plays such a critical role in a families economy. Don’t be fooled, it’s not easy. But one step at a time, you will learn how to create a frugal home filled with love and peace. (Peace doesn’t mean quiet all the time, kids are loud 😂).
What has helped you find financial peace as a stay at home mom? Are you struggling trying to make it work? When it comes to family and motherhood, us mama’s have a lot we can learn from each other, so please drop any wisdom or question in the comments below. 🙂
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