4 Tips for Making One Income Work

We have been a one-income family for seven years. In that time, we have moved five times, had two children, Big Sarge put another deployment under his belt, and he was also promoted twice.

The extra money from the deployment and promotions gave us a little more financial peace of mind, but I always have in my mind the days of “famine.”

When Big Sarge and I got married, we were two E-4s living in a tiny apartment with frequent gunshots. I remember we ate a lot of Hamburger Helper, and that was without kids! In these difficult economic times, more and more spouses are finding it hard to get a job (to say nothing of frequent moves that make it hard as well).

I’d like to share with you how Big Sarge and I are able to make it work.

1. Live within your means.

We live like he didn’t get his last promotion. The extra $100 or so per month goes into a savings account (more on that later). Our basic lifestyle doesn’t change—we don’t go out to eat more often, he doesn’t get a better phone, and I don’t spend more money on dying my hair. We live simply. Don’t get me wrong, we do have our creature comforts like cable, internet, and wine. Our creature comfort costs have to fit within how much money he makes, though.

2. Maintain a padding.

It’s also important to have a cushion. Nothing can wreck your world like an unexpected expense. An
unexpected expense is the dryer catching on fire or a tree falling on a house. Saving up for these freakish accidents, which usually happen during deployments, is what’s known as having an emergency fund. An unexpected expense is not car insurance or Christmas shopping. Savings for these things is great, but it’s important to differentiate between emergency savings and I-know-I’m-going-to-have-to-spend-this savings. Having a couple of different savings accounts helps to keep them separate.

3. Stop keeping up with the Joneses.

Another thing that works is ignoring “Sgt. Jones.” You know Sgt. Jones. Sgt. Jones is the guy (or girl) who has the latest toys, the most awesome shoes, and the hottest car. Sgt. Jones is the guy that buys a 60-inch TV while in Afghanistan and has it shipped to your house to hold it there until he comes back (true story—wasn’t my husband, though), and if that’s what works for Sgt. Jones, more power to him. It doesn’t mean that it would work for your family. Who knows? Sgt. Jones may be up to his eyeballs in credit card debt and dodging calls from bill collectors.

4. Remember what you have.

Finally, focus on the blessings. While may not seem like a blessing to have to cook the majority of the meals, consider how healthy you are making your family, and every once in a while, you might get a compliment on your cooking! For those of you with little ones, you get to stay home with them and watch them grow. Again, sometimes hard to see the blessing in that when your 3-year-old has discovered new things to flush down the toilet, but the blessing is there (you might have to find it at nap time). A big one for me is our health care. Have you all seen the price of health insurance lately? Isn’t it wonderful that we don’t have to budget for that?

For those of you who live in a one-income household, how do you make it work? Please share your tips in the comments!