Topic : Living on One Income

thanks i had heard colleges did that but wasnt sure, actually my husband had a great life insurance plan with the company he worked for , but  he wasnt being payedfor 2 months he was the only person i know that would work like he did and not get paid, he went to the labor board lawyer etc , basically he was told employees can do what ever they want , he quit the job and a month later found out he had lung and bone cancer , he had fell and hurt his back on the job , they started to pay him workmens comp , he thought like the first doctor said he had broke his rib , but he found out it was cancer, he tried to fix all the swindleing they were doing but..... he did find out six months before he died his boss was fired for embellsillment  the lawyers told him he wouldnt live long enough to finish he told them his wife and kids would but 2 lawyers told him he didnt have time to fight it then he got to where he couldnt do much mentally , i didnt know what else to do all i know is what comes around does go around , so ive just excepted it ! thanks again i hope this makes sense it was all so complicated to me and with everything on my mind at the time i just felt other things were more important .

 

Hi everyone, we live on one income by choice. We are a family of 6, a blended one. Money is tight but the way we cope is to really plan and save money on what we can. Every week we go to the market for fresh fruit and Veg , meat ,bread and pasta/rice. I get large boxes of tomatoes and make my own sauce and freeze it( much cheaper than buying tins or bottles) a crate is $10.We go to the supermarket just for milk , butter.and cordial.Everything is planned out for the week and I cook a  big meal for everyone each night .The kidds take fruit and a sandwich for lunch with water in a bottle.We often have oats for breakfast which are great and cheap. Not going to the shops during the week stops  us buying anything we don't really need. Once a month I buy washing up, liquid washing powder bleach etc. If it's gone it's gone.The kidds have to fill up on apples melon bananas bread and butter. If we stick to the budget then there is more money for the things the kidds want.  We have pets dog ( small) catsx 2 , parrotts x2( very cheap to feed)which the kidds love and are very lucky to have enough space now( we used to live in a 3 bedroom house) so maybe we appreciate the things we have like our own rooms.For a long time we had no car and now we do.Every time I get in the car it makes me smile inside and out.. We play happy music like the beach boys or ELO and sing together.

Sometimes we go for noodles in china town together or just go to the market and wander around. The kidds like hot chocolate thats another treat. Visiting friends is the best.

A good thing we do is when I cook agreat meal the kidds work out how much it would have cost us if we had gone out to eat, better to eat in and rent a DVD with bottle of wine with no label ,I think they're called clear skins the wine type on and year but no label.

The kidds do clubs which they are interested in from school and with their friends.

They have pocket money on Saturday and if they want to do anything with their friends they have to plan and put it aside. When it's gone it's gone.

I think as the children get older depending on their pier group money matters to them more sometimes. My eldest son is getting more materialistic and wants everything now he has even asked his grandparents for handouts which I hate and have tried to stop, I just keep telling him money can't make you happy and we all have to work at something in life, just pick something you like. :)

 

 

 Living on one income so I can stay home with our children is a challenge- especially in a high cost of living area.

I have used almost exclusively CLOTH DIAPERS on both of our children and have saved big bucks. For diapering, we have spent no more than $100 total in the past 19 months and do about 2 extra medium loads of wash per week - line drying for extra economy.

No big deal and not that hard - just ask your grandmother who may not have had the luxury of an automatic washer !.

If you don't send your kids to daycare and have a washer at home you can stop wasting so much on disposables and stretch your household dollars for more worthwhile things.

You should post this on the money saving tips and tricks as well.  Great for saving money and great for the environment.  

that's so cool ! I'm blessed, my oldest son(11) works @ a nature market on Saturdays (has to leave the house @ 6am) and he gets paid and learns how to grow, harvest and sell...plus he gets to bring home veggies! He loves it!

I saw you like ELO...my husband's fav. I love the Moody Blues myself

I am a single mother of two teenage children living on one income. I work a full time job and at times have to take on a second job just to make ends meet. I can't really say we are surviving very well. We do have roof over our head, heat to keep us warm (considering we live in a place that is extremely cold), running water, and lights, I work to make sure we have that. If I am lucky I might be able to get a house full of food once every three to four months, only by using the "robbing peter to pay Paul" scenario. Which in turn threatens my electric or my home. I have tried to budget my money and cut cost when ever/ where ever possible, but when there isn't enough money to make sure bills are paid, how is it possible? I have tried everything I can to bring myself up out of this hole only to find myself further and further away from the light.

As for taking on a second job what usually happens is that I end up getting extremely sick (it never fails) causing me to lose days of work. Or I end up with a job that is so bad that I wouldn't send my children there to work. Therefore, in either situation, I end up quiting and looking for another. bottom line I have to work two jobs just to stay afloat.

On top of all of this I have bills in collection (Doctor bills) along with a student loan that Is seriously delinquent. One is trying to take me to court to collect the debt and the other is about to go into default. I am wanting to finish school considering I have been going for 6 years and have three more years left. But now can't because I can't afford to pay the past due balance on the loan. What is a women to do?

There are nights where I just sit and cry ,feeling like giving up. I often find it hard to look myself in the mirror, knowing that I can't provide as I should for my children. It is a big blow to the ego and pride knowing that everyday is the same with no solution. Trying to figure out how in the world I am going to get out of this serious rut has been something that plagues me daily and can't figure out the solution. I do know that if there was a way I could have my rent, utilities, and food taken care of for a year I could save money and pay off my bills. Possibly rebuilding my credit to a better status. But that is a wonderful dream an non-existing wish that will never come true.

I know there are agency both federal and state that can help assist in these little issues. But unfortunately I make to much for the assistance and to little to survive on my income. So what of the ones that are in between? where do they get help from? I have asked local agencies if there is anything in the neighbor that helps out in these kind of situation and the response is always the same either "No" or "I don't know". Well thanks that really helps out.

 

I am one day going to find a solution to this problem for every family in the United States. I don't want Single parents or single income homes to have to struggle. I am going to do what ever it takes to help people get back on there feet, just as soon as I get the means. I might be a year or ten years I am going to be there to help. The one thing I do wish is that every single parent could be given there very first home at no cost to them, with the understanding they are responsible for the utilities and upkeep of the home, no more. I always dream of being rich one day and if that dream does ever come true I will do just that. Until then I need to deal with my own trials and tribulations.

 

 

I was wondering where are your kids dads? Dont they pay support to the kids? If they dont why not? Where are the fathers?

Can you take in a renter to help with the bills. Can you share a house or an apartment with someone like another single mother? It could work if you had the right person?

You could quit work and go on government assistance and then go to school full time for awhile.

Maybe your kids could work part time and supply themselves with their own money.

Can you sell anything? Have a garage sale to help pay off your debt?

I was a single mother for many years and sometimes I worked a full time job and then another job two nights a week. Sometimes I rented out rooms to boarders and other times I got govt. assistance. There are different aveneues you cant try if you havent. If you have keep trying different avenues. Something will come up if you have hope.

Hi, I'm a 37 year old mother of two teenage daughters. In the past I have been a single mom but I remarried three years ago. Unfortunately my night and shining Armour, turned out to be mine and my children's worst nightmare. He is extremely giving and caring but there is always a price to pay for it. He is a very jealous man, very controlling, and plays a lot of emotional and mental games.He has to control everything in this family. I haven't been able to go to  gas stations to get gas or even stop to get drinks for the girls when were out and they're hot and thirsty. (there are to many men at gas stations,my husband says) Summer is just about over and i again wasn't able to take the girls to the beach. My youngest daughter who is 13 loves evening walks with just her and I. This is something we have done since she was very young. To be able to do this , we endure a lot of grief. Her and I agreed though that this was one thing he was not going to take away(even if he walks 10 steps behind us the whole way, which he has).He constantly threatens that he will leave us and  tells me that I could never take care of the kids, that we would just be trash and never have anything. There are too many mental and emotional games that he plays for me to tell you everything but I can tell you that my children are getting sadder and as a mom this is killing me. We want out more than words can express and we are so ready for this. Any financial problems that occur as a single mom could not destroy us like living with him has. I have a full time job and I do receive child support from their biological father who has offered to help them as much as he can financially.  Problem being, I just can't get  enough money for  first, last, and security on a place. This is our only hold up. I have tried to save money back but he makes sure I have to end up spending it. I have no family or friends that we could go stay with until I could save enough. My credit has been destroyed, so I can't get a personal loan. I just don't know how to get out. If there is anyone out there that can tell me a way, please help. Thank you

 I have exhausted every avenue available in my community, state, along with federal aide.  unfortunately there is nothing else left! #1 I was on government assistance for quite sometime while I was going to school full time, but do to the fact that the assistance is not very much I still had to get a part time job, which in turn is considered income which causes your assistance to go down with every dollar you make. Stuck between a rock and a hard spot there. I also had housing assistance but because I worked the program I was on required that I worked a certain amount of hours a month to keep my qualification. Once again causing my assistance to go down a little further. Now I work a job that makes too much to be on any assistance, but not enough to support  my family. #2 In order for me have a boarder or have a room mate I would need to have the extra room in order for them to rent . I am having a hard enough time managing the place I have, which is barely enough room for the people in the home, let alone a total stranger. Plus on top of it I rent my apartment and I am not able to sublet any part of the apartment. Don't get me wrong that is a great idea but is very impracticable given the situation. #3- The fathers of my children left and have yet to be found. I have been looking along with the states of Alaska and Arizona for these men. Story of my life there, can't and won't get into that. I am  looking as hard as I can to find these men but at times it seems to get very frustrating. #4 both my children do have jobs in order to buy there own clothes and have money to spend when they want to go with there friends. To also have money  to purchase school supplies, sports fees, and school lunches. Cause I just do not have the money to do this! #5 I actually have nothing! I have a love seat  and a chair to sit on. I have a dinning room table that is used nightly when I am not working. I do not have any special appliances because I can't afford them. My drinking glasses are coffee cups. Most of my dishes are plastic and what isn't plastic has huge chips in them. I have the bare necessities and that is it nothing more. So I have nothing to sell! I have a vehicle that is just running enough to get me to work and back. So a yard sale is out of the question. All of the ideas you have suggested are things I have done already  the "been there done that, let's try again" but thank you for the Ideas but now I am needing something more.

 

I keep my hope up as much as possible!!!! I pray, I wish, I believe that something good will come my way but there are times that when every door is slammed shut things such as hoping, wishing, and praying start to dwindle. Usually a really good cry puts me back on the right track. But recently I have found that I am all cried out. I just keep plugging along. I can't even count how many times I have felt like giving up, but there is something in my soul that will just not allow me to. Sometimes it's just good to write it out so I can see that I really am blessed.

 

So thank you for the suggestions I truly do appreciate that!!!

I live in Las Vegas Nv. and I too am a single mom of 2. I thought that moving from the high cost of California to las Vegas Nv, would be easy. My son is now 20 and I no longer get child support for him ($600.00 a month) and my daughters father is over $30,000.00 behind, I do my best with my single income as I can. Well back on the subject. Las Vegas is looking for teachers like crazy. They have so many new schools opening up. I do not know where you live or if you are looking to relocate. But, like I said they are looking for teachers. Just a suggestion.