photo

Family budget can sometimes (or is it most of the time) get tight. I for one experienced this when I went into maternity leave for 10 months. Not only does it mean that you have to curb your expenses or prioritize, but it also entails a lot of sacrifices. You have to eliminate unnecessary things that you thought you cannot live without such as cell phones, shopping (this was the toughest), etc.

Barbara Whiting came up with practical money saving tips for one-income families (or families in the transition from 2 to 1 income).

1.) Refinance Your House

2.) Sell Or Trade Your Second Car

3.) Eliminate Unnecessary Luxuries

4.) Examine Your Grocery Budget

5.) Consider Working At Home

6.) Bargain Shop

7.) Use Coupons

8.) Family Activities

Although 1 and 2 did not apply to our situation, numbers 3, 4, and 5 definitely helped a lot.

I eliminated unnecessary luxury such as cellphones, I switched from post-paid to pre-paid to be able to control my phone consumption, since my phone bill has a tendency to get sky high. I also started reviewing and recording our grocery list to check on the unnecessary things that we tend to buy such as junk food which is not only unhealthy but also expensive. And since I didn't get any salary during my leave, I took advantage of my online job in order to add to our income. It may not be as much as what I am earning in my office, but it's enough since I didn't have to travel to and from the office (so that's less stress traffic), plus you also get to learn from what you're doing and do something productive when my baby was napping.

Not all these tips might be applicable to you, but some will give a tremendous impact on your family's finances. So there's no need to get frightened to the idea of having only one source of income. It is possible.