June 3, 2005

• ONE INCOME FAMILY

  Some of you have asked about being a one-income family. Here are some of the things we did to help those dollars hubby was bringing home to streeeeeeeeeeeettch:
  

  1. We only had one vehicle for many, many years. I took hubby to work on days I needed to run errands, or go to Bible Study.
  

  2. I tried to do all my errands on one day of the week, instead of running to town several times a day or week. (Usually on the day we had Bible Study, or a doctor, or dentist appointment.)
  

  3. We shopped for paper goods and cleaning supplies at our local Family Dollar or Dollar General store. This often saved me a trip all the way into town and you can usually save quite a bit there, even over Wal-mart.
  

  4. I made out menus to make weekly shopping easier. I stocked up on whatever was on sale, especially in the meat department. (We bought a chest freezer to do this.)
  

  5. One night a week we had a meatless dinner. Usually spaghetti. It is amazing how many vegetables you can hide in a hearty tomato sauce! (I hid veggies that my kids might not otherwise eat like carrots and zucchini in that sauce.) Garlic and oregano hid my secret well.

  
  

  6. We packed picnic lunches instead of picking up fast food for outings, pool days and errand days. We also drank lemonade or tea instead of sodas.

  7. We read out loud as a family in the evenings instead of renting movies. If you have grade school age kids, try the “Little Britches” series by Ralph Moody. It is autobiographical and full of moral tidbits. In the first book his dad dies and he becomes the man of the family. We also read all the “Love Comes Softly” series about Marty and Clark by Jannette Oke, the Little House books, and Anne of Green Gables. As they got older we read Frank Perretti. My son also really enjoyed the J. Oke books about Josh when he was in Jr. High. I can’t remember the names but they all had seasons in the title; you know spring, summer, fall, winter.
  

  8. We checked out books and movies from our local library, instead of purchasing or renting them.
  

  9. We swapped out with friends keeping our kids every other week so we could have a date night without having to pay for a sitter. When they got older they took turns spending Friday night with a friend and we had the house all to ourselves.
  

  10. We only bought a few sets of “good clothes” to be seen in public in at a time. We all lived in sweats, or shorts and tees at home. (I outsmarted my son when he was around ten, or so, by buying all his sweat bottoms black. That way he matched no matter which shirt he chose to put on!)
  

  11. Swap hand-me-downs with friends and family. Kids grow so fast, this is one of the easiest things to do!
  

  12. We did not allow the kids to watch commercial TV during traditional prime kid viewing hours. That way they weren't programmed to want specific toys or items that were pitched during cartoons, etc. For a few years we had a choice between videos or static. (Funny but what they wanted for Christmas that year was a train set for him and dress up clothes for her, rather than the latest electronic gadget.) We had some of the best times playing dress up, and making up our own plays, and playing board games!
  

  I’m sure if you put on your thinking cap, you can come up with more.

  • 8:03 am
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