Someone recently asked me how it's possible for me to stay at home with Makafui and us live on one salary. I hadn't really thought about the how of it until this person asked. I know other people are interested too (especially G's co-workers, lol) so I thought I'd let y'all peek in our windows and see.
First, we are walking with God. Me being at home with Makafui is much more than a preference to us, it's a conviction on how to raise our family. We believe that this is what God has for us and as a result, he's blessing us and making it work. With that being said, it's not always easy and it's full of sacrifices, sacrifices that are well worth it!
We don't have any debt. G and I worked very hard our first year of marriage to pay off our car and his school loan, it's seriously benefiting us now. We also don't carry a balance on our credit card, whatever goes on gets paid off right away.
I cook. A lot. We eat out as a treat or date, not because we don't know what to make for dinner or because we're bored of home food. It's a planned thing. I send lunch with G to work or he comes home for lunch.
Homemade baby food! I buy organic prepared baby food on occasion (like when I can't find enough fresh or frozen organic green veggies) but for the most part, I make it. Prepared baby food can cost $16/lb or more! I try to buy all of the fruits or veggies at around $2/lb.
I go to two grocery stores. Sprouts typically has better and cheaper meat, produce and dairy but for those (I try to make it few) prepared foods that we eat, as well as paper products and toiletries H-E-B or Target is cheaper. If we want treats we buy them at the grocery store instead of out. (For instance, 1 beer for $5.50 at a restaurant or 6 for about the same from a grocery store.)
We cloth diaper. While cost was not the motivating factor before M was born, it is a HUGE blessing and motivator to keep at it now. The monthly cost to wash his diapers is negligible and the detergent is $8-10 every 3-5 months depending on what kind I get.
We only have one car. This is a blessing and a curse at times. :) G and I switch out and my parents live nearby so it's working for us. That means insurance, inspection, registration, tires, maintenance and gas are half of the typical American family. I remind myself of this when I want another car just because.
We can be nomadic. God has blessed us and I have been able to find really great deals on really wonderful apartments. When our lease is up and the management jacks up our rent too much, we move. I don't mind it at all. At our last apartment, our rent was going to double for a 2 bedroom, we moved a couple miles away and love it.
We use entertainment carefully. We don't watch much TV, so $50/month for cable would be a huge waste...or motivate us to watch more TV, which would be a different huge waste. We shop around Internet and when our contract with the great rate is up, we negotiate it back down or switch (AT&T is the best at negotiating, they reeeally want to keep their customers). We usually wait to see movies until they are at RedBox and we find things we want to watch online for free. I would love one, but I don't have a smart phone...saves a lot.
I don't have high maintenance hair. Years ago, changing my hair was a hobby. I'd try a different color or style every month or two. That can seriously add up! Now, I get it cut cheaply and stay away from high maintenance color.
Bargain shopping is my favorite. I love nice brands and pretty things, but I never pay retail. TJ Maxx and Marshall's are good friends of mine and I'm not ashamed to go straight to the clearance rack in a store. I find killer deals on clothes for Makafui and I get high quality things that can be washed over and over again and still look nice.
I'm not a huge craigslister, but if there is something around our house we aren't using, I sell it. That's more for the clutter factor than money, but it's a nice bonus.
We watch for leaks. Running through a drive-thru for some drinks or stopping at Walgreen's for little nothings really add up. We try to spend our money purposefully instead of accidentally.
Things I don't do...
We don't skimp on food. I buy healthy real food, and try to get as much organic as I can-that costs more than junky food, but we think it's worth it.
We don't buy cheap things that go on our skin. We are very careful about what we put on Makafui, as well as ourselves, the safer/healthier products are usually pricier.
We NEVER cut corners on safety! My dad preached this from as early as I can remember. If our car needs tires or maintenance related to safety, we do it right away and we buy the good tires. (If we had a house, this would apply to household things as well, but for now we have a management team who does all that.) The same for M's car seat, crib, toys-safety is our first concern, then price.
We don't really consignment shop. This got me into huge trouble before, but I don't care, go ahead and judge me. There aren't super awesome adult consignment shops here like where my Grandmother lives so it's a no-go for G and I. We don't consignment shop baby things because of the possible safety concerns (no clue where things were stored, if they've been recalled or how they were cared for) and I shop really well, so it doesn't really save anything. Also, I would rather my family have a few high quality outfits (and toys for M) than a whole bunch of worn out or cheap things.
So that's it. What's normal for us. I don't mind the challenge of making this life work at all and I am so grateful to be home with M. Got any other ideas?
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