How we Make it Work on One Income: Becoming a Stay-at-Home Mom

When we started growing our family, our original plan was to have me go back to work part-time but once I started maternity leave, I realized I just couldn't go back... breastfeeding was a HUGE challenge for me in the beginning and I didn't want to jeopardize it.  We also quickly realized it wouldn't be as practical as we first thought for my husband to shift his schedule around to watch the baby.  Daycare did not make sense financially for us and we had personal reservations of letting someone else raise our baby all day.  So after a lot of discussion we made the tough decision to have me stay home full time, which was a definitely a wake up call.  | This post contains affiliate links |

How we Make it Work on a Single Income

Now I certainly wasn't making the big bucks at my job, but suddenly loosing that income and adding a dependent definitely strained our budget - hard.  For a little background, my husband is self-employed which means that we essentially have to pay for everything 100% out of pocket ourselves - health insurance, retirement, life insurance, etc. - there is no paid time off or sick days and no "benefit perks" that come with his job.  No Christmas bonus to look forward to every year either.  We also have a mortgage and are still paying off college loans - over all it becomes a lot of expenses once you add everything up.  In order to make this work we had to cut back a lot, but it's worth it to be able to stay home with our little one.  

Here's what we did to make it work:  

BUDGET

I can’t say how important it is to have a budget and know where all your money is going. By seeing what all your bills are and how much money you have it will help you efficiently allocate your paycheck and plan for the future. {Please read my blog post on Creating and Maintaining a Monthly Budget if you’d like more information on how to create budget as well as download a Free Excel Budgeting Spreadsheet.}

Called Around to Lower Bills

Make a list of all your utilities, car insurance, home owners insurance, phone plan, etc.  Call around to each one and ask if there's anything they can do to lower your bill.  Often if you've been a customer for a while and your rates haven't been adjusted in a few years, they will be able to give you a bit of a discount.  

If they can't give you a discount on what you have, re-evaluate your current plan.  There might be something unnecessary in your plan you can drop to save some money on your bill or consider switching to another provider for cheaper service/coverage.  

Cut Cable, Limit TV Streaming Services 

Cable TV is expensive - SO expensive.  Ditch that bill and you can easily save $100+/month.  Subscribing to multiple TV streaming services (Netflix, Hulu, HBO Now, Amazon Prime, etc) also adds up fast.  We originally subscribed to several services but now just use Amazon Prime since we pay for that subscription anyways for it's shipping perks.  

One Vehicle

Having just one car won't work for every family but we decided it was something we could make happen.  With my husband working from home already, we really only "needed" a single car for errands and school drop-off... sometimes there are conflicts when we both need to be somewhere different at the same time, but we've learned to plan ahead for these conflicts and carpool or rearrange a schedule to accommodate each other.  
By having one car that means just one car payment, one insurance bill, and one set of carseats to purchase.   

Save on Health Insurance and Medical Bills

Ha.  I'll use the term "save" loosely here.  Health insurance and out of pocket medical costs are sooooo expensive these days and sadly there's not much you can do if the plans available to you are limited and you don't qualify for reduced premiums (both of these situations apply to us).  But there are some small tips we've found over the years to help save a little on our health-related bills - these include using your credit card rewards to your advantage, shopping around for care, and asking for prompt payment discounts.  
{How to Save on Health Insurance and Medical Bills is a separate blog post that goes into more detail on all the ways we save on health bills if you would like to read more.}  

No More Date Nights/Takeout

Before kids, we had date nights a lot - going out to eat, to the movies, etc.  But all that spending sure adds up fast.  Once I became a stay-at-home mom, date nights were limited to special occasions only and takeout nights have become few and far between.  

No More Personal Shopping

What do I mean no more personal shopping?  I mean no more shopping for "fun stuff" for ourselves just because we want to.  Gone are the days when we could spend all day wandering around the outlets picking up whatever we liked.  Now when we buy clothes it's justified:  it's because we actually need a new pair of sneakers or because we have a wedding to attend - no more "just because" shopping.  These days we do a lot of consignment selling and shopping, especially for baby/kid's clothes - that way we're never really spending, just "trading up" for what we want or need.  
We also don't buy books or movies anymore, we borrow them from the library instead.  

Saving on Groceries and Meal Planning

The big weekly bill you have the most control over?  Your grocery bill.  Groceries are expensive but there are lots of tricks to save that can really add up.  Meal planning is probably the biggest one - by planning out your meals for the week ahead you'll waste less and use more wisely.  You can also clip coupons and use couponing apps to save even more.  
{Saving Money on Groceries is a more detailed post on how we save on groceries using these tips and more if you would like to read more on it.}  

That Nap Time Hustle

Even though stay-at-home mom is my #1 job these days, finding something for me to do to generate some kind of income from home was important - which is how Birch Landing Home was born!  I started this little blog and Etsy Shop as a way to make a little extra money during nap time.  Birch Landing Home certainly isn't huge (yet), but it's an enjoyable outlet for me to work towards growing more.  If you have any kind of hobby you can make some side money with, definitely go for it!  Just make sure to keep good records because you need to declare this income on your taxes.  

Pay Yourself Every Month, No Matter What

This is something my Dad instilled on us from the first day we got after-school jobs.  Every month put some money in a separate emergency savings account that you don't touch.  Ideally you budget this deposit into your monthly expenses so you know you are definitely putting $X-amount-of-dollars away each month.  However even if you can't commit to a definite amount every month you still should put something - anything - in that savings account each and every month (my Dad said so, haha). 

My Extremely Hardworking Husband

It goes without saying, but all this wouldn't be possible without my extremely hardworking husband of course.  He puts in long hours every day and weekends too to make sure everything keeps rolling.  There's no way we could make this work without his dedication and resourcefulness.  

What we Should Have Done Differently

We made good headway from the beginning cutting expenses but we should have started A LOT sooner.  How soon?  Well as soon as we started trying to have a baby!  In hindsight, we really should have drastically cut all expenses way before we ever got pregnant and put my whole paycheck away into our emergency savings (or at least 60% of it since I was originally planning to go back part time).  Then we would have spent all those months really trialling and perfecting the single-income lifestyle to see what was working while creating a substantial safety cushion.  

To anyone who is considering going from two incomes to one after baby it definitely can be doable but I would recommend evaluating all your expenses early and saving as much as possible - that way, it will be a lot less scary of a leap into stay-at-home-motherhood.  Good luck and enjoy the journey!  

Thank you to my friend Michayla for inspiring me to finally write this post!  

Please note:  These tips relate to what we've learned in our own experience, but please do your own research for the best information regarding your own situation.  Use the information in this post at your own discretion and risk.  

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More Money-Saving Posts:  

• How to Make the Most Money Consigning Clothes and Household Items

• Our 9 Favorite Money Saving Apps

• How to Save on your Health Insurance & Medical Bills

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The Healthy Snacks Influencers are Eating

Lisa Valinsky just put together a great list of The Healthy Snacks that 24 Influencers are Eating Right Now and it includes a snack from yours truly that's BIG in our house - in fact I think it currently makes up at least 25% of our toddler's diet (oops).  

So if you're looking for some great healthy snack ideas - definitely check it out!  You're sure to recognize some great bloggers on there too :)  

Credit:  Lisa Valinsky

A Heathy Toddler Lunch with Nûby (plus lots of great no-cook meal ideas!)

Lunchtime is often kind of hectic around here.  Mornings tend to be when we do errands, groceries, story time, swim lessons, etc. and we always seem to be rolling back into the house right at lunchtime.  This means I often only have a few minutes to get lunch on the table before a hunger-induced meltdown occurs.  Having a no-prep, no-cook lunch is key to keeping everyone happy.  | This post contains affiliate links and an honest review of a Nûby product |

This little lunch isn't anything fancy but that's what's so great about it.  It's essentially a collection of healthy snacks that, when put together, make a great toddler-friendly meal.  This meal hits all the main food groups (dairy, protein, grains, fruit, and veggies) and best of all our little one loves it.  

Our little one's meal includes a Stonyfield Yogurt drink, hummus on whole grain toast, blueberries, broccoli florets, and some cheese all served on this cute Nûby Flower Child Toddler Plate.  

We love this fun plate from Nûby.  It's BPA-free and has a great no-skid bottom which is really helpful when your little one is eating.  Our daughter especially loves the fun shape, easy grip handles, and the pictures (lady bugs and daisies) printed on the bottom of the plate.  This adorable plate has quickly become her favorite for mealtimes.  

Toddler Meal Ideas

If you're looking for more meal ideas, mix and match these other great no-cook or quick-cook foods to make your own healthy toddler meal:  

• smoothies
• puree pouches
• fruit cups (make sure to get ones packed in juice, not syrup.  It's also still a good idea to drain and rinse the fruit to reduce the sugar content a bit)
• any fresh fruit (cut to appropriate-sized pieces if needed)
• any fresh or previously cooked vegetables (cut to appropriate-sized pieces if needed)
• yogurt
• cottage cheese
• cheese
• toast with mashed avocado spread on it
• hummus with crackers
• hummus with unsalted pretzels
• crackers with peanut, almond, or sun butter spread thinly on it (only use nut butters if your child does not have nut allergies)
• instant oatmeal
• cereal with milk
• cereal bar

Always use use your best judgement when it comes to safe foods and safe serving sizes to give to your little one, and always supervise them while eating.  

- I received this item for review from Nûby but all opinions expressed are my own.  Please see our Disclosure Policy for more information. -   

Nûby's Flower Child Toddler Plate can be found at various retailers including Amazon.  

Reusable Weekly Planner - Plan your week, meals, and goals! {Free Printable}

For a while now I've been striving to get better about meal planning, so a few months ago I designed this weekly planner to keep in our kitchen and see if it helped.  After using this method for several months I'm happy to report that it has been a HUGE success and wanted to share it with all of you who may have staying organized, planning meals ahead of time, or reducing your grocery bill as goals for 2016!  

This weekly planner can either be printed and written on directly - or you can print, frame it, and simply write on the glass to keep reusing it (which is what I have done).  I love having it under glass because it means it's always on display and easy to refer to, and it saves a lot of paper and ink.  I didn't include too many photos of it it in our kitchen because it was so hard to photograph.. the glare from the glass makes a decent photograph nearly impossible.  

Pro-tip:  Write on the glass with a Sharpie to avoid smudges, then erase with a little 91% rubbing alcohol.  

To write on the glass, you can use a fine-tip dry erase marker or a Sharpie marker.  I prefer the Sharpie because it writes cleaner and won't smudge.  

"But how to erase it!" you ask?  

No problem at all:  simply put a little 91% rubbing alcohol on a paper towel and it wipes off with no problem and no residue.  

Example

Every Sunday I sit down and first fill in all the daily "to-dos" for the week.  These are things that have to happen that day, like appointments.  This gives me a sense of what the week will look like and how much time I may have to cook dinner that day, etc.  Days we won't be home means I don't have to cook (wahoo!).  Because I lay it all out ahead of time I can plan ahead for groceries... leftover potatoes from Monday can be thrown into Tuesday's chili.  The chicken I buy can be portioned out for dinner on Thursday and Friday.  Planning ahead means less waste and saving money in the long run (and you know how hard I try to save money on groceries).  

"Goals for the week" is where you put in projects and goals you can pick at over the course of the week when you get spare moments.  I feel like this list makes me more motivated (and accountable) to be productive when I have down time.  

Reusable Weekly Planner

{Download free PDF of our Reusable Weekly Planner HERE}

So that's my Reusable Weekly Planner!  It's been a huge help to keep me more organized, more motivated, and save more money on groceries.  I hope that it will be as helpful for you!  

Saving Money on Groceries - Rural Edition

I absolutely love where we live - a small resort town, surrounded by lakes and mountains.  Always lots of great outdoor activities to do or small shops to explore in town.  But living out here does have it's drawbacks too - for one thing, the hospital we delivered our daughter at was an hour and half away (ugh).  But one of the biggest things we struggle with on a day-to-day basis is not going broke on groceries - with discount stores over an hour away and only IGA (Independent Grocer Alliance) grocery stores in town we tend to pay up to 30% more for most items.  
I support shopping local and shopping small whenever possible, but as a single-income household saving money where we can is absolutely necessary.  I've read many articles tailored to saving money at big-box and discount stores, but most of those tips just don't apply here.  Please read on for some of my rural livin' money-saving grocery tips.  | This post contains referral links |

Tips for Saving Money on Groceries {Rural Edition}

1. Grow/Raise What You Can.  I know not everyone has a green thumb or is willing to raise livestock but having even a small backyard garden or some patio veggie plants can pay off big.  For example spending a few dollars for a couple patio tomato plants can supply you with more than enough tomatoes to last you the entire summer.  For us, we've had a small garden for the past couple of years and this spring we decided to add raising chickens to the mix.  We go through as many as two dozen cage-free eggs a week and figured that raising our own chickens would be fun, educational for our daughter, and eventually would provide us with a savings on eggs too.  
2. The Freezer is Your Friend.  I hate throwing out food, especially food that I paid good money for.  So lately I've taken to freezing more and more things, especially those that seem to have the shortest shelf life.  For example, my husband loves putting kale in his breakfast smoothies (you can't even taste it!) but it would always go slimy before he finished the bunch.  Now we wash and freeze it right away and he blends it, still frozen, into his smoothies.  Other things that I've been freezing more lately are meats, mushrooms, fresh herbs, bread, and of course leftovers.  
3. Shop Local and Extra-Small.  Try shopping for produce at local farmer's markets, or even better, roadside mom and pop farm stands.  Those little tables and coolers at the end of driveways are often amazing deals on fresh vegetables.  These people usually aren't out to make a profit, they're simply selling their extra produce for fun and a little extra cash so it's usually a really great value - and if you're lucky they may be giving things away if they have an over-abundance.  One year a gentleman down our road gave away bushels and bushels of corn because he just had so much and didn't want it to go to waste.  
4. Amazon and Online Shopping.  I know this is the polar opposite of "shop small" but you just have to be practical too.  Items like paper towels, toilet paper, and cereal can cost nearly twice as much here in town than it does at big-box stores or online.  And so we choose to buy these items on Amazon - and by using some of Amazon's features like free Prime shipping and "subscribe and save", we're able to save even a little more.  If you use Amazon, don't forget to sign up for AmazonSmile so your purchases benefit the charity of your choice! 
5. Bring Your Own Bags.  Every store has different policies, but more and more are rewarding their customers for bringing their own bags.  At our local grocery stores they give you 5 cents off your total for every reusable bag you use.  I think this is a wonderful policy - great for the environment and good for our wallets.  For example, if you brought 8 bags for your weekly groceries you would end up saving over $20 a year, and every little bit helps.  
6. Meal Plan and Grocery List.  The most efficient way to do groceries is to take a few minutes at the beginning of every week, plan out your dinners, and make a list as to what you'll need.  That way you'll be able to better plan what you need and what you can reuse, wasting less.  I confess I often struggle with this.. grocery day always seems to sneak up on me and I end up going to the grocery store winging it or with a sad excuse for a list more often than I'd like to admit.  I know planning ahead and making good lists are super important for wasting less and saving more, and I'm always trying to get better about it.  {EDIT:  I've finally gotten good (okay, a whole lot better) at meal planning!  Check out my Reusable Weekly Planner + Free Printable to see how.}
7. Periodic Trips to Big-Box Stores to Stock Up.  Every few weeks, I make a point to drive almost 40 minutes, longer in summer due to tourist traffic, to the nearest "big chain" grocery store to stock up on certain items.  And no, it's not even Wal-Mart or another discount chain (as far as grocery chains go it's one of the more expensive ones out there but it's the closest).  I use these trips to buy the items they don't carry at our IGA stores (like the coconut milk creamer my husband and I love in our coffee), and the perishable items that are just too expensive at the IGA (like organic milk and almond milk - both are almost double the price here in town!).  
8. Buy Store Brand.  Whether I'm picking up things at a big chain grocery store or the local IGA, I try to buy store brand whenever I can.  Most of the time store brand tastes just as good and works just as well (IGA even has it's own store brand called "Shurfine").  We always buy store brand organic milk, canned goods, ziplocks, and more.  Store brand can cost anywhere from 5 cents to a dollar less than name brand, and all those little savings add up.  
9. Coupons.  There's no doubling, matching, or store loyalty cards at our local grocery stores, but coupons are still a great way to save a little every trip.  I keep our coupons organized in a little file so they're easy to find as I'm writing our grocery list.  (PS - my plaid coupon organizer is only $2.99 on Amazon - can't beat it!)  
10. Ibotta.  The Ibotta app allows you to earn rebates back on many items you already buy.  (While this app doesn't work at most small independent grocers, you can use it when you visit large chain stores to stock up.)  In order to unlock the rebates, you simply have to view an ad, watch a short commercial, or take a one question poll about the product.  In exchange for helping them with their market research, you get rewarded with a small rebate when you purchase the product (items must be verified via receipt or through a linked store loyalty card).  You can read my full review of this app here:  Get Paid to Shop and Save Money with Ibotta.  [This tip was added 5/4/16]

I hope my tips gave you some ideas to save on groceries "out here."  Do you have any other helpful tips?