One Income Family | Is it possible for me?

Do you dream about being a one income family? Are you praying for more time with your kids? Are you wishing there was more time in the day after work to make home cooked meals, clean the house, attend school programs, hit the gym, or catch up with friends and family? It may seem an impossible dream right now. I know that it did to me! I didn’t even consider it before COVID brought the possibility to light! Now I couldn’t imagine life with two full-time jobs!

So let me start with telling you the story of how we went from a two income family to a one income family:

I was working as an activity coordinator for an adult daycare (about 45 minutes away from home) full time (Mon-Fri 9am-6pm) and my husband was fairly new to his full-time job in banking . We also had a one-year-old daughter that was in an in-home daycare full-time while we worked. When COVID hit, I got laid off and he got sent to work from home.

Although I was home with my daughter, we continued paying half of what we paid our sitter weekly to hold our spot for when I would return to work. Because, like I said, we never even considered it a possibility to live on one income!

A couple months into COVID restrictions, we got a call from our adoption agency. We were matched with an expectant mother for our second child! The baby was due to be born the same month that my job anticipated returning to work. This is when we really started to analyze our situation.

Read our second adoption story here: Adoption Experience | Welcome Home

We started to add up the numbers…

We started thinking about what I was bringing in… Then factoring in childcare costs and gas… Then factoring in the priceless things like time with my kids… Even though we knew that the second adoption was going to cost us around $25k in adoption costs/fees we STILL found it possible to move into being a one income family.

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And since we have made that decision and have been running as a one income family we have seen nothing but benefits from it!

Since becoming a one income family we actually have LESS STRESS because:

• We don’t have to worry about logistics with the kids (to daycare, for school/school events, to sports/lessons, doctor appointments, etc…)
• We don’t have schedules to rearrange when one of the kids is sick and wouldn’t be able to go to daycare/school.
• We have more time as a family. We all have breakfast together each morning and are able to sit down to dinner together each night. Before I wouldn’t even get home until 7-730pm and the kids would be about ready to go to bed!
• Housework and to-do lists actually get done! There is finally time in the day to accomplish all of those things we used to put off!
• We aren’t constantly rushing around from place to place.
• My husband is continually getting promoted because he is able to just concentrate on WORK knowing that I am taking care of the house and kids!

I know what your next question is…”Don’t you own this blog? So that has to bring in money too, right?”

Yes! It does! I started this blog in August of 2019. Right after we found out about our second daughter and made the decision that I was going to stay home. But I didn’t start it because we NEEDED the income. I honestly started it because just talking to kids all day was making me looney! I needed a creative outlet in which I can talk LIKE an adult TO adults. I am naturally a busy body and yes, taking care of a home and two kids is work, but there is STILL TIME to do something you are passionate about! In fact, I also volunteer at several places WITH my kids throughout the week AND I watch a couple other kids that get to come around on all our adventures as well! So we use the added income not to live on, but to give more in our community!

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So…NO matter your situation, if you have always dreamed of being a stay-at-home-parent, let’s analyze your situation first:

Go get a piece of paper, a pen and a calculator. You’ll need access to or knowledge of your transaction history as well. Now let’s start crunching numbers…

1. Write down your salary and your spouses’ monthly salary (AFTER taxes).
2. Circle the ONE monthly salary you would potentially be living off if you decided to be a one income family. (But don’t cross out the other salary.)
3. Under the circled income, list your monthly living expenses (gas estimate, car payment, phone bill, cable, internet, mortgage, water, electric, trash, grocery estimate, any HOA fees, etc…) DO NOT INCLUDE CHILD CARE.
4. Under the other salary write your child care expenses per month as well as the cost for any activities your child(ren) are in. Also write an estimate on how much you spend going out to eat or for entertainment. How close is this total to the salary that you would potentially drop? This realization will show you just what that second salary is actually being used for right now.
5. Now…will that circled salary cover ALL of the expenses listed under it? If so, a one income family concept might be possible for you!
6. If the circled salary DOES cover your main expenses then the question becomes, how much of that salary is left each month for extra expenses such as: activities, restaurants, shopping, etc…
7. Will it be a huge sacrifice to your lifestyle or a mild one? Would the sacrifice be worth it?
8. Does the person that would be staying home have the means, skills or talents that they could use while home with the kids to make a little extra money to cushion the transition? (ex. child care, dog walking, blogging, doing research studies, compensation for donating plasma, baking, doing hair, nails, waxing, etc…)

Still not sure if a one income family concept will work for you?

Let’s put it to test first…

Continue with life on two incomes as you have been, BUT try to ONLY use the salary you are thinking about dropping for childcare and child care gas money. If there is more left over then put it into a separate account. If you are easily able to do this then changing to a one income family now is EASY! You’re ready!

OR, do you find yourself HAVING to use that separate account? If so, what are you using it for? Are there ways to rework your budget to stop HAVING to use it? If there is a juggle/sacrifice that can be made to make it possible, then you have to start asking yourself, is it worth it?

Keep in mind that a sacrifice now could just be short term. You will be taking a lot of stress off of the person now holding the main income stream. This could easily lead to raises and promotions. You ALSO still have the opportunity to add a little extra money to your household with side hustles.

For example:

1. In-home child care
2. Blogging
3. Photography
4. Baking
5. Online courses

Related post: How to Hustle When You’re a Momma

Conclusion:

If one income will cover the major bills to run your household and the initial sacrifice to your current lifestyle you may have to make is worth the added time you get to spend with your family, then a one income family structure IS possible for you!

Disclaimer: I am not a financial professional.  Please consult with you financial planner/consultant.