Going to one income can be very scary, especially if you have been relying on two incomes for quite some time. However, there are a few tips that you can use to make the transition as seamless as possible. It can take a little time to find the right stay at home moms jobs, so you’ll need to have some sort of safety net that will make the transition of going to one income much less stressful.
Tip 1 – Work on a budget. When you’re going to one income, you may not be able to spend as freely as you once did. It is a good idea to spend one month cataloging absolutely everything you buy – from that pack of gum in the checkout line to the evening out of the town. Write everything down in a log book and then at the end of the month, tally up all the results. Don’t forget to include your regular bills, such as house payments or rent, car payments, insurance and utilities.
Now that you have your total, chances are you are pretty surprised. Few of us realize just how much we spend each month and the vast majority of Americans do spend more than they earn. When you’re going to one income, you may need to cut back a little. Place all of your essentials into one column. Now place everything else in a second column. This is the column that you can start focusing on.
You can start small – stay in for an extra night a week, or cut back on the amount of clothes that you buy. If cutting back doesn’t work, try to shop smarter by using coupons or going to less expensive stores. This is the easiest way of going to one income even though it requires a bit of commitment to work.
Tip 2 – Work on a savings account – If you aren’t quite ready to become a stay at home mom, now is the time to start putting aside some money to make going to one income a lot easier. Shoot for putting aside six months of your regular salary into that savings account. This will give you plenty of time to make that transition to staying at home and you’ll have less pressure to get a new stay at home job right away.
You’ll have the time to search for the right job, but remember, you do only have six months or less to get one. Even if you can only put one or two months salary aside, it will still make the transition of going to one income much easier.
Tip 3 – Know how much you need to make – When you’re ready to get a stay at home job, you’ll need to be making pretty close to what you used to. Use this as a guide to find the right opportunity so that you don’t have to keep scrimping. However, staying on a tighter budget does help.
