Living on Less Than $28,000 A Year: How our family of six survives (and even thrives) on an income that is less than half the national median income, and what the government calls “below the poverty line” (less than $29,990 annually) for our family size. [Read other posts in this series here.]
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I have had an overwhelming response to the Living on Less Than $28,000 A Year Series, but many of you have asked for specific help in getting started on a plan to spend less and save more.
To help, I will be sharing videos over the next few weeks with a specific step by step plan to get your money on track. If you’d like to join us, just jump in and take the weekly challenge!
[Click here to see last week’s video.]
Click here if you are having trouble viewing the video on this page.
For those of you who are without insurance and happen to be of Christian faith…you could look into media share http://mychristiancare.org/medi-share/
my cousin and her family of 4 (they are farmers and self-employed) have chosen this option incase a major issue were to arise. They contribute around $100 a month (I know that could be straining for some but compared to the rates closer to $400-$1200 for traditional health insurance) and it is neat to read about and see how it all works…just thought I would throw that out there!
Kimberlee, have you ever done a month of cheap meals (or longer?) I liked your idea of doing this, and will probably expand on it. We were living on a tight budget too, but my husband unexpectedly lost his job a week ago. Not the best or easiest of times, but somehow we’ll make it. (If you or any of your readers have any tips or advice, I’m all ears.) Thanks. 🙂
I am so sorry to hear that Lyn. I will tell you that I almost always do simple meals, which tend to be cheaper. I also primarily buy sale items. Maybe you could institute “breakfast night” at your house once a week when you serve foods like pancakes and eggs, or french toast and in-season fruit. Mexican-type meals also tend to be cheaper, so you could have Mexican night one week as well and soup and grilled cheese on Sunday nights. Having one “special” meal each week can help you eat more cheaply long term. You can get burned out on cheaper meals. You also want to make sure and include as many fresh vegetables as you can to keep the nutrition level up. Hope this helps. You can read my FREE e-book for more ideas: https://thepeacefulmom.com/2011/08/19/free-e-book-save-more-clip-less/
Thanks for your wonderful ideas. I really appreciate the advice. I’m a very frugal person, but when something like this hits you, you feel like you might forget things. 🙂 There’s so much to do and to take care of. Now we will be without insurance, and although I am very empathetic to so many in this difficult economy, we are joining the ranks of the unemployed and the uninsured. It is sobering for sure. Gotta hang in there though, no other choice but to.
As for your meal ideas, I would agree that frugal meals are great (we do them often). You bring up an excellent point that sometimes you need to have a special meal once in a while to break things up and to keep with the plan. I’ve made a meal plan until the end of the month, and we won’t have to shop much at all which will be a help. Thanks again, Kimberlee, and thank you for your kind words. I would love to know how you deal with medical issues in your own family frugally without insurance.
For now we try to save money from each paycheck in the medical category of our second account. We try to treat anything we can naturally (for example, extra vitamin C and garlic when someone feels a cold coming on). Basically the only the thing we visit the doctor for is a strep test when someone has symptoms and then try to get the cheap antibiotics that some stores offer (Publix has a free list, or maybe under $4.) Many areas have free clinics offered by churches or charities, so you could check into that option.
Thank you so much, Kimberlee. 🙂 I wish your family the best. I’m sure this series is a help to many.
Hi there,
There are such helpful tips and great ways to feel proactive about saving/using money rather than just fretting about where it all goes!
Something I’ve never manage to do is to go to a supermarket (I’m British! I think you would call it a store) at the time they reduce items for that day. I have a friend who does this regularly and gets all kinds of ‘treats’ and other groceries at a reduced price. Shops here have certain times of day that they do their discounting so ask and go at that time!
That is a very good idea Helen. My husband lived in England for a while and he’s told me about how different things are. One day maybe I’ll get to visit too. 🙂
An idea to make a little extra money is to do work online. Since I don’t own a television I spend my off time on my computer. I joined chacha.com as a guide and answer questions. In my spare time I made $25. (But keep in mind it took a good few hours and about a month of answering questions, but it’s s-o-o-o easy) There is also a site called fiverr.com where you can offer your services and people can hire you. And I swear that is a way to do odd jobs on Amazon… but it escapes me right now and I can’t find a link.
I love this series. 🙂
Thanks Bobbi!
I did away w/ paper towels, paper napkins, and Kleenex (except a box for guests) and replaced them with washable products. We do ALL cash for everything except phone and electric for which we have to write a check. I must say–using the cash has helped A LOT! It makes one take notice of how much they have and when it is gone–it is GONE. Just last week the alternator went in my hubby’s truck–he uses it for his contract job so this was a FIX NOW problem. At one time, it would have been “credit card he we come.” We no longer have those, and we had money in savings to cover it. It is a bit discouraging to see some much money gone at once, but at least we had the CASH to cover it! 🙂 THAT was a very good feeling! Thanks for your videos and tips.