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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As I started this series I had hoped to help people who were living on a tight budget or those who had room in the budget, but wanted to save more money. Based on the emails and comments I have received, many of you are changing the way you deal with your money.
So how can you make that change last? Use these 4 Keys to Real Change:
Be Done- I’m sure that you’ve heard the phrase “I’m at the end of my rope.” For those of us who have actually reached the end, we are highly motivated to change things in our lives. I would like to say that I had the intelligence, courage and motivation to make changes before we got to that point, but the truth is that I am a very slow learner. We finally got a handle on our finances when things were desperate.
Perhaps your situation isn’t at the desperate stage, but maybe you are just sick and tired of working long hours and having nothing to show for your money, or maybe you are a mom who wants to be home with her kids and you are ready to do whatever it takes. If you really want to change, you have to be done with the status quo.
Catch the Vision– Once you are tired of the way things are, you need to envision how things could be better. Picture a future filled with the things you want in your life. You may even want to make a vision or inspiration board like the one pictured above. Mine has quotes and pictures that help me envision what I want, and it serves as a reminder to focus on higher goals.
Having vision enables you to make better decisions with your money. If you want to stay home with your kids and you realize that ordering pizza on Friday nights is part of the reason you are unable to quit your job, you are more motivated to get in the kitchen and cook something for dinner.
Make A Commitment– Once you have a vision of what you want, make a firm decision to live life differently and renew that commitment every day. It helps to write your vision and your commitment to it on paper and look at it daily.
We have made a firm commitment to do everything possible for me to homeschool our children. Even when we mess up with our money, I know what the big picture is and I’m committed to continuing on that path, so I just get up the next day and start over.
God knew that we would need to push the restart button:
Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22-23
God’s mercies are new every morning, so we can start the day with a clean slate. Once you have that clean slate, renew your commitment to your vision again.
Take The Long View-Real change takes time and patience. It would be great to have a transporter like the ones from Star Trek, but in reality we make one step at a time toward our goal. Real, lasting change requires lots of patience–we have to be willing to wait to see the results of our actions down the road.
If you have recently made changes in the way you deal with your money, don’t be discouraged if you don’t see immediate results. Just keep taking baby steps. You can do it! 🙂
What helps you stay on track with new changes? Leave a comment.
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I feel “done” with spending money on coloring my hair. I am almost never really happy with the result. Even though I used to dislike my natural brown color, I am really learning to love it just the way it is and am looking forward to spending that hundred dollars on something else.
This is so true! I think the biggest obstacle to overcome is attitude more than anything else! I know families who make double our income, yet who are still always struggling to make ends meet because of their spending habits, which are led by attitude. Once you get to the point of committing to it, and really releasing the material things of the world and trusting God to provide your needs, but looking to Him for contentment (and not things!), it will go so much more smoothly 🙂
I just started a series on my blog about our budget and our get-out-of-debt plan…I’m really excited about it and hopeful that we can help inspire others with a low income to get to that place with their finances. My family has been so blessed by living more simply 🙂
I wished I could learn how to manage money better that is one of my weaknesses,do you think you could help me?
Tammy, so sorry to hear of your hard times but I really want to say thanks for sharing your story. We have been discussing getting goals written out for a couple of weeks but keep getting stuck somewhere. The way you explained your goals and planning process, just totally turned on the light bulb in my brain. My next move of the day is for a paper and pen – Thanks.
I so needed this today! There are some huge changes that need to take place in our family and this is a great start…thanks!
You are very welcome Samantha.
A few years ago my husband had a heart attack and we had no insurance or cash to pay the hospital, surgeons, etc. It was VERY expensive and we were forced to cash in our IRAs, sell all of our land except the lot the house is on to pay the bill. We realized that we needed to bite the bullet and start a real budget instead of the catch as catch can one we had been doing. Since then he has had a second heart surgery, we now have a daughter and 3 children living with us, and we are still making it OK….even rebuilding our retirement accounts as quickly as possible as we are nearing that age.
One of the secrets we found was to start a cash only system. Only things that come as bills get paid from the checking account, i.e. utilities, taxes, etc. Everything else is paid from the envelopes we fill on pay day. If there is no money in the entertainment envelope, we don’t eat out. If there is no clothing budget left the new duds wait until it is replenished. It is amazing how often a “have to have it” becomes a “don’t need it” when you must budget and delay the purchase. Another secret is to give each person who is old enough to make decisions about what they want/need an allowance. It really helps get everyone onboard when they have some control over where the money goes. and helps them learn to make wiser choices as well.
I was the worst about not wanting to do this because I hate having to account to someone else for what I spend. Having an allowance lets me have a little “mad money” for a lunch out with a friend or to treat a grandchild when they need it. AND, there is a big bonus that came from that. I am much more prudent about my discretionary spending now that it is “my money” I am using. I have saved my allowance for months just so I could buy a big item I have been wanting. I have learned to look for bargains and coupons, I have learned to wait until it goes on sale – because I only get a set amount to spend but have found that if I am careful over time it adds up and when I do get something new it is because I saved for it and thereby I don’t feel guilty for spending the money. That is a very freeing thing and has been a big part of the success of our budget. It doesn’t matter how large or small that allowance is, but that it is YOURS to do with as you please. That sense of control really helps you stick with it. And being debt free is the best reward of all!
Love it Connie–thanks for sharing!
I have always stayed home with my 4 children and we have home schooled them the whole time. We have always maintained a pretty tight budget to make that happen, I least I thought it was tight. 🙂
In October of 2010 my husband was diagnosed with an inoperable cancerous brain tumor. My children and I made the most that we could out of the next 10 months that he was with us. He passed away in July of 2011.
He had no life insurance. We only receive SS survivor benefits, which is not very much considering that he was only 40 when he passed away and had not paid into SS very long. I was now faced with the challenge of how to support 4 children alone. I did not feel that going to a full-time job at this point in their ages (16, 15, 14, and 11), transitioning them to a school environment especially in the midst of their grief would be beneficial to any of us. If anything, they needed our family to be together as much as possible and needed a mother even more than ever before.
I have been more committed than ever to budgeting what we have in order to be home with the children. I am even planning on going back to school with the help of financial aid (no loans) in order to be able to enter the workforce when my youngest turns 18.
After you posted part 12, it gave me the boost that I needed to sit down and write down revised financial goals as a single parent. I have 4 children to put through college, retirement for myself, having my house and car paid off early, and other things. I then broke those goals down into 5 year goals. Those were broken down into yearly goals and then I made monthly goals based on that yet for the rest of this year. I may not attain them all but I will be farther than I would if I had never made those goals.
Thank you for your inspiration and helping me to remember what is truly important at this very difficult time in my family’s life.
Tammy, I am so, so sorry that you have had to go through this. I cannot imagine how hard it has been for you, but I am so proud of you for taking control and doing what is best for your family. I think you may be surprised at how much you are able to accomplish, just by writing down those goals. I pray that God will continue to comfort and provide for your family.