Surviving with one Income

Friday, May 14, 2010

Today many families are struggling to make ends meet. Due to massive layoffs and lack of available jobs these past few years, many people have to survive on a single income. Even in two parent families, sometimes the cost of childcare can be more than a parent’s income. While this is always difficult, there are things you can do to get by.


1) Start by cutting back on any extra expenses that you can. Evaluate all your monthly bills and see what can be cut out, or cut down. Make your home as energy efficient as possible to save on utility bills. Cut out all unnecessary expenses. Evaluate your grocery bill and see where you can make cuts there. Use coupons as often as you can to save on things you need to buy. Buy a Sunday paper if you can, or ask a friend for the coupons out of their paper.

2) Avoid using credit cards except in emergencies. This will only create more debt, and add to your monthly bills. If you bury yourself in more debt it will only get harder to get back on your feet. If you are already in credit card debt cancel your cards except for maybe one for emergencies.

3) Save on gas for your car by walking or bike riding to wherever you can, this will also get you some great exercise. If walking or bike riding is not an option for you, try to combine your trips to various places. Instead of driving back forth, plan your route. Use a route that is the most direct to get to everywhere you need to go.

4) Shop at yard sales, thrift stores, dollar stores, and swap meets when you can find what you need. Don’t be embarrassed to go to a thrift store, sometimes you may find something for a few dollars that you can re-sell for more.

5) Lastly, you can supplement your income by working in either direct sales, or online writing. Just be very cautious when doing this, do thorough research on any company before signing up, or providing any personal information. Any company that tells you to pay money for their “system” or “secrets” is probably a scam. Another way to supplement your income is to sell your old stuff on E-Bay or Craigslist. Go through your garage and see what you can get rid of. Doing this will accomplish two things: 1) you can make money off the stuff you sell and 2) your garage gets cleaned.

Stay close to your friends and family, they will be your support through this difficult time.

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About the Author:
Melissa Van Horn is a work from home, homeschool mom. She has spent several years and several thousand dollars searching for the perfect home based business. She has finally found that with Ameriplan®. She has a passion for sharing her experiences with others through Examiner. In addition to running her Ameriplan® business, Melissa has a Barefoot Books business and does freelance writing for several clients.Melissa can be contacted here.
                                                                                                                       
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