Half the income: My story
I was married for 14 years before my income was reduced to a little less than half because the marriage ended and we separated. Thankfully, I still get money from alimony payments. The income I found myself with was a bit less than half I was used to working with.
Paying the bills became a mystery to me as I wondered how I was going to survive. My financial mess did not need to be added to with credit card bills or payday loans. The bills could be paid without adding to my already large pile of debts. Though I could have taken a loan to help me at first, I knew I needed a better system.
Cut back on housing costs
During the split, I was involved with another for a small period of time, who lived in Middle America. Because of this situation, I chose to pack up the kids and myself and moved to Small Town USA. I managed to find a great little house on three acres at a fourth of the cost of the big city house.
This brought my living expenses down to a much more manageable level. Housing is a major cost in anyone’s budget, and should be one of the first things to be decreased when income is reduced.
Decrease Transportation Costs
About the time that we split up, we were also struggling to keep up with a huge car payment on a brand new vehicle that we bought in 2004. Eventually, the car had to go back for lack of car payments. I now have an old 1995 clunker that is ready to bite the dust. I did not have to pay much for this car. I just buy gas once per month now, without any other transportation costs.
How did I do this?
I work from home and only use my car to get groceries and do laundry about once per week. My errands take less time and gas, since I live in a small town. I do not have to take out payday loans to buy gas, since I do not drive that much.
Decrease Utilities
Moving to a smaller house automatically lowered my utility costs; I was able to increase my cable and internet. My heating bill went down because of some things I did to the house. The drafty windows were covered with plastic. A thick blanket now covers an unused door.
A special foam made to seal cracks was placed on the cracks under the kitchen counter. The cold pockets of the house now have space heaters. Now, I do not have to turn up the thermostat as high and I save over $ 100 per month just in heating costs.
Decrease Food Costs
One of the largest items in anyone’s budget, besides housing, is their food budget. Instead of cooking at home, we used to go out to eat a lot. This went on while I was still married. Now, however, I cook at home a lot more since times have changed. It is only for special occasions now that we go out to eat.
At the end of the month, I have more food money because I stopped buying junk food. Our overall health improved, and we saved money. I did not want to buy pre-made food any longer, so I was able to trim the budget further by cooking from scratch.
Results
In the effort to bring down my expenses to meet my income, I have effectively come way under budget. By getting under budget, I have been able to start putting away extra money every month to buy a decent car. It is human nature to be curious about another person’s income, so I will tell you mine. The budget I set up allows for only the $ 2,000 per month I get from my ex, so the extra $ 800 goes to savings.
Living on half an income has helped me get my expenses down to under $ 2,000 per month. You can learn from my experience and get out of debt, especially if you make more money than I do. If a person must survive on credit cards and payday loans to get by on half an income, then something just does not add up. Slashing your expenses is critical to living on half an income.
