[axiomae]

DD is 6 months old and DP and I are trying to figure out what to do when my maternity leave is up. We both earn $60K a year however with child care costs being outrageous one of us will likely work part time. I'm also considering being a stay at home mum as I'm a teacher and can take unpaid leave while still having my permanent job held for me.

I guess I'm after tips and advice for those who live on one income - how do you do it? What are the secrets? What do you sacrifice? Our mortgage is $700 per fn, then if we put away $300 for bills, that leaves us with $500 for the fortnight - food, fuel, lifestyle etc. We usually spend about $400 a fortnight on food (which we could cut down on I guess) so I'm not sure I like the option of only having $100 a fn to spend on outings, or to save for holidays, buy gifts or toys etc.

What does everyone do to manage? All advice would be wonderful!

[Sunshineandsmile...]

Hi there,

Check this link out, might find some helpful tips on there to save money.



http://www.stayathomemum.com.au/link-to-sahm/

[JRA]

I would also add, child care costs are high, but while you only have one child, and get $7,500 back, from the govt for the childcare, are you sure the costs are out of the question

[froggy1]

Bulk buy to cut down on your food bills - you should be able to gain at least $50 per week this way if you're really careful with food (whilst still eating well).
Only run one car. Walk wherever possible. Ride a bike. Borrow books and DVDs from the library. Clothes and toys from op shops. Bake instead of buy.
That's a few of my tips anyway!

[axiomae]

Hi JRA, it's not totally out of the question - I'm just looking at all options at the moment. We have no family at all near us so we don't have family help. I'm also hesitant to go part time as a teacher because I know I'll essentially have to work full time - I'm high school so I'll have to prepare all the work for when I'm not there, do all the marking and reporting and it's not worth it for half the wage.

[lilmissmars]

Just looking at your figures I'm not really sure how you came to $500 per fortnight for everything else?
We are a family of 5 on under $50K per yr and we pay more in rent and bills than you seem to have stated and still have more than $250 per week left over for everything else.

Even with a mortgage you should still get a little FTB as well.

We have $300 rent per week, and $305 in debits each week (car payment, health insurance etc, doesn't inc electricity and such) we spend $200 in groceries and still have some left over.

Having said all this though I have debts that are about to be put into bankruptcy so im not really one to give advice I guess.

Have a look at your budget very carefully and get exact figures including any FTB and what your child are rebate will be.
You can get your rebate paid to your childcare to cover fees too. Doing this had my fees down to $15 a day when we used childcare.

I'm just saying it is possible to stay home and pay your mortgage and bills but you really need to look at the exact figures not just the round about figures iykwim

[Ehill]

I am a SAHM and my DH does earn more than yours but having said that I am aware of how much I spend and am pretty frugal during the week.

With regard to food and cooking I do have the time to cook from scratch. I have always cooked at lunchtime when the bubs are napping. So I buy very little pre-prepared or jarred food. I bake my own cakes and biscuits. Since I am cooking so early in the day I use the slowcooker a lot so you can buy cheap chuck steak and chicken thigh for stews or curry type dishes.

We dont spend a lot on outings. I usually take at least some of my own food (cut up apple, sultanas.....that kind of thing) so if we are at a cafe we might all just share 1 pastry or piece of cake with my coffee. I have always stuck to one activity at a time. At the moment DD is doing swimming lessons, previously that babygym thingo (mental blank on name), next year in winter I am going to try Little Kickers. If you combine that with the playground, a playdate, a library trip, you dont need to be paying for endless activities. I have never found they really need it although DD is getting bored now but she is 3.5yo.

[Mummzy]

We are on one income we earn around 80k

We still put our two children into daycare though. my 4 year old goes 4 days a week and my 2 year old will be going 3 days a week next year. I think we will be paying just over $300 a fortnight with the rebates.

$420 in rent fortnight (defence housing)

We pay $600 fortnight on the car payment.

$350 fortnight on food for a family of 4-5

we pay $200 in other bills

and usually have $100-$200 left over.

We do have $6000 on the credit card that needs paying off though.

We manage just fine. I also get family payments which helps. I use these payments to buy presents, clothes, toys and medicine, doctor bills and anything else the boys need. (I will be using most of this payment to pay off the credit card next year though).


It is very doable.

[roses99]

I'm a teacher too, OP. And I absolutely agree that if you're going to teach part-time, you might as well teach full-time. I've done supply for the past five years (since my first was 9 months old). Initially I had my Mum do the childcare (which I realise isn't an option for you) and then I used childcare two days a week. I just told schools the two days I could do, and overall, I averaged one day a week of work. I still came out ahead though; my out-of-pocket childcare cost was $80 and a day of supply paid $300.

I also generated some back-up work for the days I didn't get called in. I've done a variety of contracts a my local university. The pay is pretty good (between $36 and $42 an hour) for work that I could do from home, at the time that suited me.

As a teacher, I really think that's probably your best bet. Plan to work two days a week, take the supply that you can get, and have work (research assistant/marking etc) that you can do out of hours as a buffer against the days you don't get supply work.

Let's say you did 40 days of supply in a year (12k) and managed to get 40 weeks x ten hours a week of work-from-home work (seriously, that work is out there! And with your background you'll be great at it) paying $30/hr. That'd be another $12k. You could probably make more than that, but even the bare minimum as stated above would more than cover your childcare costs and give you some extra cash.

[michellew68]

We manage on one income of $60000.
We have three kids and two dogs. Mortgage $350 a week.
one child in private school.
We dont holiday or have takeaway.
i would rather that sacrifice than not be home with my kids. We ration our fuel and try to be very careful with luxuries. It is worth it!!