It was our decision, and it was not made lightly. At the end of the day it was the personal benefits our family would receive from this decision that counted (it certainly was not the benefits, or lack thereof, from the government).
Would we do it again? Absolutely! But living on one wage with little outside assistance is not for the faint hearted.
There is much talk lately about what people expect they could live on per day. According to a survey relevant at the time of writing this, the Australian Institute discovered that most people said they needed $65 per day. The current Newstart allowance in Australia is apparently nearly half this amount.
With the nightly news brimming with stories on escalating crime, I wonder how the government has got the idea that people are coping? I was witness to the theft of petrol just the other day whilst I was filling up my car. Some people are doing it tough.
Whilst we far from committing out own crimes, we certainly have our belts nice and tight. It helps that hubby is a bit of a scrooge most of the time. He has taught me to question the need of a purchase before going ahead, something that I hardly did before.I do love a good sale sign, which makes hubby cringe.
We have shopped around and enquired about discounts wherever we could for our big bills. We buy things we need when they are on special and keep to our shopping list. We holiday at a family holiday house or go camping. I cut hubby's hair and colour my own at home. We deposit any money refunded at tax time against our mortgage to lower interest rates, and redraw it through the year, if necessary on our bigger bills. We cook in bulk and freeze meals for later. We try to keep expenses to a minimum and life simple, to stay within budget.
There are many little things we do that make a difference. It really does help to do a budget and try to stick to it, and know what to expect before the bill comes in the mailbox. There are many facilities you can now use online to gauge your usage/consumption.
It's important too, to not wear blinkers and beware of future changes to your situation and your bills. Many families are feeling the crunch with increases in interest rates, petrol prices and groceries. If you listening to any advice from the many finance advisers out there, you would be silly to think this will get better anytime soon.
How are you coping? Do you have any tips for easing the financial strain?
Linking up for Thankful Thursday with
Would we do it again? Absolutely! But living on one wage with little outside assistance is not for the faint hearted.
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With the nightly news brimming with stories on escalating crime, I wonder how the government has got the idea that people are coping? I was witness to the theft of petrol just the other day whilst I was filling up my car. Some people are doing it tough.
Whilst we far from committing out own crimes, we certainly have our belts nice and tight. It helps that hubby is a bit of a scrooge most of the time. He has taught me to question the need of a purchase before going ahead, something that I hardly did before.I do love a good sale sign, which makes hubby cringe.
We have shopped around and enquired about discounts wherever we could for our big bills. We buy things we need when they are on special and keep to our shopping list. We holiday at a family holiday house or go camping. I cut hubby's hair and colour my own at home. We deposit any money refunded at tax time against our mortgage to lower interest rates, and redraw it through the year, if necessary on our bigger bills. We cook in bulk and freeze meals for later. We try to keep expenses to a minimum and life simple, to stay within budget.
There are many little things we do that make a difference. It really does help to do a budget and try to stick to it, and know what to expect before the bill comes in the mailbox. There are many facilities you can now use online to gauge your usage/consumption.
It's important too, to not wear blinkers and beware of future changes to your situation and your bills. Many families are feeling the crunch with increases in interest rates, petrol prices and groceries. If you listening to any advice from the many finance advisers out there, you would be silly to think this will get better anytime soon.
How are you coping? Do you have any tips for easing the financial strain?
Linking up for Thankful Thursday with
Posts
I find it quite a challenge sometimes to be living off one salary. It's usually me and my husband that go without stuff. Sometimes I feel bad for the kids because they don't have a big house, overseas holidays, stylish clothes and accessories like some of their friends...I hope they understand the reasons for my decision later...
ReplyDeleteI'm sure they will understand. I understand so much more now I have my own family.
DeleteI don't know what your circumstances are as I have only just found your blog through TT - when we were really struggling we both took second jobs packing shelves at Coles at night - we did this for 8 years and it was only last year that we gave it up because A got a permanent job and often had to work overtime and Coles wouldn't let him miss shifts because of his day job.
ReplyDeleteI hope that you find something that helps your situation soon !
Have a great day !
Me
Thanks Me, We are lucky that my hubby is multi-skilled so can pick up work here and there when it fits in with my work schedule.
DeleteI hear you! We live on 45K per annum (our family consist of six people) which is considerably more than $65 per day (that's 23.7K per annum) and it can be very hard to make ends meet, unless they were say that was $65 per day, per individual - which means we should have 142.3K per annum, ha! We shop fortnight and eat a lot of bulky, carby foods because it goes further. we have cut right back on meat meals. We bake treats instead of buying them. We have one birthday party a year, instead of four for our children. We don't go on holidays. We don't have a car (though we do have plans for one). We don't have any kind of insurance. We don't use childcare. We gratefully accept hand me down clothing, and then wear it til it wears out. We don't tend to go out a lot, never to dinner, and not for family outside that cost anything (including public transport or food costs)... The kids hardly ever do extracurricular activities - one of our children is this term, but it's outside the budget and is being done to help him access a high school which would suit him better than our local.. We hope it won't always be like this though, because it can be very hard sometimes.
ReplyDeleteIt does wear you down if you are constantly watching everything you spend. I love hand me downs and we are blessed with a great friend who is happy to hand things on to us. I should do more baking!
DeleteI'm another who's spent many years tightening the belt and purse strings! I insist on using cash to buy everything! We buy our staples in bulk and fruit and vegies at the markets. We shop locally and make sure any trips out have multiple trips in one to save on fuel. Seriously, I should do a whole blog post on my tips someday... actually I might just do that! :D
ReplyDeleteGood luck! x
You should Carmen. I would love to see it.
DeleteI find that while there are lots of things that would be nice, We have never had to go without something that we need, I think that's the main thing when times are a bit tight.
ReplyDeleteI agree Lan. At the end of the day we scrimp and save but we have all we need.
DeleteMelissa, Your post puts one into a serious thought to budget and conservative living. The cost of living is a hardship for so many. I am inspired by your serious approach to this common struggle for so many in these days of uncertainty. Thank you for sharing this today. Living in one's income gives one peace of mind. That is what we all look for with the help of our Faith in God.
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Jeanne
Very nice post. Wow. I am so inspired for you - and I thank you for being so transparent and sharing what you have shared in this blog post.
ReplyDeleteThank you for linking up to First Day of My Life's Thankful Thursday <3 Have a blessed rest of your day!