My Thoughts on All of Those "How To Live on One Income" Blog Posts

You know, I'm thrilled for all of those people who post about how their family of 5 lives on their spouse's $17K / $25K / $31K income. Seriously. KUDOS. You are freaking AMAZING, and honestly, I hate you.

I was looking at financial tips on Pinterest the other day (like you do), and came across a number of these captivating pins. Since we're currently in a "one income" situation, I naturally clicked on the images.

Each one took me to a blog post that told of hardships and resilience (naturally). They each outlined how they worked to survive on one income, and in some cases how they even paid off their debt. This is essentially what each one outlined (in their own way):

1. Don't have credit card debt (so basically, I'm screwed right off the bat.)
2. Make sure the income earner is working their ass off 
3. Don't buy stuff / Get used to less
4. Definitely don't get sick
5. It doesn't hurt to have a blog with ads to earn extra money (here are some affiliate links to get you started...)

I'm sure this is not your first circus, so pretty much, you've heard and seen it all before.

Still, I was disappointed.

I do this thing where I go down the list and check it off in my head if I'm already doing it—then I make a smart-assed comment about how unhelpful that tip actually is. I know. It's not nice. They made it work for them & look how much it helped—the proof's right there in their budget breakdown.

Somehow my budget breakdowns don't end up looking like theirs. (Not for lack of trying, mind you.)

So how DO you live on one income & pay off debt or feed your family?

You work really hard at it. You coupon the hell out of everything. You pinch every penny, take advantage of every iBotta / SavingStar / Microsoft née Bing Rewards deal you can. You eat a lot of rice and beans and oatmeal. You do a lot of adulting and asking for discounts when it's not really cool or kosher to do so, and you do without. A lot.

And somewhere in there you have a non-income earning spouse / partner who, miraculously, doesn't get tired. Ever.

The good news is, there are a ton of people out there who have already done this—which means that you can probably do it too (if you suck it up like they did).

You've heard most of the tips before:

1. Cut the cable
2. Cut the landline
3. Do pre-paid or discount cell phone plans
4. Grocery shop once a week or month, from a list & pay with cash
5. Make everything at home from dinner to clothes to bread to dish detergent
6. Buy from thrift stores (or just don't buy stuff)
7. Be a one-car family
8. Drink water from the tap & forgo the other drinks 
9. Turn off your lights and unplug everything
10. Hang your clothes to dry
11. etc.

At some point, after you've done all of this, you realize there's not much more you can do, universally, to cut the budget—so you have to be persistent, creative, and keep your ears and eyes open for offers & opportunities.

Speaking of Opportunities...

Surveys, testing websites, and review sites can be a good way to supplement your "income" with gift cards. (So long as it's not taking you all day, week, or month to jump through hoops to reap the rewards.)

G2 Crowd

This month I wrote 5 reviews for G2 Crowd (not an affiliate link) and earned $50 in gift cards ($20 Starbucks & $30 Amazon). If you are in the tech industry or work with business or graphic design software, you might see if there's something you'd be willing to write a review for. They won't give you a reward beyond the first 5 reviews, but $50 in gift cards is nothing to shake a stick at. (You'll need a LinkedIn account to gain access and you'll only get the gift cards if they approve your review, but they make it really easy to write an acceptable review.)

Userfeel.com

I also signed up for a testing website called Userfeel.com (also not an affiliate link). There are a number of similar sites, but essentially you do remote testing of websites, apps, or other online products. The catch here is that you have to have a computer with a working microphone. Yeah, it's a little creepy to think that someone is recording you, but they're interested in your honest feedback as it relates to their clients' products. They offer $10 per test and each test takes between 10-20 minutes. (You'll need a PayPal account in order to get paid.)