When I left my job as a loan processor at our little community bank in 2021, I did the math on a legal pad at the kitchen table about fifteen times. Daycare for three kids would have eaten most of my paycheck, but "most" isn't "all," and I was scared. I'd spent years looking at other families' finances across a desk. Now it was our turn to live on less.
Four years later, here's how it works for us. People ask me this a lot, usually in a whisper at church, so I figured I'd just put our actual numbers out there. This is what works for our family, not financial advice for yours.
What comes in
Mike is a maintenance mechanic at a food-packaging plant. His salary is about $74,000 a year before taxes. After federal and state taxes, our city income tax, Social Security and Medicare, his health insurance premium for the family, and 5% into his retirement plan at work, his paychecks add up to roughly $4,650 a month.
Overtime is not in the budget. When he gets it, it goes to savings or a specific goal. Building the plan around overtime felt like building a house on a maybe.
Where it goes
This is what a normal month looks like right now:
| Category | Monthly |
|---|---|
| Mortgage (includes property tax and home insurance) | $1,080 |
| Groceries | $1,250 |
| Sinking funds (car, home, Christmas, etc.) | $445 |
| Utilities (electric, gas, water, trash) | $330 |
| Gas for two vehicles | $260 |
| Emergency savings | $200 |
| Church giving | $150 |
| Household supplies and toiletries | $120 |
| Fun money and eating out | $120 |
| Car insurance | $118 |
| Kids' activities | $80 |
| Phones (two lines) | $64 |
| Medical and prescriptions | $60 |
| Internet | $55 |
| Haircuts and personal | $40 |
| Term life insurance | $38 |
| Subscriptions | $20 |
| Buffer | $220 |
| Total | $4,650 |
A few notes. The phone line just dropped from $142 to $64 this month because we switched to a prepaid plan; I'll report back on how that goes. Our vehicles are both paid off. There's no car payment, and we plan to keep it that way. The buffer is for whatever the month throws at us. If it's untouched on the last day, it goes to emergency savings.
The things that make it possible
We bought a modest house
Our 1970s ranch is not fancy. The bathroom tile is a color I'd describe as "pink with regrets." But the mortgage is well under a quarter of Mike's gross pay, and that one decision has given us more breathing room than anything I do with coupons.
We plan every dollar before the month starts
On the last Sunday of each month, Mike and I sit down for about thirty minutes and give every dollar a job. Old bank habits die hard; I like things to balance to the penny. If a category needs more this month (school fees, a birthday), something else gets less.
Groceries are where I earn my keep
Groceries are our second-biggest expense, and it's the one I have the most control over. Meal planning, shopping mostly at Aldi, using the Giant app for the rest, and a Costco run with my sister every couple of months keeps five of us fed for about $1,250. It used to be closer to $1,600.
Sinking funds
Before sinking funds, every car repair or birthday felt like an emergency. Now they're just line items we already saved for.
What's still hard
I'd be lying if I said it always works. Last winter the furnace needed a $900 part and our emergency fund took a real hit. Some months the grocery budget runs over because a kid had a growth spurt and ate everything that wasn't nailed down. There are things we say no to that friends say yes to, like sports that require travel teams and new cars.
And I feel the loss of my own income sometimes, not just the money but the feeling of earning it. Mike reminds me that the reason our grocery bill, our phone bill, and our heating bill are what they are is because I'm home to manage them. Some days I believe him.
What I'd tell anyone thinking about it: run your real numbers, not the ones you wish you had. Live on the one income for three months before you make the jump, and bank the second paycheck. That's what we did, and it was the best practice run we could have asked for.
