How are you doing on one income???

[Nettie]

We're kind-of a single income household. I work full-time and DH has his own business - as a SAHD. However his business only earns a little bit (which he pretty much spends ) - so we live on my income.

We've worked very hard on not having a lot of debt and have one credit card with a limit of $1,000 (but is usually in our credit as I put $$ on it to spend). We live quite simply and don't have any expensive habits (except cloth nappies ).

I do have an excellent book which has recipes in it for everything from shampoo and face cream to dog & cat food. If anyone wants to try to cook their own cat or dog food - I can send you a recipe. We used to do the cat food a few years ago and the cats just LOVED it. I just got tired of bothering but it's an excellent recipe! And cheap ingredients too! Hair-wise, you can get something called castielle soap at Heath Food shops which you can use to shampoo your hair - then rinse with 1/4 cup full of apple cider vinegar diluted in about 500 mls water to 'condition' (don't rinse it out). My hair was always very shiny and soft when I did this. Can't remember now why I stopped doing it... !! Some people are put off by the vinegar smell, but it goes away when your hair dries. However, I wouldn't recommend this for permed or coloured hair - that needs more help!

Good luck to everyone. It can be a hard road sometimes

[AngelPants]

i have just read thru these posts and i must say its really awesome to know we arent the only ones cos sometimes it certainly feels like it!! when DF gets home from work he is going to read thru this thread!
previously we have been using MyBudget to manage our debts but have got to the point that their account keeping fees were one of the biggest expenses per month!! so as of next month we will be striking out on our own (eep).
our biggest issue is being left with only $170 p/wk to spend on food, clothes, petrol etc. unless DF does some overtime. with no account fees from My Budget this will be more but still not all that much. the worst bit for me i think is DF is working 2 jobs and i cant work (thanks hyperemesis!!) so i tend to feel a but useless about not being able to help and i am REALLY bad with numbers and money so i have to ask DF how much we have this week and how much we have spent etc. *sigh*
BUT when we (he) reviewed our budget & debt before scrapping MyBudget we realised almost everything is going to be paid off in the same 2 weeks of may just before our lil boy arrives! so there is a light at the end of the tunnel!!
but i must say i am thankful for our families who each shout us a dinner p/wk and have and are chipping in for a massive amount of baby stuff. really makes things easier!
anyway i have just realised how long this post is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry!

[Neenee Jellybeanie]

I'm on parenting payment single and it is unbearable. I've had to wait for the baby bonus just to pay my utilities and I haven't bought DD1 any clothes whatsoever, my parents have bought everything. My rent is going to go up soon and I'm terrified I won't be able to afford my house. Even flats are expensive but how will I manage with a toddler and a baby in a flat?! So yes, I feel your pain in a huge way. I went to The Salvos for some help with groceries or bills, whatever they could do, and they refused to help me so I've not asked for any help from charities since then. It was humiliating enough going in there, travelling the long distance on public transport with a toddler while heavily preg just to get told to p!ss off. Actually I'm still really sore about it!

[Mummato2]

I went to The Salvos for some help with groceries or bills, whatever they could do, and they refused to help me so I've not asked for any help from charities since then. It was humiliating enough going in there, travelling the long distance on public transport with a toddler while heavily preg just to get told to p!ss off. Actually I'm still really sore about it!

They did what???????

Where abouts are you? Have you looked at moving to an alternative (cheaper area) I know easier said than done.

Goodness me I'm just shocked The Salvos turned you away!

[Meggles]

We are now almost 2 years into being a single income and in that time we went from having around $60k in personal debt to $20k (not including the mortgage) and we did this by talking to ALL our creditors at the time, freezing the interest, making lump sum payments to pay off the entire balance at a reduced cost (so if a debt was $5k we'd offer $3.5k and they'd be happy with that as final payment).

I know this is over a month old now, but I'm hoping Mummato2 is subscribed.

I'm just wondering (if you don't mind sharing) what kind of debtors you had, that let you negotiate the final sum?

My personal loan is with a bank, and I can't imagine banks would accept a lesser amount??

Thanks for all of your other advice, some of it was invaluable and I've written things down!