I have wanted a big family ever since I met Juz, I would happily pop out babies with him until I can't pop anymore. I am undecided on 4 or 6 and lucky girl I am, Juz says he is happy to give me as many children as I like. I would need to have one after the other since I am pushing 29 so it is unlikely I will be returning to the workforce for the next 8 years at least. Is it possible to have lots of children on one low income? We just qualify for all of FTB A and therfore get a healthcare card so that is how low the one income is. Does anyone else have several kids and manage at these levels? Will it be so much of a struggle that I may resent it?
The steps I am taking currently to offload financial pressure are
*learning to cook everything from scratch
*shop at op shops for my clothes (not great pickings here)
*growing a massive veggie patch
We get a LOT of help from Juz's parents but I don't want to rely on that and Juz along with his brother are set to take over the family business when his father retires but with his father loving work and being so active I would say it is very far off. A bit of a mumble jumble. My opinion is that you learn to manage with what you have but maybe I am dilluded?
I think you are on the right track, but one thing I had to cut back on is music/sports lessons and I REALLY hate that.
Anyway, if you are focussed on having a big family then you can make it happen on a small budget. If you are focussed on having a new car every 2 years and new clothes every season you won't like it. It appears abundantly clear that you gonna have a huge tribe and you are going to love every minute of it!
There are some huge families on here with only one income, I'm sure they'll come in an chat!
I think it is absolutely doable so long as you plan it well and set yourself realistic expectations.
My parents had 4 kids in a three bedroom house on one small income and we all turned out really well (if I do say so myself).
I think that the steps that you are taking are a great start.
Are you a member of the Diggers club for your veggies? They have a great set of seeds specially designed for low income earners and it is designed to feed a family of four and is very cheap (to the point where they only sell it to people with health care cards). Even if you don't buy from them the list of things in that pack would be a great starting point for what is good and productive for little money.
In many places there are coops for food run by charities and you could do a portion of your shopping there. Also, if there are fresh food markets in your local area if you go in the last few hours before they close (here that is Sunday afternoon) you can get great discounts on the fruit and vegs because they don't want to have to pack it all up again. I used to get about 50% off if you asked for a discount. I used to say things like "what is the best deal you have on apples'. And then wasn't too picky about which type they were.
I also find that I spend far less money on food if I plan my meals in advance. I sit down once a week and plan the menu so that if I need a specific ingredient for something then if there is anything left over it is used for something else that week as well. It means a lot less wastage of half used tins and things being thrown out.
The other thing that is great if you have the space is a chest freezer so that when meat is on a really good special you can stock up a bit and put it in there. It is also great when you have a glut of something in the veggie garden. Speaking of specials, I always have a little "stuff on good specials" budget in my shopping so when things like laundry detergent or meat are on a good special you can get a couple because it works out cheaper in the long run.
Also, work on the 20/80 theory for your clothes (and your kids clothes as well). If you become friends with the ladies at the op shops (they are generally lovely and love having a chat with people) once they work you you aren't there trawling for stuff to resell on ebay they can often think of things that are ferreted away in their secret hiding spots that you might like.
Join the library and get books and magazines and even videos and CDs from there rather than buying them. It can also turn into an adventure for the kids. Libraries often have a reading time for kiddies with people reading stories and things. Much cheaper entertainment than a lot of other options.
Remember if you have a budget to allow yourself a little bit of treat money for yourself each week. It only needs to be a small amount but it makes living without other things so much easier if you know that there is $10 a week that you can guiltlessly spend on anything you want for yourself.
I love the idea of a large family myself - all I have to do is convince DH that he wants it too!
well we are just about to pop out number 4 & we just skim over the income thresh hold for the low income HCC.
We manage fine, we don't have fancy things I have to watch the budget closely but the bills are paid & the fridge is full etc.
I have 2 children and we manage fine one 1 income. However DH is in the defence force. So we get a defence house, so that helps ALOT. We also have no debt. I think debt is the killer, don't get loans or credit cards and it can be done!! I have a weekly budget that I try to stick to .. and the mid year tax returns are always a nice way to splurge on things that we want not neccessarily need.
Last edited by Peach; October 7th, 2008 at 08:18 AM.
Thanks for your insight girls! Getting rid of our debt is probably one issue that needs to come to the forefront. We are not hugely in debt aside from a mortgage but in my mind that is productive debt and our house will only gain in value especially with the occasional improvements we make. Just those stupid credit cards!!! Good thing we have tiny limits on them.
Since I already have a mostly established garden I should be good for my seeds as long as I make sure to collect and store them properly. Some things I will need to buy seeds of though, like lettuce, celery and brocolli etc. I will definilty look into the diggers club so thanks for that Muppity.
I buy my meat in bulk and try to grab it when it is on special and then I seperate into portions before freezing. I usually make one chicken fillet last between the 3 of us by making schnitzels or chicken strips.
So a little planning goes a long way I guess. It would be great to live like the Amish, just not sure I could be without the internet, electricity and car
DH is, & I think Evan will be. So I just don't bother as I can live with out red meat (seems I can't cook it that nice anyway LOL) so I only buy nuggest for the kids & sausages from time to time. The rest is all veg
I don't eat a lot of meat myself either, I have waves of being either vegetarian or eating meat once a week or fortnight to eating it 3-4 times a week. Juz will never be a vegetarian but I am going to test out eggplant parma on him tonight and see what he thinks. I am happy to reduce meat consumption and Noah LOVES his veggies so I might get lucky
Not sure Juz will ever say yes to chooks, neighbors might complain too, I have brought it up several times only to get a no as soon as I say how about we get a couple of.. Of to check out savingmum.
We have just had #4, and although he doesn't eat with the rest of the family yet, I am getting used to cooking things in bulk, for instance, tonight I made a simple curry, but enough to last 2 nights (also saves time and money!) which I served with rice (sometimes I use cous cous if I'm really strapped for time!!) I used 1/3 of a pack of sausages (I buy in bulk 2kg lots esp. when they're on special and divide into 3 lots before freezing), a couple of unbranded tinned products and about 1/4 pack of unbranded frozen veges (if I have left over fresh veges which need using, I'll use those, but I always have a pack of frozen JIC!) All up, it cost about $6 or $7 and like I said will last 2 nights!
I do similar things like spag bol, or tuna pasta bake, and if we have meat or chicken, I crumb it myself (makes it more appealing for the kids!) using flour egg and unbranded bread crumbs (we go through so much bread here what with sandwiches etc that there is never any stale bread left!) I also buy bulk bread when it's on special and freeze it.
We're not too fussy in using unbranded stuff, but there are some things we buy brand named (such as loo paper ... in my experience, we used more buying cheap stuff than we do buying the good stuff, but we buy the bulk packs so it works out cheaper in the long run anyway) also my DP and DD are lactose intolerant and only drink soy milk, but for the rest of us, the 3L unbranded milk works just fine (we go through approx 6L of milk per week!)
We are not eligible for a HCC (we narrowly miss out), but we also have a fair bit of debt (our car died about a year and a half ago, and knowing that we wanted more kids, we bought a new 8 seater) and we have CC debt which we are slowly getting down. We are actually looking at refinancing and consolidating some of our debt to a cheaper rate to get it paid off more quickly. I wouldn't say that we are well off (better off than some, but still know people who have more than us)
I also cheat and use disposable nappies, as my washing is already at about 16 loads per week and adding cloth nappies to that, well, I wouldn't have much time to do anything else!! Thankfully we have a water & energy efficient washer!
We send our kids to a Christian school (well, #2 starts next year) but by the time they are all at school (assuming we are still in the area) #4 will be there for free. #2 is already there for free for next year (for the first year only).
If you put your mind to it, it is certainly possible!!
I think I will be adding this thread to my OneNote for future reference You girls are great.
Obviously we are going to have to try and have savings for emergencies like tonight and our oven kicking the bucket, oh happy times!! Thank goodness I was able to improvise..
Great thread Sarah
I'm like you, and am hoping for a big-ish family (although my dh isn't as supportive as yours in regards to this!), so it's great to hear everyone's experiences and tips.
I'm sure you guys can make it work, and it sounds like you already have some great ideas to make it all happen.
Great Thread - lotsa ideas! I have 7 kids and 1 income. I used to think why should my kids miss out on things just because they are from a big family but now I think do they need all these things!?? I spend more on my kids at birthdays rather than Christmas because of all the expense at once and they are cool with that. Op shops are great and each season they usually get 1 good outfit each new and its a real treat to shop for it (usually only at KMart, etc not a designer store!). I refuse to spend big money on round the house clothes and PJ's - who sees them! People are always giving me hand me downs and I never say no, I find I like/need to dress my kids tidy when out because people do look and judge you. I have a separate kids account that I put money into each week to pay for out of school lessons as they need them. Money was never a factor when we decided to have more children, they bring more joy than money can buy.
We have 5 kids and are ttc #6 in april, we usually have 1 income but at the moment we dont have any, as dh is now out of work. We make things work, by getting sale items only shopping when we have to, buying in bulk etc. my eldest is a dancer and dances 4 days a week, #2 and 3 go to swimming lessons and #3 will start dance class next year, our only major cost is nappies as #4 and 5 are still in them. We have always had a tight budget but we still get to have our little treats as well.
It is manageable to have a big family and a little income.
Apart from what everyone else has already suggested, I highly recommend that you start making your own preserves and frozen veges, especially if you are going to start growing your own because you often end up with a surplus of stuff that you can't eat before it goes bad. Like right now I have a freezer full of frozen cauliflower and broccoli that we've grown and I have heaps of beetroot and peas and beans planted now which I will preserve and freeze once they are ready. It really is easy to do. All you need is the proper preserving gear and you're set to go. And you'll be surprised at just how many different fruits and veges you can preserve and/or freeze too. Although you may need to invest in a big chest freezer because if you buy in bulk you'll need somewhere to put it all. So any big ticket items should be brought now while the money isn't stretched as far.
And you should definately invest in a pre-paid funeral expense plan too. I know a lot of people don't like thinking about that sort of thing, but it's a lot better to think about it now instead of if it happens and you're trying to work out where you'll find $10k within a week (yep, they can cost that much) to pay for it.
My final words of advice is that life is only as hard as you make it. Sometimes it wont be easy, but it can be done.
My mum raised 4 kids on a single parent pension. We always had meat and veg for dinner and she made sure that we had lunch (sandwiches) and fruit for recess. We didn't have the best of anything but we made do with what we had.
I am currently having #5 and we are starting our vegie patch and getting chooks. We do have a mortgage and some cc debt but not too much. I try to pay things like rates and water and electricity fortnightly as it is easier for us than a big bill at the end. I have just put in a solar hot water system and will get about $3000 back in the rebates.
I shop mainly at Aldi and can get most of everything we need there. If I can't get it there then Bilo is great and still cheaper than Woolies or Coles. Our local butcher has great specials on bulk meats and I can get heaps of meat in his $35 special and it will feed us for a week.
I will also check out savingmum. Having other saving hints is great.
Is it financially possible?
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and adding cloth nappies to that, well, I wouldn't have much time to do anything else!! Thankfully we have a water & energy efficient washer!
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