Living on Less Series Part 1

You need to know before you read this series why I live the way I do. I am not just some person who got an idea one day, and decided to write about it. I have lived it. I have lived with lots of money, and I have lived with no money at all. I have been there in the trenches trying to survive, and I have done so by the grace of God so that I can share it with you.

You need to know that 5 years ago my husband had a stroke and open heart surgery. When we went to the ER, the doctors said he was dieing and needed emergency open heart surgery. This puts a lot of thoughts of into your head! All I could think of was how I would survive with a 2 year old and all those bills. After my husband pulled through and get well, we started putting things in order for the 'just in case'. He wanted to make sure that if he passed away, I could still make it with our son. Then, 2 years ago, he had his second open heart surgery. They said he only had a 30% chance of his heart starting up again. After lots of praying, he made it through. But it was a big reminder that anything can happen. I almost lost my husband twice, and if I do finally lose him one day, I want to make sure I can afford to take care of my son.

I am sharing my story with all of you, so you can look at your lives and get them in order. I want you to make sure that you can support your family if your spouse passes away. I want you to make sure you will have a roof over your heads, a car to drive, food on the table, and healthy children. Learn from someone who has been there. I don't claim to have all the answers, I can only tell you how I have done it.


Living on Less Series
Part 1

The past 2 months has been financially hard on our family. My husband works in the construction business on 100% commission. With the price of everything going up over the last 6 months, people are more concerned with food and gas. They aren't spending as much on fixing up there houses. What affects them, in turn affects us. So, I have had to learn how to live on less.



How do I do it? Let me show you........



House:

About 9 years ago when my husband and I got engaged, we discussed where we would live. He had a tiny garage apartment for $400 a month, and I had a small one bedroom apartment for $650 a month. We wanted a bigger place, but didn't want a bigger payment. After looking around at larger apartments for a while, we made our choice. We purchased a mobile home and moved in right after we got married. It's a 2 bedroom 2 bath with a screened in porch and a small yard.

Before you think about the negatives of a 'Mobile Home' keep reading.

We are in a gated community, with a Home Owners Association. We have a playground, and a pool. We have rules about keeping our yard cut and our house nice looking. We also have great neighbors. Oh....and our house payment is only $285 a month!

If you are truly serious about saving money, you have to let go of the stereotypes and think of what is best for your family. Growing up I didn't dream of owning a mobile home, but I did dream about having a roof over my head that I could afford.

My dad taught me something a long time ago about buying a house. He said not to buy anything with a payment more than 10% of your income. You have to think about all your other bills when you buy a house. You have to remember that you have car payments, electric, water, gas, fuel, food, health insurance, etc.

When we were looking at apartments and houses we decided we would not look for anything more than $700 a month since our combined income at the time was around $70, 000. But then we also considered me staying home and taking care of any future children we had. This lowered that number to $400 a month. We quickly put aside our pride and started looking at every option. Then when we started looking at mobile homes we found this one. It was cute, in a great neighborhood, and the right price!

I thank the good Lord every day for this house. When my husband had both his open heart surgeries and couldn't work, I knew we would always have a roof over our head. That is such a good feeling! I know that even if my husband were to pass away, I can go back to work and pay the mortgage on this house. If that were to happen to you.....could you pay your house payment by yourself? Just a little something to think about.



Cars:

We currently have 2 cars. We purchased them at Saturn. We love Saturn!! They have great prices, and no haggling! We purchased my car new about 7 years ago when my (paid for) car died. We have not had one problem with my Saturn! And, we have completely paid it off!

Then we went a year and half with only one car. It was rough trying to coordinate schedules, but we did it. I offered my mom gas money to pick my son up from school and bring him home. I also dropped my husband off at work before I went to work, and picked him up from work every day after I got off work.

We couldn't afford another car at the time, and didn't want to finance one with a huge car payment since we didn't have any money for a down payment. Let me tell you something ........make it work if you can not afford a car. DO NOT finance a car if you cannot afford one. The convenience of it is not worth having a car repossessed and your credit ruined!

We then purchased my husbands car 2 years ago for work. He couldn't fit all his work stuff in my little 4 door car, so he purchased an SUV. After we pay off his car, we will not purchase another car until one of these breaks down. And if my husband were to pass away, and I went back to work, I might be able to pay his car payment. Even if I couldn't, I wouldn't worry, because my car is paid off! If I couldn't make the payment, I would sell his car, pay off the loan, and drive my car to work every day. If that were to happen to you, would you still be able to afford a car payment? Would you still have a car to get to work so you could pay your bills? Just something to think about!


This is the end of part 1 of my Living on Less series.

I will post more parts throughout this week and into next week.

Happy Saving & God Bless