How many are one income families?

We started out as dual income until the wife got preg. with first child, she stayed home at that point and has only recently began working part time again (kids are now 11 and 13). As another poster said, I fortunately have a white collar income so it wasn't as hard on us as our neighbors have it. The choice to work was always hers...I told her whatever income she made was her mad money to spend however she liked and that we would live on mine. Interestingly enough- all these discussions (# of kids, primary wage earner, roles in the home etc...) was all openly discussed and understood BEFORE we even got engaged. I had seen too many friends relationships collapse over dissagreements like these....We both wanted to make sure we had similar belief systems early on or move on down the road. I think more marriages would survive if couples would take time to follow that example.

My .02,
David

I stayed home with my kids till they were in middle school(ate alot of beans) For all of you who are doing this it is worth it. Both of my boys did well in school and now are very responsible young men .I can compare to my nieces and nephews who's parents are in the pursuit of (things) and both work. They all have terrible attitudes twards their parents and get mad when they don't get everything they want?? Mom and dad are so tired when they get home that there is no time for family activities and they don't want to spend that time disciplining the kids. I love my nieces and nephews in small doses!!
KEEP IT UP !!! It is worth it.

Hi, One income here. Always have been for 25+ years. The women in my family tree always worked , the men always died off early in those days, I guess. Even my great-grandmother worked at a old sewing mill. Since I just turned 49, single. I will be one-income forever. Sue

When I had my children I stayed home with them and took in childcare afternoons of all the kids in my children's Montessori school whose parents worked. We budgeted so that we could live on my husband's income basically. It was a good solution for us.

I grew a big garden and baked my own bread and shopped at thrift stores. It was fun, really, learning to be thrifty.

My folks did it with six kids and we didn't have much of the "extras" but we certainly had a comfortable life. With childcare so expensive, I think it's a good option these days. My young daughter is going to do it since the birth of her baby this Spring. They can do it!

My DW is our bread winner. We both worked until I had open heart surgery last summer. Something/someone screwed up so now I'm trying to get disability.(why does that have to be so difficult/). I do all the house work and do what I can outside .But bless her heart she carries the load.

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"Whose woods these are I think I know
His house is in the village tho...."

I used the words old fashioned just to get the point across, I would have used normal but I figured that would set off a firestorm. it's great to see there's a lot of families out there doing it this way. Also interesting to see some of the women having to bear the load even if it's due to a person's health problems. IMHO it sure seems to be well worth what ever it takes. I didn't post or ask but I see some stated they are white collar which I guess we take to mean professional with higher income. I've always been blue collar if it matters, and have been self employed for a lot of the years my kids were growing up. This gave me a lot of time to spend with them also. The lack of material things was never a problem and there was generally enough money to run our household frugally. The departments where we lacked was health insurance early on, and I'm glad it was years back and not as expensive as today and retirement savings. Both are the reasons I now work a job instead of just running my own business.

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"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self confidence"
Robert Frost

We are a one-income family, now.

We have done it both ways. When I do not work we are less stressed but broke, when I am working we are MORE stressed but NOT broke.

I think all you stay at home parents fail to see how much it aids us workers.
My wife has been home all along. We figured it would be easier to live on one income than adjust to one when the kids came. Due to the fact that the wife stays home we save more than the income would be if she worked. It's a simple process to figure the cost and for MOST couples it costs more than gained by both working.

Higher taxes.
One can work o/t with no problem. You don't have to run and get the kids from daycare on time.
You only need one good car.
You only have to dress one for work.
You need not send the kids to day care $$$.
One of the parents often miss work due to doctor visits or some such. This affects their career so they make less as a result.
Less eating "quick" meals the one parent can make from scratch.

It can cost upwards of 20,000 a year to send the parent off and you probably only net a few thousand in return.

I thank my DW all the time as she makes the home. I just pay for it.

One income family here. I work and DW stays home with the kids, we are going to homeschool. When they are older she might work one day a week just to get out of the house, not for the money.

One income here for over nine years. Hubby works and I take care of (nearly) everything else.

He lifts heavy things, kills stuff when needed, pounds things, pushes things over, does construction, and take the trash cans to the dumpsters (when nagged).

I also homeschool my oldest and will homeschool the younger two girls when they're old enough.

What I find interesting is how many people use the "just", as in, "Oh, you're just a housewife?" Or the favorite, "You don't work, I see." True, I can stay in pajamas all day if I like, gab on the phone all day (while doing dishes, wiping noses, and changing diapers), and basically structure my day as I feel like it. But I'm not "Just" a housewife...I perform valuable services so that hubby can come home to a clean home, bills paid, clothes ready to wear and so forth.

I prefer to think of myself as half of a team - I'm the domestic half, he's the working half!

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Gun-toting, church-going, homeschooling, right-wing conservative, happily married, stay-at-home mom of three living in the real United States of America!

Yay!

That's us to a tee! I am trying to start my own business, but mainly just for "play" money and to give more for projects for our church, not to get rich off of.

I was the only bread maker for seven years, savings were slow wife was stir crazy. For the next two years my wife worked and I stayed home with the kids, that was ok but the same thing, savings slow and now I was stir crazy. We now both work. With me working nights and my wife working days, one of us is always here with the four kids but we have the double income with us both working. Living on one income teaches you to budget and be frugal, now that there are two incomes we can save one income for the costs of the next homestead. Savings fast and neither stir crazy, but very busy. The draw back is we don't have as much time together but we will.

We are a two-income family trying to live on one-income.

Looks like my fiancee and I will be living on her income and my disability and part time work while raising our first child. I'm nervous about this since I've always been the one who was working but she has two college degrees and makes $8 more an hour than I do so it is making economic sense for me to stay home. I don't mind it being a stay at home dad. Just have to figure out what to do with the baby since I'm a first time dad I know I will have a veggie garden set out so that might keep me busy.

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Ted H

You may all go to Hell, and I will go to Texas.
-Davy Crockett

Don't worry for the first 4 years a child is quite a hand full. You will be lucky to find time for the garden.

We're a 1 income family and have been since I was pg with our first child. Dh was in the USAF back then and we felt it was best for our family. My job is to take care of and homeschool the children, keep house, prepare meals, do laundry and do most of the work on our little farm for now.

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Paula

homeschooling mom to 2 awesome boys, married to the man who makes all my dreams come true, and lovin' life on our little farm.

We did the traditional he works out/I homemake thing. Manual labor for him, one income, raised two kids, paid off the house and everything, and retired when he was 51 and I was 49. Really, one income made much more financial sense for us in the first place. After that, we figured we actually had a higher standard of living (something to be said for clean house, clothes, good food, etc) and spent more time enjoying life and the kids. I never found homemaking boring. I think ANY job can be boring or not, depending on your attitude and how you do the job. Sure made working around his erratic job schedule easier.

When my wife and I married we chose to be one income and have been ever since (13 years).

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When faced with issues in life, where do you look for the problem; out the window, or in the mirror?

we are a one income family, dh is blue collar (body and frame tech)

I stay home, i homeschool, milk cows, make cheese and various other dairy products, raise and calve cows, run small ( and i do mean small lol)hatchery, raise poultry, garden, preserve garden produce, have gotten sheep, will shear and spin and make things from that. I also go to auctions somtimes and get things for family and to resell on ebay...

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All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent. Jefferson
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We were a one income family for many, many years (I just recently went back to work part time to build up my retirement and my son's college fund). I loved it! It was really so much better for everyones well being, knowing that things would be taken care of here at home, and that my son was being well taken care of at all times. Luckily, I've been able to work out a schedule now so that my son still has at least one parent home at all times when he is home from school, but learning to run the household with a bigger workload has been stressful.

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Melissa
Reformed hoyden. Please forgive me if I relapse.