how do people do it?
I mean, how do people survive on just one person’s income? how do they get thru bills and buying necessities.. at the same time bearing a child?
its hard enuff trying to do things in two incomes, how do people just do it with one? do they have less bills to pay… or are they getting benefits from the government…?
whats the secret?
Re: surviving…
It happens Sadzzz…It’s all about Barkat…
I have seen people who make 100K+ bawl over having to make ends meet and I have seen 10K makers being happy with whatever they have…
So, live within your means, give Sadaqa and see the Barakah that comes in your household…
Re: surviving...
^ Yup
Be thankful for what you have, do what you need to do to achieve contentment and success, and hopefully all will work out.
Re: surviving...
jee, ur both right..
i mean ive seen my parents and all other aunties and uncles go thru it all... my own parents are living examples of it...
im really happy, Alhamdulillah with what we have.. and Inshallah we'll be ok... i just dont understand how others are surviving... actually i dont even know how my parents did it with 3 children!
Re: surviving...
You just have to be realistic and you have to have some sort of budget. Ofcourse surprises always come up with 2 kids. The worst thing to do is put everything on your credit card and go into debt. Spend only the cash you have in your hand. Find discount places to shop at, coupons, sales, stock up on 10 for $10 items.
It's not easy. We have absolutely no savings. We just get by but we pay all our bills and rent on time and we don't owe anyone anything. That's a good feeling. We're very thankful that we have what we have and thank God for it.
Re: surviving...
Get rid of your car. Get used to public transit. I dont know about Australia but up here keeping a car is a 700-800$ CDN expense per month (gasoline + insurance + parking + depreciation + maintenance + unexpected repairs + tickets). For that you will have to learn to ration your time accordingy and carefully (transit usually takes twice the time to get to places). When you really very badly need to use a car call a cab. A cab two or three times a month is definitely better than paying your car's expenses. People actually do take public transit with all their six kids, prams strollers and the whole circus.
Cancel your TV service. The only good thing that comes out of TV is news, which you can get off the internet. Keep your kids away from the TV. Take time to play with them instead indoor or outdoor.
These ideas might be coming off as a very alien. If i tell my folks at my home to do what i just told you, they will burn me for blasphemy. There are habits we have become seasoned to and they are costing us money which we slave away endlessly to pay for. The point is to get rid of these habits. Think of the times that used to be before all these bills existed. People survived back then too.
Dont let an ad on TV tell you what your needs are. Close your eyes and tell yourself what your needs are. And then decide how many of those needs are simply wants.
Sincerely,
Captain Lota
Re: surviving…
Marry a rich guy 
J/k
Loti.. TV thing is a gud idea but sometimes u gotta consider what ure getting when u have ur own car.. i commute by public transportation 99 % of the time when im in NYC becoz i go to school in manhattan and taking a car there is ridiculous.. but when u have a car, u have privacy, u save time, u have freedom, u dont have to go by someone else’s schedule.. ive commuted solely by car since ive been here, n i cant imagine having to take a riksha or taxi anymore.. i’s spoiled 
Re: surviving…
that’s exactly what i did when i was living on my own with a small income, and i saved so much, i think i could have supported a hubby and kid with the savings
Re: surviving...
I agree with Lajawab
You have to set your priorities, basically.
Re: surviving...
I dont believe in budgets.
Neither do I believe in being posh or expensive habits.
The only thing that kills me is the rent.
Bills arent that much. I spend when I have to.
The one thing that i've learnt in these few years is not to stress over money
Things will happen on their own course
no need to get grey and wrinkly by worrying over it.
Re: surviving…
It’s all about inflation. Life is more expensive now than it was in the past.
What used to be easy to afford on one income is now difficult even on 2. There’s a guy in his late 50s in HR in my company who’s been with the company since his early 20s. He knows our salaries and says that in his day, the entry level salary in the company could buy a house and support a family of 4.
These days, the entry level salary will let you rent a condo at best and support just yourself. It’s not that they pay less… it’s that inflation has made the cost of living spiral out of control.
Our generation can afford less on one income that that of our parents.
Re: surviving...
i first worried over money and budgeting when it wasnt even my age for it .. i owed 200 something bucks..and i was panicing ..
see there is a barkat factor, and there is a PLANNING/paying-attention factor.. if u read captain lota's post, u will see that saving 800 a month WILL SAVE A LOT!
thats.. umm .. 9600 a year.. now tell me (from canadian standards) thats not a lot of money and i will smack u :-)
Re: surviving...
I have seen people who make 100K+ bawl over having to make ends meet and I have seen 10K makers being happy with whatever they have...
So, live within your means, give Sadaqa and see the Barakah that comes in your household...
^ Totally agree. Alhamdulilah we are able to sustain ourselves as well as my in-laws with hubs' income. Alhamdulilah.
Re: surviving...
agree with cappy
budget, stop any unecessary expenditure and live within your means
do things like (they may not apply..)
if you cant really afford a three bed house, rent a two bed..get the kids to share
work part time if you can, be economical with food.. buy in bulk..or cook in bulk and put away, economise on bills... turn off lights etc
Re: surviving...
Spend within your means and you should be ok. If you can't afford something, you don't have to have it right now (house, car etc.). Work for it and cherrish it once you get it.
Re: surviving...
[quote=Sara516]
Marry a rich guy :D J/k
lol...my aunties always say that the only condition for the man that wants to marry me is that he has to be mega mega rich in order to keep me happy...and they always blame my parents for spoiling me!!!
Re: surviving…
[quote=sweetpip]
hmmm my parents did the contrary and now are whinning that i don’t care about marrying a millionaire 
i think parents are never happy anyway:D
Re: surviving...
we are budgeting :)
we dont have a tv, so no kharcha there.. we dont have the net at home either, so no bills there.. we dont go out very often either... maybe once in two weeks or so... but thats allowed, nahin? come on.. we just got married hehe..
na, we'll be arrite Inshallah.. sometimes the stress just gets to u i guess.. nothing else really... thanks for the advice everyone
Re: surviving...
Moving out of the expensive area and going towards less expensive place will definately help.
Plan everything and slowly you will get through it inshallah.
Getting a lower cell phone or cutting off landine will help. if both of you have phones
NO credit cards. Life without them is awesome.
If you owe money then pay it off totally and there is no saving before that.
If you didnt compelete your degree then do it now since there are no kids. you and i know this very well people do make money if they have degrees. Education is definately worth a lot of things.
But whatever you do dont forget the special days between you and your wife. us girls even know the first phone call date and even when we first talked with the guy. yeah its scary but thats how we work.