Lifestyle and money

One of the hardest, if not THE most difficult thing to do in improving personal finances, is not learning the math nor finding out how to boost investment returns. It’s adjusting one’s lifestyle to suit one’s income.

There’s difficulty on both sides of the table – when the income is rising or when it’s shrinking. When Dad gets a big jump in salary, he thinks of getting a faster car. When mom gets a big break in her home business, she thinks of getting a new condo.

What happens when the global economic slump hits Dad’s company or mom’s big break unexpectedly turns into a big heartbreak? The kids are not the only ones that find it very hard to get used to a smaller house and a less funky ride.

Today’s personal finance article “Learning to cope with a single income” is about a mom who decides to stay at home for the kids. It’s also about adjusting one’s lifestyle to a shrinking budget:

Question: I am a mom with two kids, ages three and one. Every time I go to work in the morning, I feel a pang of guilt leaving them with their yayas. My husband and I have decided that I give up my job and stay home to take care of the kids. I’m happy about that, but also nervous about making ends meet in the long run. I’m due to resign at the end of the year. Can you please give me advice on how we can live well on my husband’s income alone? – Annie

The advice below are crucial to her and her husband’s peace of mind:

1. Practice living on one income for the next seven months. This will help you assess your financial resources and adjust your lifestyles. Live as if you are already supported only by your husband’s income. No doubt this will be difficult, but practicing now will help you see how you can live simply. Start by cutting down on eating out. Bring baon to work. Start taking public transportation if you have been used to taking the car. Cut down on splurges, such as weekly home massages and trips to your favorite coffee shop. There are many ways to simplify lifestyle.
2. Save your income for the next seven months. Since you will be living on your husband’s income, put your income away as an emergency fund that can support you in times of crisis (e.g., illness, job loss, death). You will need this fund to dip into in emergency cases so you won’t have to borrow money and pay for the cost of borrowing. This fund may be placed in investment products that may potentially earn more interest, such as high-interest savings deposits, time deposits, bond funds or equities funds (from mutual funds or unit investment trust funds). Putting your money in such instruments will give you more interest than a regular savings account.

I like how Annie thought this through. She did not decide on the spur of the moment. Choosing to be a SAHM (stay-at-home-mom) by the end of the year gives her some leeway. Emotional moms who feel those pangs of guilt can easily quit, just like that. I know, as I’ve felt that urge many times in my working life.

So, since Annie knows when she will have to deal with a much-lower paycheck, she can prepare. Why wait for December to adjust? Start pretending to live on a single income right now and consistently set aside her salary in her buffer fund. Or at least start with a 50% savings, and make it a family challenge to stay within the budget for the next couple of months.

As always, careful preparation and delayed gratification is key.

Check out the rest of the article here.

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