Living on Ten Thousand a Year

I am a full-time college student and a single mother of a toddler. We live on $10,000 a year. When I decided to go back to school, I had to find a way to live within meager means to better our future. When I realized my finances, I was confronted with 10, 378 dollars a year.

I recently read an article on how a single man could live on twenty thousand a year, to me, not much of a feat. Another article was on a single man who lived in an R.V. on eleven thousand a year. Although more impressive, the lifestyle lived is one that most of us can agree would not be for see able. So how do you live on 10,000 a year with a child? And what type of lifestyle must you live to achieve this?

My finances are pretty simple because I do not have many bills. Monthly I have rent, water, Netflix and electric. That’s it. On an average month, these totals run about 375 for rent, 50 for water, 8 for Netflix (streaming only) and around 75 for electric. Now, I must say that I had to work at these totals. With the few things below, I halved my cost of utilities.

· Be aware of water. Quicker showers, turning the water off while you brush teeth, soap and wash dishes.

· Update your heating and cooling. (I had those horrible baseboard heat and ten year old air conditioner.

· Change bulbs to the more efficient ones. The light is better and the initial 5 dollars of so per, will be paid back in a month or so.

· Cover windows in the winter with plastic. Saves drafts which turn your heat on.

· Caulk windows with an insulation. New houses this is not needed. I stay in an older apartment and was definitely needed.

· Got a newer model air conditioner for around a hundred bucks.

· Purchased small heaters for winter months. I do not even turn my baseboard heaters on at all anymore.

Netflix was just recently added to my expenses after a one month trial that made me a believer. My son is in love with Thomas and there are enough of those cartoons and many others to never worry about cartoons. The selection of movies is vast and so different. No, you do not get all the new movies, but what makes a movie any better when it first comes out anyways. Their suggestion program works well to find movies you never heard of, but will thoroughly enjoy.

Basic free T.V. I don’t understand the need for 600 channels, I have 6. FOX, PBS, NBC and CBS. Not sure what the other two are, but they never have anything on anyways, so no need to mention them. These four channels cover about any type of show my son and I would want to watch. Funny comedy, sports, educational programming and news.

Free Ideas

· Get outside! Whether it be for a stroll, going to the park, hiking, swimming, making snow mans. I mean really there is so much to do outside, a free asset most rarely use. If you have children like me, getting them out and wearing them down is never a bad thing. They have so much energy, let them use it without destroying the house and driving you crazy in the process.

· Library. Enough said. Free DVD rentals, story time and activities for the kids and thousands of books and audios to read.

· Malls. I have one about 5 miles down the road and they are always having different community events and activities. Our local one has even has a play area for kids to play in if we want to go down there for a stroll and a new play environment and social time with other kids.

· Museums. Whether they are for science or an art gallery. Most will have special events that are free or excessive discounts at certain times, use them.

· Church. There is always activities going on at church, free movies, children’s play groups and an array of social events. Have a great time and fill your soul at the same time.

My son and I are almost always entertained. He has a weekly playgroup, 2 different story times and a church class. The rest of the time we find local events and outdoor activities to keep us busy. We both love crafts, so we spend large blocks of time on arts and crafts. To lessen the cost of the supplies, I always buy them around the time kids are going back to school. I buy enough for the year and spend less than twenty dollars. The discounts at this time will never be superceded by any other deal through the year. This only one example of buying at certain times, out of season shopping can save 75 percent easy.

I also live in town and receive free Wi-Fi from local businesses.

Although public transportation is available, I have to have a car. I own my car (8 year old) and I spend less than fifty a month on gas. To achieve this, I work locally where I can walk and I plan my trips together to avoid wasted gas. With the prices the way they are, every trip cost money. Living in a small town, I walk to a lot of the places I go, my son enjoys the sun and I enjoy the exercise. My car is insured and shopping around saved me hundreds a year.

Blasphemy right? Wrong. I set back 500 dollars a year for a couple trips. We take a road trip for about 5 days up north to where family lives. I even rent a motel room for a couple of those days, see the sights, but always with the budget in mind. Anywhere you go, take advantage of the free assets around you. This always being our summer trip, we take advantage of the beaches, parks, family time and petting zoos and other activities that are discounted. Summer months are filled with festivals and fairs, you just have to find them.

The second trip is usually taken closer to home, but I like to include a night in a hotel. Make a couple days of it and travel to a surrounding county for some local festivity or activity that may interest you or your child. This year we are going a couple counties over for a train ride and to go to the zoo. I know when we get there, there will be parks and other fun free activities to discover. Look at life as an adventure, you will be surprised what you can find.

To save money on these road trips, I always use a few tricks to save money.

· Fill up in states with lower taxes on gasoline. As a rule, certain states are just cheaper and some states are always higher no matter what. In my travels, Kentucky, California, New York, Indiana have all had seemingly higher gas prices.

· Fill up outside of a big city. The cities surrounding the larger cities will still have competitors to keep their prices low, without having to go through a metropolitan area. Gas stations out in the middle of nowhere are going to be 20-30 cents more a gallon, with a fill up that can cost some money.

· Drive 55. Most cars this is the speed of best gas mileage, so drive slower. Even in big trips, another hour in time can result in twenty less in your tank.

· Bring your own snacks and drinks. I carry a cooler with ice and drinks and plenty of fruits, veggies and different snacks for the little one. Gas stations will rape you with their prices.

· Choose hotels 10 miles or more from a metropolitan area. It is kind of like gas prices, you want some competition, but not the big city prices. A lot of people feel the need to book ahead, if the discount is worth it, go for it. I never do.

· Take advantage of hotels coupons and activity flyers. You may find a free activity or discounts on local attractions. Explore wherever you are.

I spend about 75 dollars a week on groceries. I cook all of our meals and I just take advantage of discounts. I do not cook more than me or my son can eat cause I really hate waste. Before going to the grocery store for my weekly trip, I make a menu for the next week and make a list accordingly. I do not skimp on food, we eat whole healthy home cooked food. The less processing your food has, usually the cheaper the price.

My son is insured through his father and I pay around 50 a month with a pre diagnosed condition. Shop around and find a plan that works for you, no I am not covered for everything, I feel confident in what insurance I do have.

Household goods are bought weekly to save an extra trip. I buy most at the dollar store, however I buy certain products name brand. You have to decide where you want to spend an extra couple of bucks for the name brand when the product is actually better. With hair past my waist, I cannot afford off brand supplies, so bath and beauty is one area I will splurge a bit. I do not have more makeup then I can use and I buy when I need. This is the theme of my life. I do not stress over these decision because I deep down already know. I don’t feel like I am missing out on anything, I just chose what priorities were important and went from there.

Clothing

I am always looking for great deals on clothes. My son is steadily growing and I take advantage of clearance sales everywhere. I typically do not buy clothes unless they are at least 75 percent off. This is achieved by when you buy. I usually buy clothes after Christmas, around mid January the savings really gets up there. I have been known to go to consignment shops for various items, but with clothes and shoes I always keep an eye open. I refuse to pay full price when I can pay less at another time. Saving money in this category is achieved by simply buying when they are on sale, not when you have an urge for something new.

Daycare

I used to pay 600 dollars a month on day care. When the math came down to it, money spent from transporting myself to work and daycare, took up most of my check. After a bad experience with my son’s daycare, I finally made the decision to go back to school and find a way to stay home with him till he went to school.

I go to school online, where extra costs are not added. I do not have to go to class everyday, I do not have to put my son in daycare. Some online schools are even going with full-time flat rates, where you can up your class load to be done quicker and save money on your credits. I have added another class so I am at 16 credits a term and that will shave 9,000 dollars in tuition and almost 6 months off my degree.

We live in a world ran by money and materials. Yes they are needed, but really to what degree. I stopped buying and started living and I have never been happier. I do not feel like I live much differently than most, I just stop and think before I buy.

Little expenses like daily mocha and fast food lunch add up immensely and do not make us any happier. Maybe as a treat but everyday is a waste. I need to finish my education and living within my means makes this so. I even still have vises that waste my money like smoking, however I was able to cut the cost by 65 percent by just rolling my own.

Know what you have to work with and then budget accordingly. No, I do not have savings, although I do put back 100 dollars a month for rainy day. Whether it be car repairs and maintenance, dentist’s visit or any other un for seen charge, they will happen, so I am a bit prepared. This is not forever, but for now it is just fine. With my degree will come more money and I hope to keep the simplified approach to save enough to put my son through college. I have found my goal and am going for it, now go find yours, just go for it and make it happen.