How to Live on a Single Income

Let's face it, one of the major (if not THE major) factors in deciding whether one parent stays at home or not is the feasibility of the family being able to survive on a single income.

Sharon Epperson, MSNBC's finance adviser, discusses "How your family can live on a single income" on MSNBC's Weekend Today. She gives the example of a couple who prepared for the mom to stay at home 3 years before the birth of their first child. Yes, three years. Even though she worked for those three years, they saved her income all that time. So when the time came for her to stay at home, they didn't miss it at all. That's a bit extreme, for some, maybe. But, in addition to being used to having only one income, they gave themselves a substantial emergency reserve.

Ms. Epperson gives the following three steps to find out if your family can do with only one income:

1. Tally expenses
2. Reduce costs
3. Transition slowly.

Read her article here.

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Think you really can't afford to stay at home, no matter what the experts say? Christina Baglivi Tinglof of Parents.com writes:

If you think full-time parenting is just for families with lots of money, think again. In every neighborhood, in all socioeconomic groups, you'll find households where one parent works while the other stays home with the kids. So how come they can do it and you can't?

Read her article, "You Can Afford to Stay at Home" for more specific ways to make the transition.