We have been raising a large family on a single income for the majority of our 17-year marriage. Living on one income can be hard these days. Raising a large family is difficult too. Doing both? That’s crazy! But it is possible!

A few little changes can actually make a big impact on your budget. And a few big changes can make an even bigger impact on your lifestyle. 

No one knows your family, or your situation, better than you. There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to budgeting, but there are tips and ideas that can actually change your mindset and your habits, while leaving you in a position to make more informed, well thought out, choices for your large family!

Tips for Raising a Large Family on a Single Income

Embrace hand-me-downs

This is at the top of the list for a reason. While kid’s clothing is a budget buster, hand-me-downs are the perfect opportunity to get your money’s worth on clothes that don’t get a lot of wear because children grow so quickly!

Don’t be afraid to hand clothing and toys down between children! While hand-me-downs get looked down upon a lot by people and children, they’re not actually bad at all!

When raising a large family on a budget, hand-me-down items save money, while still letting children get things that are new to them. If you have fussy children who won’t touch things their siblings had before them, thrift stores are a great place to find extremely inexpensive lightly used clothing, toys, and more!

You can even find small appliances sometimes, which are kind of like adult hand-me-downs!

Have a Meal Plan

Meal planning is really something we should all be doing anyway, but it is especially important for feeding a large family on a budget. Meal planning will help you avoid eating out or wasting food by keeping you on track.

A proper meal plan can easily be made into a grocery shopping list, making it easy to buy only what you need and avoid impulse purchases. This is a great way to keep ourselves from wasting money we may need for other areas.

Overall, this will mean less spending and more money in your pocket, or available to allocate in other areas!

Use Coupons

Most people have a big misconception that coupons are hard to find and have all sorts of complicated restrictions. This is not the case at all! Coupons are all around you,!

They’re either in the paper, in your mail, or online, and can help you save big. Grocery stores aren’t the only places that offer coupons, many places offer coupons too!

Places like restaurants, movie theaters, and other entertainment options often have coupons available if you take a look. Getting into the habit of using coupons will help to ensure you never overspend on anything for your family.

Make a Budget

While everybody needs a budget, it’s that much more important when you’re raising a large family on a single income. A budget will either slow or completely stop overspending, simple as that.

And making a budget doesn’t have to be this long, drawn-out, task. But it does have to be realistic. Figure up your total monthly income and then make a spreadsheet for your monthly bills.

When you’re making a budget for your large, single income, family, think about it something like this:

• Break down your money into the areas that you need it most; food, water, electricity, gas, bills.
• Decide where you can cut spending; eating out, luxury spending, activities, cable.
• Figure up if there are any bills that you can pay off quickly to reduce interest and lower debt.
• Allocate for savings, rainy day fund, or emergency. 

Your budget should be the be-all and end-all of the financial decisions you make. If you stick firmly to your budget, you will never have problems where you are just scraping by between paychecks.

Avoid Credit Card and All Other Debt

Do not buy things you can’t pay cash for! This can be hard with a large family, but sticking to your guns on this will keep you out of a hole many people dig for themselves every day.

Debt piles up quickly and sticks with you your whole life. Any money you borrow from credit card companies or banks comes with interest, meaning you’ll actually owe more than you borrowed by the time you can pay it back!

If you must use credit cards, treat them like cash, and pay them off immediately. You’re raising a family on one income, don’t let companies take your hard-earned money!

Raising a large family on a single income may seem impossible sometimes, but by following these tips your family can breathe a little easier!

What tips do you have for other big families living on one income? Are there any tips or tricks that you could share?

Sign up for our One Week Budget Challenge

Are you tired of always stressing about money? Are you tired of wondering whether or not you have enough money in your bank account to pay the bills? If you are finally ready to transform your finances and stay on budget, then you will love our One Week Budget Challenge! In this challenge, we go over everything from how to create a budget to how to get your finances under control.