We’re a One-Income Family—Here’s How We Make It Work (Barely)

by CasieBlog, Mom ThingsPosted on No Comments

When we decided I’d stay home with our daughter, we didn’t exactly have a financial roadmap, or any sort of plan to survive on one income. We just knew that daycare was too expensive, my job situation wasn’t working, and our daughter deserved the kind of care only we could give her. So we took the leap—and then we started figuring it out as we went. This post isn’t a guide or a “how-to” (because I’m not that mom), but it is a look at the real things we’ve done to make one income work in 2024-2025.

Let’s be real- it’s the question on everyone’s mind: In 2025, how is any family supposed to afford having one parent stay home and care for the kid(s)?

I’ll be honest—some weeks are just plain hard.

Technically, my husband’s a “white-collar” worker. He’s in Health and Safety at a milk company, (and working on getting an OSHA degree) while it’s a solid job, climbing the ladder takes time. Like any good elder millennial, we know it’s all about the long game—waiting for people to retire or move on so you can take the next step up. So in order to make life more comfortable, we have to bide our time until the next step becomes available.

Originally, the plan was for me to go back to work after six weeks of leave. But between the drama with my employer and the eye-watering cost of daycare, it didn’t make much sense. I’d basically be working just to cover childcare. So instead of handing most of my paycheck over to a daycare center, we decided I’d stay home and care for her myself. She’d get my full attention, and we’d raise her exactly how we wanted.

The first few months were rough—I won’t sugarcoat it. At one point, I was so deep in job boards and cover letters that I ended up rewriting my husband’s resume and applying to jobs for him. That’s actually how he landed the role he’s in now. Total win-win: better pay, and a company that values what he brings to the table and actually supports his passion for the work. A place with an actual future, and it allowed me to stop looking for a part time job, or one of those ever elusive “work from home” jobs that I’m convinced don’t actually exist.

After a while, I started looking at our subscriptions and non-essential bills. Did we really need Netflix, Peacock, and Crunchyroll? Were we even using half of what we were paying for? I asked myself: could I swap name-brand foods for cheaper versions, or just make them from scratch instead of buying them pre-made? Could we save money by switching our car or homeowners insurance to a different company? These were all things I looked at—and yeah, I made some cuts and tweaks where I could.

Next big thing? Meal planning. And I’ll be honest—meal planning isn’t always easy, especially when you’re not someone who can eat the same thing every day. (That’s me.) I try to keep a good rotation going. Meanwhile, my husband could happily eat the same five meals forever and not complain once. (Idk man, he’s weird.)

I usually shop at Walmart and Hannaford (yeah, Food Lion for some of you). I find produce and meats are often cheaper at Hannaford (and the quality seems to be higher), while Walmart wins when it comes to “center store” stuff—aka the pre-packaged and non-perishables. (Sorry, I used to work in a grocery store’s corporate office, old habits die hard.)

Each week I check the Hannaford flyer—Walmart doesn’t do flyers—and see what’s on sale in terms of meat, fruits, and veggies. From there, I either pull from my own recipe stash or do a quick Google search for something that’s easy and budget-friendly. Then I build my carts online—usually on my laptop, not the app—and either schedule a grocery pickup or use my cart as a digital shopping list and head to the store. Sometimes it’s nice to get the baby out of the house, but let’s be real… when I go in person, I tend to spend more. I see a snack I like or something I could maybe make, and into the cart it goes.

Could I be saving even more? Probably. And yeah, I’d love to monetize this blog someday. But I’m not here to sell you anything. I don’t want to be one of those moms pushing a “passive income course” or charging you for tips on how to “keep your toddler calm.” That’s not me.

I want to build a community of moms who get it—who are in the thick of it, like me. I’d never want to take someone’s hard-earned money, especially if there’s something I can teach or share for free that might make your day even a little bit easier.

This blog is still new and finding its rhythm. But my hope is that, over time, it can be a space that inspires you in your own journey through motherhood. I won’t be your typical influencer mom—but I will be honest, real, and a little silly along the way.

How my Meal Planning saves on Groceries!

by CasieBlog, Food and Reciples, Mom ThingsPosted on No Comments

Meal planning, while kinda tedious, saves us SO much money! We were spending $200+ a week on groceries. And it just wasn’t sustainable. We all know the price of groceries is crazy. And if it’s not the price going up, it’s the size of the product going down.

So my husband gave me a challenge. Could I get a weeks worth of groceries for $70-$80? Now let’s be honest, this isn’t happening EVERY week. But I feel like I’m usually between $85-$150 I’m really proud of that number. I also got a Costco card for Christmas so this is where I go to get a lot of our day to day snacks, like granola bars and Edamame and even Frozen Pizza. (I haven’t calculated the cost of Costco into the budget yet as we’ve only on once so far, but I’ll update once we get into a routine.)

I also only have myself, my husband, and our 15 month old to feed. She’s still breastfeeding so she only actually consumes so much regular food throughout the day. But I’m super lucky that she will try literally ANYTHING!

Alright, so how do I make my Meal Plan? How do I know what to cook, when to cook, how much to cook? This all changes by the week. But it’s also part of how I’m able to save on groceries. So keep reading to see my process. (It’s not that hard, I promise)

  • Step 1: Make a list of all food in the house.

And by all, I mean the things I’d generally use/need for most cooking. I note down if we have Milk, Eggs, Cheese (an important staple in my house) Do we have any meat in the fridge or freezer? What vegetables and fruits do I have? Do we have pasta, sauce, rice?

Please note, I’m old school. I’m an elder millennial, I still make lists on paper. Important things get done on my computer instead of my phone. I make a grid, one section for Fridge, one for Freezer and one for Pantry. Then I do the same at the bottom of the page for what we DON’T have. This way, when I move to the next step I don’t forget what we need.

So now I’ve got my lists. Now’s the time I get my laptop.

  • Step 2: Check the weekly Grocery flyer for what’s on sale.

This is the tedious part. I buy my groceries at 2 different stores. While it makes life a little harder, it saves me at least $10 a trip! I buy all my center store groceries (boxed goods, pasta sauce, shelf stable goods) at Walmart. Now like, real take here, I didn’t shop there for YEARS. I didn’t love some of their corporate policies. But with only being on one income, I need to save every dollar I can, and shopping there is how I make it possible. I will also on occasion buy my meat in a “family pack”. Then I freeze it into separate dinner portions and take it out as needed. This helps me keep my grocery price down the rest of the month.

I get all my produce, meats, and dairy products at Hannaford. It’s a grocery chain in the North East. (They are owned by the same people as Food Lion, if that helps for a comparison.) So I look at the Hannaford flyer and have tabs open on my computer for both Walmart and Hannaford. As I find what’s on sale, this is when I decide on a recipe, if I havent cooked with it often, I’ll look up a recipe. Luckily for my husband, I’m a pretty good cook. I did a semester of Culinary classes in college. (I suggest people take a cooking class if they are able, just getting the basics makes a Huge difference.)

This week ground Turkey was a good price so I figured Turkey Burgers would be good! (I made Tacos with ground turkey last week so I didn’t want to repeat this). Kielbasa was on sale, but its not something I cook with often. So, I did what we all do, I googled a recipe! I found a sheet pan Sausage, Broccoli and Potato recipe and figured that sounded great! Easy peasy. I also already had frozen shrimp, so Shrimp Scampi is an easy fix, and all I need is a small bottle of wine!

Something helpful if you’re not a super confident cook is to start with a few staples. (And I don’t mean a bowl of cereal) Learn how to make Spaghetti with meat sauce. You don’t even have to make the sauce! (I buy jarred and Zhuzh it up!) Tacos are an easy meal that everyone likes! You can use hamburg or turkey or chicken! I always add extra spices then just the taco mix. You could make your own seasoning mix if you wanted as well! As you get more confident, you can change up your dishes a little at a time, or branch out and make something similar. Make your own garlic bread for your pasta night! Make a burrito instead of tacos!

Once you feel a little more confident, you’ll be able to branch out into new dish’s and new ingredients! This will help you as you get your groceries as you’ll have more ideas for what you can cook out of what’s on sale. Even if you look up a recipe, you can always use it as a guide, and make it your own! I do this often!

I hope this was helpful! I’ll update again as we figure out Costco and how that affects the budget. I’ll also post recipes as well! Feel free to comment and let me know if this helps, or if you have anything that works really well for you!