Surviving On One Income in the SF Bay Area

I've been a single mom for over 20 years and live in the SF Bay Area, one of the most expensive places in the world to survive in. I own my own home that I purchased without the help of a long lost rich uncle or an ex-rich hubby. I'm also blessed with 3 kids and we all live fabulously frugal!

You've heard it before. "These days you need 2 incomes to make it." Ha! I say because of my "INDY" attitude (Impossible? No. Difficult? Yes - but not impossible.) People often comment with "I-don't-know-how-you-do-it", but if there truly is a will, then there will truly be a way.

Here are 11 ways I survive in a nutshell - some of which I plan to elaborate in future Hubs, while adding more ideas and commentary since I believe living with a budget-conscious-INDY attitude is constantly evolving:

1) I work full time in a job that offers a work-from-home schedule a few days a week. I took a cut in pay to take this job, but it's enough to [sometimes barely!] survive on. I do live paycheck-to-paycheck, but it puts food on the table, pays my mortgage and allows for a healthier work/family balance.

2) I find ways to make extra money when I can fit it in. My kids have very active school and extra-curricular activities which keep my calendar pretty full, but my INDY attitude keeps me going.

3) My mortgage is manageable. I was one of those lucky folks to buy a fixer upper in the Bay Area 10 years ago -- about 15 minutes before the market took off and prices started to soar. And I've only refinanced once to get a lower rate. Currently my mortgage is about the same as what many folks pay to rent a 2-3 bedroom apartment in my area.

4) I shop everywhere and keep an open mind. For food you may find me at Safeway one day, and Grocery Outlet or the Farmer's Market the next. For clothes and other non-food items you may find me at the mall one day and a thrift store the next. You'd be amazed at what one finds at discount prices! I have a friend, also a mom, who is a designer-conscious, well-mani / pedi-cured friend of mine constantly lamenting that she "could never shop at those thrift stores". One day she went through mine and my kids' closet and was amazed that she could not pick out which clothes and purses I bought at a department store and those I purchased at a second hand store.

5) I don't go to a salon. My manis and pedis are done at home. My hair style is simple, trimmed by myself, a friend or my sister.

6) I have one major credit card and no department store cards. Once I paid all those high-balance/high interest cards off I kept the one major card and haven't looked back since. If I don't have the cash then I simply don't buy it. (This was a hard one to get used to!)

7) Tightwad Gazette books by Amy Dacyczyn (all 3 volumes are a must-read). You may not buy into all her cost-saving techniques, but her attitude and writings on the world of tightwad living are excellent and will help widen your mindset.

8) Craigslist http://sfbay.craigslist.org/ - a great place to obtain bargains and make some extra money through their For Sale, Gigs & Jobs section.

9) Dollar Stretcher http://www.stretcher.com/index.cfm - informative articles and opinions from fellow frugalers. This website changes their content about once a week to keep things fresh.

10) About Frugal Living http://frugalliving.about.com/ - another fave website with informative information and helpful links. Most of the sites on About.com offer awesome tips. Their Frugal Living site is very comprehensive.

11) eBay http://www.ebay.com/ - another great place to hunt for bargains and/or make some money by selling some of your junk or cool thrift store finds. I recently purchased a gently used exercise DVD that would've cost me 3x more had I purchased it directly from the manufacturer. I made some money once by selling an old Peanuts felt pennant that I picked up for free when I was helping a realtor friend move items out of a house she was selling. That free collectible went for $23.

Eleven ideas, with many more to come. To the already-frugal, these ideas are nothing new. To those one income families who are newbies, this can be the start of a new mindset and healthy lifestyle change. Your mindset is the first step in starting - and staying with the fab frugal way of living. From there, almost nothing will be impossible -- difficult, yes - but not impossible. INDY rocks.