Five Unconventional Things We Do to Save Money on One Income
When people learn that we live on one income with three boys under five, the first question they ask is usually some version of, how are you able to do that?
Many people assume that we either have generational wealth, a very high salary, or some combination of the two.
But in reality, it’s a combination of intentional choices that we made over several years, a budget that is built around our values, and a handful of habits that probably look a little unconventional.
We do the standard things too, like cooking at home most nights, shopping sales, buying used when we can, and keeping subscriptions minimal. But those feel less worth writing about because you have heard them all before.
This week, I want to share the unconventional things that save our family money, reduce our consumption in ways that feel good rather than restrictive, or both.
1. We Cloth Diaper
This one gets the most surprised reactions, so I will start here.
With three boys in diapers at various points over the last four years, we have saved several thousand dollars by using cloth diapers instead of disposables.
The upfront investment was around $500 for diaper shells, inserts, a sprayer, etc., but the setup paid for itself within the first few months and has continued paying indefinitely with each subsequent child. Yes, you can really use the same set of cloth diapers for multiple children without buying anything new.
The environmental piece matters too. The average child uses between five and eight thousand disposable diapers before being potty trained. These disposable diapers end up in landfills, where they take up to 450 years to decompose.
There is also research showing that cloth-diapered babies tend to potty train earlier than those who wear disposables. That’s certainly been true for us: both of our older boys potty trained slightly before their second birthdays and we expect our youngest to do the same.
And who doesn’t want their kiddo out of diapers entirely? In my opinion, the sooner the better.
We are absolutely looking forward to the days when cloth diapering is behind us. But despite the learning curve and wash routine, it has been worth the money saved.
2. I Cut Everyone’s Hair
My husband’s. All three boys’. Every time.
I learned on YouTube approximately three years ago when our oldest was just barely a toddler. I bought a pair of clippers with various guard sizes, combs, and shears on Amazon for $25 and the rest is history.
I’ll be honest — the first few cuts were not my best work, but I’ve gotten better at it over time.
The boys’ cuts take about ten minutes each (when they decide they actually want a haircut). My husband’s takes a little longer, but it is indistinguishable from a barbershop cut at this point (or so he tells me). He seems happy enough to keep sitting in the kitchen chair. Plus he wears a hat most days, so he doesn’t mind if it isn’t perfect.
This one may seem minor because haircuts aren’t that expensive. But the savings on haircuts compounds quickly when you have multiple people in the house who need them on a regular basis.
3. My Husband Learns Everything on YouTube
This is probably the single highest-value unconventional habit on our list.
My husband is a stay-at-home dad who is also a self-taught handyman.
Leaky faucet? Husband.
Broken fence gate? Husband.
New ceiling fan installation? Husband.
Painting rooms? Husband.
Basic drywall repair? Husband.
Broken down mower? Husband.
We do not outsource much. My husband throws on some old clothes, tucks in his shirt, and handles all of it at home. Almost always after (or while) watching a YouTube tutorial.
We are not afraid to call a professional when the situation calls for one, but the threshold for what requires a professional is high in our house. And that has saved us more than almost anything else on this list.
A secondary benefit is that my husband finds satisfaction in the problem-solving piece of it all. And I find it incredibly attractive.
4. We Ask for Experience Gifts
Every birthday and Christmas, when family members ask what we or the boys want, we always ask for memberships.
We have had a zoo membership, a children’s museum membership, and an aquarium membership gifted to us over the years. As a gift they represent exactly what we value most — experiences over objects, things that do not end up in a landfill six months later, and family outings that keep three small boys entertained without costing us anything on the day.
Memberships also also the gift that keeps on giving. A zoo membership used six times in a year costs the gift-giver once and gives our family six free days out. That math is hard to beat.
If you have young kids and have not started asking for this kind of gift, it is worth having that conversation before the next gift-giving occasion.
5. We Buy Quality Once Instead of Cheap Twice
There is a philosophy we loosely follow when making purchases over a certain dollar amount: buy it nice or buy it twice.
The idea is simple. A cheap version of something that breaks, wears out, or frustrates you within a year costs more in the long run than a quality version bought once and used for a decade.
The upfront number on the quality item looks higher, but the actual cost over time is lower.
For items that get heavy use, require reliability, or would be very expensive or inconvenient to replace, we research carefully and buy with longevity in mind.
The washing machine is probably our clearest example.
With three small boys generating what can only be described as a mountain of laundry each day, we knew that when ours needed to be replaced, this was not the time to buy the cheapest available option.
We spent time reading reviews, specifically searching for commonly reported problems, and we bought accordingly. We actually bought a commercial washing machine. It may sound a little overkill, but that machine has run at least one (but often two or three) cycle a day for years without a single issue.
The same logic applies to shoes, cookware, tools my husband uses regularly, and anything we use often enough that a cheaper version would not last a year or two.
We pair this with buying used wherever possible because a quality item bought secondhand feels like the best of both worlds.
The buy-it-nice-or-buy-it-twice mindset may sound like you’ll spend more, but in practice you actually spend less over time by being more deliberate about what you buy once.
The Thing All of These Have in Common
From the outside, these choices may look a little odd, but none of them feels like sacrifice from the inside.
Cloth diapers are just our routine. Cutting everyone’s hair at home is just an hour in the kitchen. My husband learning to fix things is a skill set that makes him feel capable and useful. Asking for memberships instead of toys is a step toward memorable experiences together as a family.
This is what I mean when I say that choosing enough does not have to feel like living in deprivation.
The things on this list have made our daily life more sustainable, more intentional, and often, more enjoyable.
The money we save because of them is also very real because our spending is organized around what we actually value rather than the default option.
That feels like enough.
I’d love to know: What is something unconventional that your family does to save money?
Leave a comment, reply to this email, or send me a message. I read every single one.
x Jenny
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I find it encouraging that cloth diapering is not extinct. Due to the cost of disposable diapers, we chose cloth. Our three children were born in the late 1980s to early 1990s. When a triple cloth diaper soaked the toddler’s PJs and the bed, I used a disposable for nighttime. I especially enjoyed hanging cloth diapers on the clothesline in the summer. Sunshine is a good sanitizer.
I also appreciate your philosophy of ‘buy nice, not twice’. When my a washing machine died a few days after my first child was born, my husband went out and bought the best washing machine he could find—a KitchenAid. I used it for 20 years with one repair (a large button got trapped in the plastic pump and wore a hole in it). The only reason I found a new home for it was that we we were relocating across the country and the new place already had a washing machine. We applied the same philosophy to tools that helped with homemaking such as a grain mill, bread machine, sewing machine, etc.
I cut all our kids hair when they were young. Once they hit their teens, they went to the barber shop or beauty salon themselves.
Finally, regarding buying used, most of my children’s baby and toddler clothes I found at garage sales in upscale neighborhoods. Name brands in excellent condition. I found toys and books at yard sales as well. As a homeschooling mom, I shopped library book sales and used curriculum swaps for our schooling needs. We also bought used vehicles. Because my husband used a company vehicle with his job, we were able to manage with one car that we actually owned until the kids hit driving age and needed transportation for jobs, community college classes, etc. Even now as a retired couple, we manage sharing one used vehicle. My husband does also have a motorcycle, but I don’t drive it, so I guess you could say we have one and a half vehicles.
I like the experiences idea for gifts. We did not do this, but sometimes we would ask for specific project kits in areas I knew would interest our children such as bead art, model making, drawing, etc. These types of gifts were fun and enhanced our homeschooling.
The very first thing I did after adopting two babies from Russia as a single mom was to rely on the providence of God. (Finding a 20$ bill on the ground after I made this prayer was a nice sign). Here's something I did for their college: enroll them in the local community college in the guaranteed admissions program. You take the first two years of credits there, and then your last two years you spend at the more expensive four-year university. The degree is from the university. I have one daughter already graduated and starting a career as a paramedic; the other is a senior.