Topic: How do you manage your finances and family if your income is low range? - page 9. (Read 1846 times)

Just simply owning a piggy bank when you are a child means that if you have coins you will put them there because you know you can buy a toy if it is already full. Even in small amounts you can save it because later on it will accumulate. The problem right now is that the mindset of saving is that you'll be putting bigger than a penny into it which is why others got discouraged from saving a penny. So if we practice it then for sure even in hard times we can still save so it really depends on our discipline and mindset.

Here is how my father handles our family's finances: My father's salary is 70% less than that of other people in our category because he has no formal education and works as a manual laborer.
Because of this, we have to be very frugal and watch every penny we spend. Each purchase is carefully thought out and everyone in the family is aware of the financial situation.
We don't spend on luxuries because we have to make ends meet.

The ability to manage finances needs to be developed at a very early stage, even when you have a very small income, which is only enough for the essentials, learn to save even in the most difficult times. As you increase your income, the amount you save will increase and this will allow you to invest more, but at the same time your standard of living will also improve. The most important thing is to maintain the habit of saving and investing when it becomes possible.

I personally find the figures you give quite interesting and my assumption is that if you have a family, 40% feels right for a small family, but the figures above, if there are 6 members in the mass family, there must be additional subsidies because the price of primary needs is currently at the cost of everyone.

That's right, variations definitely exist and I myself usually plot 80% of my salary at home, 15% for my operations and sometimes I also slot savings funds and set aside 5% of my income per month for social activities in community life, especially since it is part of our extended family, for example visiting someone who is sick or going to an invitation to a family party.


If you are open to each other and understand each other's financial conditions, especially your wife, this is the most effective medicine in maintaining family integrity as well as encouragement to seek additional income.

By telling your partner or your family about your financial status it can ease the burden on your mind which can be good for you mentally. Though it won't solve the problem it is a short-term solution so that when you are still looking for another source of income or even finding a new job they can still help you by budgeting money and lessening their expenses. Even myself I will open up about this because they can still support and help me in this kind of situation and then after that find another source of income for fixing that problem.

that might works sometime but you know sometime there is some people that really lack of responsibility doesn't understand the consequences, but at least everyone in the family knows that there's something needs to be fixed since the budgeting already disclosed and properly managed.
still i would honestly say that its better to increase the income so that some problems gets automatically fixed.
therefore its essential to keep learning and learning to have skills and therefore increase the income.

Yes, talks can be done to make everyone understand what your financial situation is. Because if someone keeps on demanding or asking for more but you can't give it anymore, it's visible what the problem is.

And if they can't really adjust by all means then there's only one way of doing it and that's to help each other, find jobs or other source of income. A lot of families does this and helping each other to keep up with the bills and to make ends meet.

The best thing to make things easy is to open up to the partner to know how much money that comes in for the month,  communication and understanding can help families manage no matter how small that comes in as their allowance and it will make them to manage money well not unnecessary things. When every member of a family understands what is the income that is keeping the family for the month they have no choice of adjusting every budget and standard just to meet up with bills that is very important for the family.

That's right, and I think it's our job to take it easy, whether we can afford it or not, circumstances will tell us.

Maybe, something similar has also been felt, not only by you, but certainly by other people. This is indeed undesirable and there are many important reasons why things change and it is definitely not our will.

This will be a challenge in itself because if you are able to manage it well and survive with limited financial conditions where all daily primary and secondary needs are increasing at this time.

The solution is cutting down your expenses, getting another job or source of income is a different topic and we are talking about how one can manage their finances if they have a low range income, so though it's true that one should try and get another source of income on the side to make things easier but what if one isn't able to do that? They will also need to manage somehow, right? I believe spending money more carefully should do the job and make one able to manage things even with a low-range income.

I've been through it. I had a high-paying remote job that used to pay me more than what I needed for my monthly expenses, I was able to save some money and buy everything we needed for the house, and then unfortunately, I lost that job, and then I struggled for about a year, having to manage with a low-income job which was obviously difficult but it thought me how one can manage with the little they have.

I know that everyone has different ways of managing their living needs according to their income. About me, of course I just try my best and try my best not to disturb each other.

So far I have 3 parts that I have to fulfill from my total monthly income. The first 40% is for living expenses and family needs, the second 30% is for investments, while the other 30% is for the reserve budget including unexpected costs and charity. Of course this is a percentage that I can't always maintain consistently, but it is a reflection of how I have managed my finances over the years. It doesn't matter if you and I have different ways, but as long as it's good for ourselves then I don't find a problem in how to manage it.

The cost of living is very much determined by location or place, as we know that the cost of living in cities is certainly greater than in villages, almost everything has to be purchased from water, gas, electricity and so on, in most villages in my country there are still many houses that don't want to have electricity and living. It's still traditional so the cost of living is very low, of course I can do this when I have a low income.

If that image has helped you change your mindset, that's fine. But it's more of a general, common-sense advice rather than a plan. If you have a massive debt, i.e. a student loan, then you should probably focus on: 1) graduating; and 2) use your degree to put yourself on the right career track that will earn you serious money eventually.
Times are changing and what was a good advice 10 or 20 years ago, might not work as well in the current day.
Focusing on being debt-free at a young age is not always the best way to go. It's usually better to take some risk, go into debt to get solid qualifications and increase your income, rather than be stuck in a dead-end job for decades.
Also, the $1,000 emergency fund is way too small. The general rule of thumb says it should be at least x6 times your monthly wages. I suspect that image is from quite some time ago.

But best of luck in getting out of debt and improving your life. Don't give up on yourself.

Sharing this photo that might help you to reflect on your current life status


Photo from facebook

The key takeaway here is to get yourself out of debt, in all honesty, I'm in debt to various people, friends, and relatives. I got in debt from my previous situations where I really needed money for some emergencies that I have not been prepared for. Having a low income sucks, especially when you don't really have an option, or trying to get other options, but do yourself a favor to no borrow or loan because this where the most problem will start. Try to save as much as you can, may not be that much but small savings could help. Be debt free, or pay your debts first before anything else without sacrificing your daily needs. Once you got out take a portion, even not 15%, just take time to know what you are investing on and you're investment will be worth.

I've been thinking a lot after seeing this photo, reflecting on my next steps in life, hopefully I'll be able to follow these baby steps and live out a happy and contented life.

Lucky for you as a Father who do have a children that really having those kind of concern when it comes to family income and supporting whenever someone in need because we know that not all  sons/daughters would really be having those kind of concern or thoughts specially inside the family but rather on the time that they would really be able to get their job then they would really be likely on being that going solo and wont really be minding about giving some help or support to other family members on which this is indeed the fact or reality of this world. This is why as a Father then it would really be always on setting out aside some savings which are really that intended solely for emergencies or into those situations on which you would really be needing up that kind of funding to support whenever there's a hardship.

Never ever make yourself that anticipating on getting some help from your children because you cant really be that so sure that you would really be getting any help from them when time comes. This is why before you would really be making yourself getting involved or attached with married life then its always been that suggested or recommendable that you should really be that save up as much as you can and having that proper financial planning so that you wont really be struggling when the time comes. After that on which on the time that you are already running on your own then it would be always ideal on living
by your means and not with your wants then you would be finding yourself that having a good financial life on which you wont really be having that headache.

You're in the family together so there must be expected cooperation to contribute to the earnings of the family.  If some people take second jobs to survive, someone else in the family contributes to pay the bills will be a relief for the father who already has a hard time earning a few dollars a day.

But while the money is not flowing well, it's best to just control the spending. People today already are in this situation, living paycheck to paycheck and it's hard to see children today will not go to school because of the economy.

Live with what is available. There is a common statement used by the older generation, "born poor is not our mistake, but dying poor is our mistake". We can continue our life, making calculation based on what we save and what all the expenses need to be met in that particular month. Through the traditional statement I would like to suggest to extend the connections and make yourself better earning person. This is possible, when we're ready to work on it.

If a single person is earning and the family is suffering low income, maybe the other can also find some job. One person's earning can be kept for savings and investment. Another person's earning can be used for all the life needs.

First I would say the ability to hold the family stance is capitalized on the providers capacity and ability to manage a home before considering the rate of his income.
There are people who receives high and higher incomes and yet it seems not enough to run the family and not even on the fact that he has other necessity to tackle or he is saving to realize capital for an investment other than governing a family.

Talking about managing a family with a low income is depends on the impression the provider has invested on the family such as nurturing the family on extravagant or complex lifestyle living.
Hence... You can manage your low income with family my living according to your income rate of possible a minimal to your income because there is surely of other issues arising that is gazed at financial problem.
So the family must live a low cost rate as to befit the low income without exceeding the rate of the of the providers income.
There is no acceptable advice to watch your family crawling on hunger and shelterless or even facing health issues all in the name of financial economization (savings).

There are terms to overlook or minimize considering a low rate income such as>>>
* Mindful of quality of food and the squares of meal and other consumptions.
* Quality of the family's engagement pertaining bills.
* Conciousness of health as not to trigger unnecessary expenses or escalation of expensive expenses as to manage health care.
* Eliminations of self pleasures.

I would like to discuss my own personal experience and how I learned from my dad who managed to keep us filled even with a low income. I must say that I have learned a lot from him as I have grown up and responsibilities increase with age. My father with three children and a wife, was the only provider for our family on a limited income as he held the same stable job for over 15 years. He ensured that we focus in our studies and taught us that money isn't everything in life. He also showed us how to find happiness in simple things without being fancy.

As I started working and earning money by myself, I came across many experiences that made me realize that with the same salary my dad had when I was young, he could feed us and cover all our expenses for a month without any issues. But I faced financial difficulties with the same income, only to discover that money management is more important than the amount of income itself.
I learned the importance of saving for unexpected emergencies, such as medical conditions and accidents, and when to invest.

Same here! I always keep track of all the expenses I had during the week, I also ensure to keep track of every cent I gain to ensure that I am informed of just how much I can allocate for the week's food and utilities needed. Additionally, I also started meal planning so I have a general idea of what ingredients I'll be needing to buy and just how much I can spend on food. Takeouts can only be done once a week, either Saturday or Sunday as a reward for my long week of working (I usually go for the cheapest fastfoods I can find). Although some may think that it takes a lot of effort and time to list down everything, the effort is worth it for me as it keeps me on track with my budget.

I also agree with you with finding additional source of income as you can never go wrong with that as long as it is legal.