When I first decided to become a SAHM back in 2004, one of the first things I did was buy a few books on living on one income. One of my favorites, is Miserly Moms by Jonni McCoy. Her book had the most practical and doable ideas that I could follow. The other books were either to generalized or too extreme (i.e. advocating dumpster diving, etc.) for me. I also loved the way that she made me realize that I'm lowering my expenses by being frugal and not cheap and desperate. I'm remember feeling desperate for a while in the beginning. I really didn't think that we could be a one-income family. Not being able to buy whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, was a little hard in the beginning.

Now that I'm trying to control my spending, I need to remember that I'm being frugal. By not spending, I'm able to continue my goal of being a SAHM until the baby is in the 1st grade.

Again, thanks for all the comments and ideas.

I'm a 43 y/o SAHM with three kids, age 14, 3, and 41 (dh). I love to read up on celebrity gossip, fashion, organization tips, cooking, and financial advice.

In my previous life, I used to work in the world of finance preparing budgets and financial analysis for large corporations. My biggest financial challenge is keeping the family budget. Of course, we're up to our ears in debt like everybody else.

My current life consists of preschool, martial arts, cooking, cleaning, and therapy sessions for ds' depression and anxiety, and other ds' speech delays.

I live in a beautiful house in Colorado, and I'm originally from Los Angeles and Hawaii.