Living in a single-income household with a family of five is not easy, especially when expenses continue to increase each year. For many Americans, making this work means being creative, being disciplined, and always looking for ways to stretch every dollar.
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For Katie and Marc, living simply and sticking to a strict budget has become a way of life. In a YouTube video, Katie revealed exactly how they make it work, from paying off debt to building savings, all on one paycheck.
Katie is a stay-at-home mom with three children: one in middle school, one in high school, and the youngest in elementary school. She said: “We’re a family of five trying to pay off a lot of debt. I almost said six-figure debt, but we’re actually down to six figures now.”
Katie manages the family budget and uses a zero-based approach, ensuring every dollar works toward achieving your long-term goals. Marc works full time and is the sole breadwinner in the home. Your $6,500 paychecks form the backbone of your monthly budget. Right now, her income totals $13,350 from Marc’s two paychecks. Katie also budgets $350 in credit card rewards, which she plans to use for holiday shopping.
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The family’s largest fixed expense is their mortgage, which is $2,536 per month. Utilities and other essential items are carefully tracked, budgeting $1,250 for groceries, $200 for eating out, $100 for water, $250 for electricity, and $75 for gas. They also allocate $300 for car gas, $173 for phones, $86 for internet and $50 for garbage service. Subscriptions, including streaming services, total $132 per month.
Debt repayment is a top priority. Katie said: “Our big debt we’re trying to work on and pay off, hopefully in November, we want this to be gone by November 2025, so I’m budgeting $1,500 for that.”
In total, the family is budgeting $4,595 for debt payments for the month, including the Highlander car loan and Marc’s student loan. A $100 miscellaneous reserve is set aside for unexpected expenses.
Despite focusing on debt, the family also prioritizes how much they can keep or add to their savings accounts. She explained, “For our emergency fund, I’m budgeting $500.” The family also prepares for annual school expenses by increasing their school fund, setting aside enough to cover a required school donation of $1,500 in December.