When my husband and I were expecting had our first child, I went back to work part time and was blessed to have a family friend watch our daughter in our home during my work hours. After our second child was born, I decided to freelance and then went on to start my own business when enabled me to work out of my home. Since I still am in the process of growing a christian life coaching business, we essentially are living on one income and have had to cut back on our expense. All your tips are great and things we have done in the past couple years.

A tip about the “non-essentials” for women who are working out of the home or growing a business and need a cell phone/Internet to conduct business, there are ways to make this cheaper: most Internet providers have several speed package options. Choosing to go for the lowest speed option cut your bill significantly. Also, if you like to keep a cell phone for emergency purposes (or the occasional call), try tracfone.com - this is a prepaid cell phone and you can choose the number of minutes you load onto the card. I went from spend upwards of $40/month to just under $9 per month.

In regards to TV, thankfully, through several “viewing fasts” the Lord had me do, I no longer have the desire to watch it. However, if you still like the occasional show, consider asking your cable company for a basic package which includes only your local stations (so you have good reception without the attenae). When my husband and I did this, we saved $20+ per month and has the bonus of some extra cable channels leak through at no cost (we found out the cable company is aware this sometimes happens so it’s not the same as pirating channels).