Salary: Our joint salary is $40,000. My personal salary is about $22,000. Since having my baby in August, I have returned to work part-time for this school year. We’ve had to live extra frugally since my income is half of what it used to be. Our usual joint salary used to be $60,000.

Paycheck Amount (Every 2 Weeks): Joint paychecks are $1,600 — mine is usually $1,100. Husband is trying to get a small business off the ground, but he works at Trader Joe’s on the side so that we have health insurance and a 401K. He also does freelance graphic design and plays music gigs in addition to his business (which is barely starting to turn a profit), so we can rely on approximately $3,000 profit per year from these additional sources of income.

# of roommates: 3 (husband and two kids). I’m raising my two boys, (6 years old and 5 months old) in my hometown with my surfer-artist husband, where we aim to live simply, save enough to pay off debt, and do a little traveling. In order to avoid the conundrum of high childcare costs, my husband and I have staggered our work schedules so that one of us is home with the baby while the other works. We make little sacrifices, and we try to resist the pressure to keep up with the Joneses.

Monthly Expenses

Rent: $1,500 (Crazy-cheap for our area, but our two-bedroom apartment is tiny. We estimate we’ll have to move once the baby is mobile.)

Loan Payments: $150

Utilities: $70

Transportation: Gas for both cars: $100 + insurance on both cars: $120 = $220. Both cars were paid for in cash, so no car payments.

Phone Bill: $90

Health Insurance: $300 for all four of us (already taken out of husband’s paycheck)

Savings: $100 or more, if possible

Groceries: $400

Netflix: $20 (we use this instead of having cable)

Gym Membership: $0 (at a basic, no-frills gym, covered by husband’s company)