My husband got a new job, and we’re saving 70% of his income by cutting our expenses in 6 ways

My husband's work as a school bus driver dried up at the start of the pandemic, but luckily he was able to launch his new career in May after spending the previous year in trade school.

We’d made some dramatic cuts to our spending in March, but when he started his new job we decided to keep our pandemic budget and save 70% of his paycheck.

We’re saving money by shopping around for insurance, cooking most meals at home, living in a smaller home, not having cable, keeping prepaid cell phones, and more.

My husband is lucky enough to have recently landed a new job after attending trade school for the past year. Whenever either of us lands a new work opportunity, I often start thinking about how our finances will change or improve.

While there's always the temptation to enjoy the extra money or buy things we've been putting off for a while, we decided to save at least 70% of my husband's income each month moving forward.

This decision wasn't just something we came up with overnight. This year has brought a lot of change and uncertainty, which has made us refocus on living on less than we earn and prioritize saving money.

Living on less since the shutdown

Back in March, our state governor announced that schools would be shut down. It was a bittersweet moment for me. On one hand, I wanted our son to be safe and stay home for a bit, but on the other, I knew this would put my husband out of work. He was a bus driver for a local school district at the time and without schools being in session, he'd have no work outside of his weekend food delivery job, which wasn't paying a ton.

The income we were receiving from his bus driving job instantly disappeared. Then, to make matters worse, he couldn't qualify for much unemployment due to having the weekend food delivery job.

I remember calling an emergency money meeting that weekend in March where we both sat down at my laptop and looked at our budget while trying to crunch numbers. We made a list of expenses we could cut or temporarily get rid of, whether it was slightly lowering our grocery bill, canceling subscriptions, or lowering our auto insurance premiums. Being at home more for the time being also meant we'd spend less on gas and entertainment.

My husband earned his EPA certifications in May for heating and air conditioning, and I told him to just start applying for jobs and see what happens. To our surprise, he landed a job in this new career field in just a few weeks.

The problem with lifestyle inflation

I'm not going to lie, I felt a total sense of relief when my husband received a call informing him that he was hired and could start work the following Monday. In that same breath, I knew this was no time for frivolous spending and lifestyle inflation.

Lifestyle inflation occurs when you spend more or inflate your lifestyle as a result of having more money. While there's nothing wrong with spending a little extra money every now and then, doing this consistently can limit your ability to save and stop living paycheck to paycheck.

I've always been one to prioritize living below my means, but between COVID-19 and the economy slowing down this year, it's made me feel a lot less financially secure.

Needless to say, this is a dangerous time to not have any cash flow, so we decided to keep our budget exactly the same for now and save at least 70% of my husband's income.

What we're saving and how we're doing it

I believe in giving every dollar a purpose, so the money we're saving will get split among our emergency fund, investments, and smaller short-term savings goals. Reducing our expenses earlier this year helped me realize how we could live well on much less.

Right now, we're spending around $4,000 per month or $48,000 per year, and this allows us to live comfortably. We keep living costs low by:

• Owning a smaller home where the cost does not exceed 30% of our take-home pay each month • Owning both of our used cars

outright, so no auto loans

• Not having cable and keeping

prepaid cell phone plans • Shopping around for insurance • Cooking most meals at home

• Cutting out banking fees and not carrying a balance on credit cards

Making living on less a longterm habit

Living on only a percentage of my household income is nothing new, and I've been intentional about making it a long-term habit and lifestyle. In 2015, I challenged myself to save 50% of my $35,000 salary. My husband and I were just dating then so we had separate finances.

I was able to make it work by focusing on what I call the "big three." My three largest expenses at the time were:

• Housing and utilities • Insurance

• Childcare

I kept my housing costs low by living in an 800-square foot, nofrills apartment. For insurance, I used a health sharing ministry and dental discount programs to save. For childcare, I exchanged babysitting services with friends, asked family for help, and utilized federal and state tax credits when we did have to use daycare.

I also bought used clothes, signed up for the cheapest cell phone company I could find, and focused on paying off my car loan to free up even more money.

Some of my sacrifices seemed pretty small while others were noticeable, but the key was to delay my gratification and stash more money away for future goals and tough times. I don't think I would have been able to pay off $50,000 of debt on an average income in just a few years if I didn't prioritize living on way less than I earn.

Now that my husband has a new job, I'm looking forward to expanding the gap between our income and our expenses.