A mom-of-four from Illinois who has mastered the art of budgeting to manage a family of six on just one income is sharing her tips.
Avery Farrell, 26, and her husband, Eric Farrell, 30, who works in transportation, belong to a growing movement of young couples embracing a traditional way of raising children. Pivotal to their lifestyle is a mindful way of managing money by sticking to a strict budget, and Mrs. Farrell is of the opinion that creating a “zero-based” budget can be almost as effective as earning a second income.
“I was able to find hundreds of extra dollars on our tight income by evaluating our expenses and lowering bills,” Mrs. Farrell told The Epoch Times, adding that $500 in saved expenses is more than she would have earned at a job after paying for daycare expenses.
‘Budgeting is Extremely Powerful’
Mrs. Farrell emphasized that she doesn’t see anything wrong with earning an income as a mom, but wants to show people that “it isn’t the only way to contribute financially to a family“ and that ”the job of caring for children and keeping a home is enough.”Mr. and Mrs. Farrell first met at college and were married in their early 20s. They currently live in Morris with their four children: two boys and two girls ranging from 3 months to 4 years old.
At the start of married life, Mrs. Farrell said she had no real financial education. However, after giving birth to her children, and due to her desire to be at home with them in the early years, she experienced a steep learning curve in her struggle to control household spending.
“Although we thought we were already frugal and ultra-intentional with money, I learned that budgeting is extremely powerful in helping a family live within their means,” she said.
On seeing money drained away on unnecessary expenses, Mrs. Farrell set about cutting costs. She lowered phone bills by switching companies, began cooking more from scratch using whole ingredients instead of packaged food, and changed many other spending habits.
“There are just so many things [other] people spend money on that we don’t,“ she said. ”I learned early on that I can cut our hair. I cut our entire family’s hair, and I just learned from YouTube videos.”
She also avoids impulse shopping by not visiting malls and thrift stores.
On top of all that, living in an affordable area has been a huge factor in keeping costs down.
‘Zero-Based’ Budgeting
Mrs. Farrell learned about the “zero-based” budgeting technique from Dave Ramsay, a radio personality who offers financial advice. Advocates of this system allocate all of their income to essential spending categories until their earnings equal their expenses.Mrs. Farrell began to implement the technique with her own family at the onset of the pandemic. During this time, Mrs. Farrell discovered she was pregnant with her second child. Due to the uncertainty at that time, she felt compelled to take control of her finances.
“It’s really a simple system,“ she said. ”This is what I recommend because you don’t leave anything for guessing.”
Sharing more about how she navigates the system, Mrs. Farrell said she uses a Google Sheets template. However, even writing a budget down on a sheet of paper works well.
“I also recommend creating a budget every pay period, instead of every month, so you have the most detailed accounting,” she said.
Because money is considered such a “taboo” subject, Mrs. Farrell believes insufficient education and guidance are given on the topic. Thus, she credits Mr. Ramsay for being the first person to give her practical, valuable knowledge on the subject.
“A lot of people think Dave Ramsey is not with the times, but I appreciate him giving clear steps for people to take,” she said.
Since they began working carefully on keeping their expenses low, the couple hasn’t had any trouble paying their bills. Rather than simply living within their means, they aim to live below their means, freeing up 20 to 25 percent of their income to use as a buffer for other expenses such as eating out, personal spending, lifestyle, savings, and paying off debts.
Being Intentional With Money
Mrs. Farrell has chosen to share her financial philosophy on her personal blog and Instagram account. She said she recognizes that many women now desire to be stay-at-home moms, but are unsure how to make it financially feasible.“The way our world works today is that women are ushered into colleges and careers, and they get stuck in a position in which they can’t easily give up their incomes to stay at home when they realize that is what they desire,” she said.
It’s been easier for Mrs. Farrell to manage her career and motherhood as she had children earlier in life. As a result, she hasn’t faced the challenge of transitioning from an established career to being at home full-time.
Mrs. Farrell aims to provide encouragement and practical tips to other moms aspiring to stay at home and said she’s had a lot of supportive comments from women that relate to her content. However, she’s also met with some backlash.
“I’m usually told by those people that I’m either privileged, or I’m too poor, or that there’s no way they could do that where they live,” she said.
For the popular content creator, her situation aligns with her faith.
“The Bible tells us to not lay up treasures on earth and to keep our eyes focused on the things that truly matter, not material things,“ she said. ”One way I do that is by prioritizing my children. I also want to be extremely intentional with money and other resources God gives us to manage.”
Managing a household with four little children may not always be easy.
“There’s no such thing as a simple task when you’re doing life with kids, but everything feels purposeful,” she said. “I think about how much fun it is to do life with all these people.”
She added that she wouldn’t be able to achieve it without her husband’s help.
In sharing her advice for families on how to make changes in their spending habits, Mrs. Farrell stresses the importance of creating a budget every time they get paid and eliminating all unnecessary expenses.
“Lots of little expenses here and there do add up,” she said, adding that cutting down on costs may not always yield the desired result, and in these cases, families may need to venture out to look for other streams of income or move to a different location to stay within the set budget.
In sharing her family’s story, Mrs. Farrell wants to demonstrate that, families who wish to have the mother spend time with the children can not only cope but thrive despite economic and societal expectations.
Furthermore, she said, budgeting is not just for those who don’t have a lot of money.
