With R being a student this year, we have gone down to one income. We have done this before, but not with two kids... My sis-in-law and bro are on the same income, also with two kids. I'm really wondering how they do it? They even have a mortgage to service which we don't, which makes it even more mysterious as to why we are just bumping along. I mean, I'm on a pretty good income, more than NZ's average and we are still getting along only just in the black - and it seems quite likely to turn red in the next month if we don't mine savings again. We don't go out, we don't drive much, we don't spend lots on food ($150 a week, give or take). When I look at our statement I don't see much waste.
Perhaps we are trying to save too much. Wouldn't that be a strange thing to be doing!
I have to admit we are not following a strict budget, we just make sure we are in the black and leave it at that. We try not to splurge on stuff without being too scrooge-like. Money is soo stressful sometimes. The next two and a half years are some of those times...