Send CathInfo's owner Matthew a gift from his Amazon wish list:
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/25M2B8RERL1UO

Author Topic: How to provide for an entire family on a single income?  (Read 3007 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline caspernero

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 1
  • Reputation: +2/-0
  • Gender: Male
How to provide for an entire family on a single income?
« on: August 08, 2022, 12:10:11 PM »
  • Thanks!2
  • No Thanks!0
  • Ideally I would like to marry as soon as possible (around 25 perhaps?) with a young traditional Catholic wife and have as many children as God allows me to, however I am worried that I won't be able to provide for my future wife and children. I am 19 and still in university. How does a man provide for his family on a single income in today's world?

    Any advice would be appreciated. I am European, not American by the way.


    Offline Romulus

    • Jr. Member
    • **
    • Posts: 496
    • Reputation: +285/-53
    • Gender: Male
    Re: How to provide for an entire family on a single income?
    « Reply #1 on: August 08, 2022, 12:53:16 PM »
  • Thanks!1
  • No Thanks!0
  • Look for a certification in possibly a trade or a "messy" job like plumber, electrician or a job that isn't sought after due to it being looked down upon. Here in the US at least, jobs like that are always in demand and pay pretty well. Many teens now go into useless things like journalism, sociology etc... and other degrees that pay well but you drown in student loans like a lawyer or a doctor. Again, I don't know what the situation in Europe is regarding education and jobs but good luck.


    Offline Cera

    • Hero Member
    • *****
    • Posts: 5217
    • Reputation: +2291/-1012
    • Gender: Female
    • Pray for the consecration of Russia to Mary's I H
    Re: How to provide for an entire family on a single income?
    « Reply #2 on: August 08, 2022, 01:03:37 PM »
  • Thanks!1
  • No Thanks!0
  • Marry a thrifty woman who is not onlya traditional Catholic, but also knows how to stretch a dollar. Specifically a woman who can garden, cook from scratch, bake from scratch, sew clothing and who is not afraid of hard work.
    Pray for the consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

    Offline ServusInutilisDomini

    • Full Member
    • ***
    • Posts: 529
    • Reputation: +249/-87
    • Gender: Male
    • O sacrum convivum... https://youtu.be/-WCicnX6pN8
    Re: How to provide for an entire family on a single income?
    « Reply #3 on: August 08, 2022, 01:37:54 PM »
  • Thanks!0
  • No Thanks!0
  • You gave way too little information.

    What are your qualities? Are you athletic, intelligent, a poet?

    What are your circuмstances? What are you studying currently? Can you afford the time and money for courses outside of university? Is learning a trade practical in your country?


    If you want my general advice, a man is most fulfilled doing menial labour, farming is by far the best job. If you could become a gunsmith or an excellent repair-man in general (repairing cars, plumbing, appliances) you will always have work to do.

    If you want to make a lot of money to have a big big family, consider how little it actually costs to live on a farm after you've bought the land (of course buying the land and starting up is costly).
    If you need a lot of money becoming an excellent programmer might be the best idea, maybe data science or cryptography, I am in this field so I could give you some advice if you're interested. I wouldn't recommend a desk job, though. It's unhealthy, unmanly and unnatural.

    Anyway if you could get back with some specifics I might be able to give some more concrete advice.

    Offline Stubborn

    • Supporter
    • *****
    • Posts: 13825
    • Reputation: +5568/-865
    • Gender: Male
    Re: How to provide for an entire family on a single income?
    « Reply #4 on: August 08, 2022, 01:50:56 PM »
  • Thanks!1
  • No Thanks!0
  • I know a trad from my chapel with maybe 10 kids, he has his own business and crew of maybe 6 or 7 men installing new rain gutters and down spouts. He partners with his brother who also has 10 kids - I cannot say with certainty, but they both sure seem to be doing rather well. 
    "But Peter and the apostles answering, said: We ought to obey God, rather than men." - Acts 5:29

    The Highest Principle in the Church: "We are first of all under obedience to God, and only then under obedience to man" - Fr. Hesse


    Offline Pax Vobis

    • Supporter
    • *****
    • Posts: 10313
    • Reputation: +6220/-1742
    • Gender: Male
    Re: How to provide for an entire family on a single income?
    « Reply #5 on: August 08, 2022, 02:56:14 PM »
  • Thanks!2
  • No Thanks!0
  • Do your duty, keep on the straight and narrow, and God will provide.  Sometimes He will provide just enough; sometimes more.  But you'll never be wanting in the essentials.

    Offline Ladislaus

    • Supporter
    • *****
    • Posts: 41910
    • Reputation: +23950/-4345
    • Gender: Male
    Re: How to provide for an entire family on a single income?
    « Reply #6 on: August 08, 2022, 04:18:02 PM »
  • Thanks!1
  • No Thanks!0
  • Do your duty, keep on the straight and narrow, and God will provide.  Sometimes He will provide just enough; sometimes more.  But you'll never be wanting in the essentials.

    THIS^^^.  Not only is OP way too young to be worrying about it, at 19, when he's looking toward marrying when he's 25, but we need to trust in God.  My brother got married when he had a job that didn't pay well, refused to practice NFP (as he was being pressured to by his father-in-law) and after his second child (when he was living in a small apartment), he ended up almost-miraculously getting enough money from a stock market investment to buy a new home in cash.  Not that it'll work out that way for everyone, but God can and will provide.

    Not to mention, by the time OP is 25, I doubt there will be much of an economy left to speak of and things will likely be dramatically different.

    Way too much worry here about something that's entirely hypothetical.

    Offline DigitalLogos

    • Hero Member
    • *****
    • Posts: 8316
    • Reputation: +4706/-754
    • Gender: Male
    • Slave to the Sacred Heart
      • Twitter
    Re: How to provide for an entire family on a single income?
    « Reply #7 on: August 08, 2022, 04:35:31 PM »
  • Thanks!1
  • No Thanks!0
  • Do your duty, keep on the straight and narrow, and God will provide.  Sometimes He will provide just enough; sometimes more.  But you'll never be wanting in the essentials.
    Amen! I've been able to provide for my family with just my job, despite some debts and setbacks, just fine for the past few years. And now things are getting better, praise God. Keep praying for your "daily bread" and God will see it through. Trust in Him, even when it gets difficult.


    "Be not therefore solicitous for tomorrow; for the morrow will be solicitous for itself. Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof."
    [Matthew 6:34]
    "Be not therefore solicitous for tomorrow; for the morrow will be solicitous for itself. Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof." [Matt. 6:34]

    "In all thy works remember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin." [Ecclus. 7:40]

    "A holy man continueth in wisdom as the sun: but a fool is changed as the moon." [Ecclus. 27:12]


    Offline FarmerWife

    • Jr. Member
    • **
    • Posts: 289
    • Reputation: +140/-8
    • Gender: Female
    Re: How to provide for an entire family on a single income?
    « Reply #8 on: August 09, 2022, 11:24:02 AM »
  • Thanks!0
  • No Thanks!0
  • Husband started out in a company (in his early 20s) that he worked minimum wage for (without a degree) and then he moved up and did programming for them and he's self-taught. Since he's very talented in it, the company relies on his software, and he was eventually able to do it remotely when he moved to do his homesteading. It was hard work for him since he was working around 6-7 days a week at the company and he was also very frugal.

    Farming/homesteading cuts your expenses alot since you don't pay for mortgage, water, heating, etc. Water is from the drilled well, heating is with a diesel heater or wood stove, and electricity is from solar panels. There is a high startup cost though and my husband has finally paid off the tractor that he bought years ago. Homesteading might not be for everyone since you have to be a jack-of-all-trades and be able to protect yourself from animals/humans. Recently, we traded our chicken eggs with a neighbour for his garden veg, canned goods, and meat.

    Since we live in Canada, it's a bit more difficult in terms of getting enough sunlight, relying on a generator, and providing housing/heat for the animals. I think it's unfortunate that the farmers in our area are getting older and their grown children have left to go to the city. And the generational wealth is lost and has to be rebuilt again, and with inflation is almost impossible.

    I don't know how well we'd be able to provide for a family since we don't have kids (was briefly pregnant last month) yet but I'd imagine we'd do okay if we have a big family. Also, we don't have any debt (I didn't graduate post-secondary) and we consult each other for purchases, do the shopping together.

    Offline songbird

    • Hero Member
    • *****
    • Posts: 4670
    • Reputation: +1765/-353
    • Gender: Female
    Re: How to provide for an entire family on a single income?
    « Reply #9 on: August 09, 2022, 03:59:59 PM »
  • Thanks!0
  • No Thanks!0
  • A job right now that is heavy in demand is working on elevators/esculators .

    Online josefamenendez

    • Hero Member
    • *****
    • Posts: 4429
    • Reputation: +2950/-199
    • Gender: Female
    Re: How to provide for an entire family on a single income?
    « Reply #10 on: August 09, 2022, 07:05:31 PM »
  • Thanks!0
  • No Thanks!0
  • I'm sure it's not always the case, but most of the very large Catholic families I know with lots of kids do very well- better than the smaller families.


    Offline Nadir

    • Hero Member
    • *****
    • Posts: 11675
    • Reputation: +6999/-498
    • Gender: Female
    Re: How to provide for an entire family on a single income?
    « Reply #11 on: August 09, 2022, 08:00:41 PM »
  • Thanks!0
  • No Thanks!0

  • Quote
    Farmer wife said
    Farming/homesteading cuts your expenses alot since you don't pay for mortgage, water, heating, etc.
    This has me wondering - why not a mortgage? 
    Help of Christians, guard our land from assault or inward stain,
    Let it be what God has planned, His new Eden where You reign.

    Offline FarmerWife

    • Jr. Member
    • **
    • Posts: 289
    • Reputation: +140/-8
    • Gender: Female
    Re: How to provide for an entire family on a single income?
    « Reply #12 on: August 09, 2022, 09:22:32 PM »
  • Thanks!0
  • No Thanks!0
  • This has me wondering - why not a mortgage?
    Well, my husband got the land bare pretty much, and then he built his own buildings on the land at his own cost. He pays property tax for the land. 

    Offline Jr1991

    • Full Member
    • ***
    • Posts: 630
    • Reputation: +289/-84
    • Gender: Male
    Re: How to provide for an entire family on a single income?
    « Reply #13 on: August 09, 2022, 09:49:37 PM »
  • Thanks!0
  • No Thanks!0
  • Ideally I would like to marry as soon as possible (around 25 perhaps?) with a young traditional Catholic wife and have as many children as God allows me to, however I am worried that I won't be able to provide for my future wife and children. I am 19 and still in university. How does a man provide for his family on a single income in today's world?

    Any advice would be appreciated. I am European, not American by the way.

    I commend you for being young and wise. The United States is a rat race. Raising a family on a single income is challenging but not impossible; the Lord provides in unexpected ways. I wish you the best.

    Offline Nadir

    • Hero Member
    • *****
    • Posts: 11675
    • Reputation: +6999/-498
    • Gender: Female
    Re: How to provide for an entire family on a single income?
    « Reply #14 on: August 09, 2022, 11:59:53 PM »
  • Thanks!0
  • No Thanks!0
  • Well, my husband got the land bare pretty much, and then he built his own buildings on the land at his own cost. He pays property tax for the land.
    Oh good! We did something similar. A good friend offered us a deposit for a block and we bought a half share in a block that the would-be deposit covered the total cost. We paid our friend in 3 years. Later we purchased the other share. It you do the right thing and honour Him first He won't let you down.
    Help of Christians, guard our land from assault or inward stain,
    Let it be what God has planned, His new Eden where You reign.