If you are going to walk this crazy and oh so rewarding road of living on a single income, I strongly suggest you don't do it alone! Make friends with others living the same way!

Your fellow friends at home are the ones who can encourage you, commiserate with you and remind you why you are living this way. When your washer breaks and you have zero dollars in your emergency account, your friend will be the first one to let you use her washer, scour the community for deals and help you stick to your budget. This is not the time for expense account Sally to point out how much she adores her new front loader! You need the friend who can share with you her recipe for homemade laundry soap!

Your husband in the workplace also needs a similar buddy. Someone to eat his brown bag lunch with, someone to teach him how to change his own oil, and someone who is impressed with his budgetary prowess.

And, when you have these friends over for dinner, you can truly enjoy one another's company instead of trying to impress them with fancy food and Pottery Barn decorating. These are the friends you invite for dessert only when times are tight, or a taco buffet where everybody brings something. There is such relief in this type of gathering! Such honesty! No one needs to be entertained, but we all need friendship and hospitality.

Here's to friends!