Thriving On A Teacher's Salary

Sticking to a budget these days is a lot like climbing out of a cave. There just doesn't seem to be any light at the end of the tunnel. But it can be done and who would know better than someone living on a teacher's salary and supporting a wife and two kids.

"We don't have any disposable income, we're on a teacher's salary," said Danny Kofke.

He and his wife Tracy know all about the hard realities of budgeting. He's a teacher while his wife stays home with their two daughters.

"Sometimes I have to tell my wife that we're only going to have $100 this week," he said.

But instead of wallowing in self pity, Danny decided to do something about it. He wrote the book, How To Survive and Perhaps Thrive on a Teacher's Salary -- which he wrote back in 2007, but after the economy sank in 2008, he's had a lot more people interested in his book.

"Yes, it's become a lot more popular now, frugality is back," he said.

His best advice is budget everything down to the dime. Don't buy it if it's not in the budget. He also teaches his kids how to budget. Their allowance comes in three piles -- one for giving, one for saving and one for spending. He also says you shouldn't shy away from haggling.

"I told a friend of mine who wanted to buy a new TV to walk into the store with just $700 cash. If they won't sell you the $1,000 TV for $700 cash, then walk out and go to the next store," he said. "She walked out with the TV."

And last football season he haggled with his TV provider over the cost of the popular NFL Sunday Ticket. They we're offering a deal to new subscribers but not to the loyal fans.

"Well, I told them I'll cancel, then call back tomorrow and buy the plan back with the new deal," he said. "A few minutes later a manager came on and said he would give us the deal."

Kofke says that most people wreck their budgets by not paying attention to the small expenditures that add up at the end of the month. He recommends paying cash on day to day items to avoid going over.