But, not every couple stays a DINK forever. These two are a case in point. They have decided that they will have their first child sometime towards the end of next year (2007).

My friend, Anita, is adamant that, in the first two years after their child is born, she will not work. After that, she will not pursue a nine-to-five work schedule (for a few years at least) but will look out for assignments on a consultancy/ freelance basis.

While there is nothing extraordinary in this decision, what is interesting is how they planned to get their financial act together starting this year. If you find yourself in the same spot, their experience will help.

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Act like you have just one income

Whether you believe it or not, maintaining a lifestyle requires practice.

If you don't put curbs on your spending, you can easily go overboard. Facilities like revolving credit on your card (pay just the minimum and carryforward payments to the next month for which you are charged interest) and getting a personal loan sanctioned instantly just make it that much more easier.

So, they decided to practise living on just one income.

They have a joint account into which her husband, Vijay's, entire salary is credited. All the household expenses, bills, even her shopping for clothes and travel expenses are taken from here.

Her salary is totally saved. That's right. Not a pie is spent.

This is their way of getting ready to live on just one income. The logic: When she delivers, her husband will not have one dependent but two (wife and child). If they cannot manage now, when he has one dependent, they will be in trouble later.

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What happens to the other income?

It would be futile if it were all left in a savings account. They have worked it out in such a way that, even if they feel tempted to tap into these savings, they cannot.

By the first week of the month, money is immediately channelised into two Systematic Investment Plans. These are investments in mutual funds that require you to put in a fixed amount every month. You can give your bank standing instructions to debit this fixed amount from your account and pay the mutual fund on a particular date. If the Net Asset Value is high, you get fewer units. If it is low, you get more units.

They also opened a recurring deposit with a post office and submitted post dated cheques. So, in the first week of every month, money immediately flows into their investments.

The balance finds it way into the Public Provident Fund and life insurance premiums.

In their case, one person's income is being invested while the other goes to manage the house.

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Redefine your lifestyle

Needless to say, the effort to start living on just one salary when you have the flexibility of two all along will obviously require significant adjustments.

That is what they have figured since they started this experiment.

Adapting themselves to this new lifestyle required a fair amount of cutting corners.  

One area where they used to spend lavishly was eating out. They did cook at home but, more often than not, they depended on takeaways and home delivery. Lunch at office too was often ordered.

They would frequent restaurants at least twice a week and often ended up having a glass of wine with their food and experimenting with new desserts.

Now, they have employed the services of a cook who takes care of their lunch and dinner. They have limited eating out to just once a week. If they can avoid eating out, though, they do. Instead of hanging out with friends, they often call them home. Or have a pot luck party where everyone brings a dish.

This had resulted in them saving a few thousand rupees every single month (not to mention doing wonders to keep their waistlines trim).

• The best way to save? Have a goal

Keep a goal

Doing this is not easy. They say the reason they are succeeding is because they have a goal in sight -- their child.

We started off this piece by explaining the rationale behind this exercise; it is precisely this goal that has enabled them to stay on track.

Like Anita says, if you know precisely what you are sacrificing for, it just makes it that much more easier. Once you state your goal, you will find a way to save.

All your goals need not be big life changing situations like retirement, the birth of a child or buying a new home. They can even be smaller ones like buying a home theatre.