How We Live in Hawaii on ONE Income (Local Family of Four)

Mahalo for making this video. We are moving back next year but this time with 2 more keiki and no house. We had to sell during the pandemic because I lost my job & our tenants moved out. I’m praying that everything works in our favor, as long as we work hard and do our part with all of the things you mentioned. It’s not going to be easy, but your message was encouraging!

I have to say…I am so proud of you as a person and as a couple (you and your wife )…I learned in my life that it’s not just how much you earn but how you budget and I was so happy to hear someone young as yourself say that. I used to go over budgets with people needing financial help and it was hard to explain to someone to cut their cable tv so they could meet rent etc…I mean if your electricity gets cut off …no TV anyway but you’d be surprised how many will not take that as sound reasoning and it’s sad bc I knew it spelled doom 😢. I hope you plan on teaching the kids about this early on 😊 I feel so happy I saw your vlog today! Please tell your wife omedetoo on her new job! 🎉

“I make plenty money “🤣💰
That’s how I feel now - my kds are grown up and out of the house.
🎉🙌

well said. humility

Excellent mindset. Don’t let lifestyle inflation eat your raise every year. I live on 70k even though I make 10x more. I kept my spend in check through my 20 year career and all the promotions. The peace of mind knowing I will be ok even if I lose my job is priceless. For everything else there is Mastercard ;)

All good points. We aren’t as diligent as you in terms tracking budget but I always did a deep dive into spending whenever we were on the verge of a major purchase like a house or car just for my own validation that we could do it without stretching the budget. As far as home ownership, I’m not sure if anything really prepares you for the cost of that even if you’ve rented because maintenance costs are real on top of the actual mortgage. When our offer for our house was finally accepted then it all hit me like OMG what did we just get ourselves into and it took a little while to get into the groove of all the costs associated with that. I’m similar to you in that my income typically pays all the bills and my wife’s income contributes more to disposable income but it still does take the pressure off to know that I’m not the only one pulling the weight.

Great info. Young people need to hear all of this. Especially high school seniors and college freshman, and in any part of this country.

No car payments here either (one car was paid off 20+ yrs ago, another was paid off about 8 yrs ago) - used any saved money on travel and other enjoyments in life.
For phones, we normally make the $0-$10/mo (through trade-in credit/upgrade promotions from the carriers).

Hey, with your wife working, it also starts in building her own Social Security which helps your guys in the long term

Are you guys planning on upgrading to a larger place since your family has grown?

It's definitely possible for sure if you budget the right way. I actually had someone ask if I was rich because I travel so much, but that is what I love to do. I dont subscribe to cable as I do not watch TV, I like you drive an older car and have no desire to buy a new one unless it is completely dead. Cars are the worst things to invest in as they depreciate in value. Who are you impessing? As long as it gets you from A to B. You dont need a huge house as long as you have shelter to sleep and eat in. You dont need to buy unnecessary "things" like stupid purses and clothes. As long as the t shirt has no holes, you're good. Recycle cans and do side jobs on your day off for play money. Budget your groceries and cook dinner at home. Eat the leftovers for home lunch at work or the next day for dinner. Treat yourself to eat out once a week if you'd like. But if you buy a plate lunch for lunch at work with a Starbucks coffee every day at work, that adds up to around $600 a month. Not to mention some people I know eat lunch and dinner every day at a restaurant. All that money could go to your savings or a vacation...

Chris, Thanks for these points. I live a frugal lifestyle here in Hawaii. I make all my meals for work and make my own matcha green tea. I also have a passive income on the side besides by main incomes.

I thought your wife worked.
I mean I thought she had always had a job, too, apart from looking after the kids.

Modeling an enriching work ethic, resilience, and collaboration through realistically challenging times. Our parents' behavior and attitudes are intergenerational gifts that can firmly ground a legacy of secure attachment. Good on you both!

switch your kids to oatmeal or grits or cream of wheat. Also diversified income.

We sold our home and moved to Washington two years ago because of the lack of quality of our life in Hawaii. We made decent money, but it still wasn't enough. We sold our 40-year-old, ordinary 3-bedroom home in Aiea and were able to buy a brand-new home in South Washington that is much bigger and paid off all of our bills. We were on a road trip yesterday and it occurred to me that a lot of people stay in Hawaii when they could have a better life somewhere else is because they don't know what it's like living somewhere else. They just don't know what they're missing. It's natural to have a fear of change, but we've never had any regrets, and life is much more fulfilling now. Someone asked me why we left Hawaii, and I compared it to being on a merry-go-round where the view never changes, and every day is the same or being stuck in a black hole where nothing can escape its gravity. Nothing changes or gets better in Hawaii. State government is mismanaged and corrupt and it's impossible to buy a home there for first time buyers. Consequently, people become lifetime renters, and the landlords are the ones living their dream. If you are lucky enough to own, it's because of the income from three generations forced to live under the same roof in cramped spaces. The state in in decline and we saw the writing on the wall. And I also told this person that Hawaii is an illusion created by Hollywood and shows like Hawaii Five-0 and magnum PI, and the reality of living there and being part of that daily grind (literally the worst traffic in the nation) is very disheartening. There are things that I miss, but our overall happiness is more important. I would urge local people to do some soul searching and ask yourselves if you ever considered living in another state and if not, why not?

What a fantastic video! If you’re open to it, I’d love to see a budget breakdown on how you managed to live on one income. As a young guy myself, it would greatly help me see how realistic a budget can be with kids. It’s such an inspiring journey!

No shame living at home and catching the bus to work because it’s a huge wealth saver and builder to do so from personal experience! I also have the same habit of replacing smart phones when they go bad. My last phone was the iPhone X and that lasted a little over 5 years. I got the iPhone 14 Pro Max last year because it was cheaper to buy the previous year model and I don’t plan to buy a new phone as long as this one is still functioning.

We used to be super frugal when I was the sole income. My wife was queen of frugal getting a most of our baby stuff from hand me downs and swap meet. After my wife had a decent career (our income nearly tripled) we still managed but somehow we had near zero savings. Yes, we upped our cars but it wasn’t luxury kine. It was somewhat middle class type with no bells and whistles. We made some dumb financial decisions here and there like buying a BMW one time to try act but then had to trade that money pit in at a huge loss to be more reasonable. We unfortunately are not the poster parents on how to budget money. I am forever baffled as to how other people can game the system. We get 0 or near 0 tuition assistance anywhere and we just leverage our mortgage or borrow from private companies to pay for kids school. I heard some people divorce (but actually they not really divorced) and then they get tuition assistance galore. My kids never win any scholarships because somehow our income looks too much and then richer families legally remove kids (but actually not really in real life) and then they get the scholarships or decreased tuition. I hope things work out for us in the end. Maybe things will. My daughter’s secondary education tuition was about $150,000. Her college tuition was $390,000. She plans to continue her education after her bachelor’s degree.

Budgeting matters. Stand firm against the Night Marchers (hey, they had their time, you know?) On the $$$ issue, it is either more inCOME and/or less outGO, yes!

Sounds like you guys listen to Dave Ramsey podcast. If not still cool vid. I cant believe people can go 1 day without a budget. I lost my mind when I lost the budget excel sheet. Lucky I got it back and was able to keep the budget info. We also live on Oahu and live off 1 income family of 4 and 1 kid is special needs. Been doing this for 9 years now with my fiancé as stay at home mom while I work and support the family. Keep up the good vids.

Thank you Lord Jesus for the gift of life and blessings to me and my family $14,120.47 weekly profit Our lord Jesus have lifted up my Life!!!🙏❤️❤️

Smart man; you may not be financially rich but you have 2 kids a wife and a family. Thats worth it.

Great video

Good for you bud. My wife and I pulled this off in SF Bay Area and now ready to buy home in Hawaii. Seems like lot of haters out there hating on mainlanders buying homes in Hawaii and making things difficult for locals. Well guess what same thing happening all over the world! It’s called competition. Those that hustle the hardest get ahead. Those that whine will whine loud.

Living in Hawaii means not needing a vacation away. You are already in paradise.

In the 50s, a family was able to live off one income. In the modern era, most Middle Class families need a dual income. The middle class is shrinking.

I had to work double time or even triple time to afford to live off a single income for 22 years of marriage. But, it's taken a toll on my health. Fortunately, I'm worth a little over 5 million now and we are moving to O'ahu in 3 years so I can be semi retired at age 52. Transplants have the reputation to be rich mainlanders but locals don't understand some Transplants like myself worked absurd 80 hour weeks for years to get there.

I'm only a high school graduate that graduated from a continuing education high school and I got kicked out of a cal state university for having a gpa below 2.0. 1.86 to be exact. Lol. But, I did it. My kids will be attending the the top universities in the nation now. Almost there. My eldest is ranked #1 in her school. It's all about being focused. Anything is possible. Even the impossible is possible.

There's no excuses in life. The cards we get dealt with in life can be changed for other cards if you don't quit. No one is a victim in life. It doesn't matter if the government stole the land. What matters is how can one better yourself and provide for one's family.

I understand the history of Indians, Kanakas, and multiple other cultures in the world. It's been a constant issue since the beginning of time. The world is constantly changing and getting harder to survive. The game is about the survival of the fittest. Make do with what you got in life and double down on it. If you don't have any skills, find one. Then perfect the craft.

Fyi. I'm a 2nd generation korean American. Not some rich white person. And, I have dyslexia. It's all possible. There are no victims in life.

Budgeting is key. Saving up and paying cash for purchases. Don't forget to save for your kids college while they are young. We started when baby then stopped for awhile, then started again, but just starting allowed those funds to keep compounding interest. We had $36k saved for each of our children by the time they needed it. Also, tell kids to go to their local, public Uni. Save for retirement the same way. The sooner you start, the longer your savings will have to grow through compounding interest and earnings. Good luck. I wish we could have stayed in HI. But, we didn't know these things until after leaving and now we're looking at retiring at 55 and can do so because we don't live in HI. We do visit every other year to see family.

Is there a fund for people to donate money to allow Hawaiian people to stay in Hawaii? It’s not right that the people the land really belongs to can’t afford to live there. Do people not understand that the Hawaiian people ARE Hawaii? This has been troubling me greatly. There needs to be a fund.

Congratulations on you and your family’s new stage!

Your way of budgeting sounds very Japanese. My Japanese parents always told me the only ok debt is mortgage (although student loan is very much understandable). I was keeping it up until recently…went with a 2-year no-interest loan for much needed AC…and putting $ in CD with decent interest made more sense.

Okozukai (allowance) is a good way to budget. I think you said fun money in your video. Need/want/would be nice list also helps.

Is hard for a woman to work because kids have a lot school breaks, at least 2 weekdays a month, some last a whole week or two, and then summer break which is two months, plus kids get randomly sick too, and there’s some days where school ends earlier. Almost not jobs out there let you have such of flexibility schedule and so many days off and cover for last minute sick days.
Working moms have to deal so much finding after school care, and those fill up so fast and are pricey. Is hard. And on top of that still have to do the regular errands at home, be slim and fit, look good, and never be tired.

You can tell the dude lives a budget life by looking at his watch. The color, the style, probably got it on sale because it's an unpopular color. Hopefully I am not wrong otherwise I would get call out, "how can you tell of someone by 10 seconds into the video" Cudos to you man, simple life is the best life!

Staycations in Hawaii are way more expensive than flying to Vegas or the mainland.

Shooting on a 5 year old camera helps too. I respect that you still rock the m6 ii. 🤙🏽

First off, no more late night Korean Bar visits.

Great video… good responsible planning 👍
Live within your means

As you transition to a two-income household, INVEST INVEST INVEST.
- Budget: My tip on budget, separate 'needs' and 'wants'. And the focus on 'wants' should be to take your time to purchase your wants. The longer you take to ponder on it, you might find out that it falls off the list completely. Wants are sometimes impulsive, so time is an essential factor.
- Retirement: Whenever someone enters the career path, they need to be aware of retirement. My father's biggest advice for me was "you work for retirement". The focus should always be a target of when you want to retire, and that should be a set goal...not a moving target. Many of us have the power to make that goal a reality, if they focus their attention and surround themselves with the like goal oriented individuals.
- Reality: People need to take a hard look at where they want to be at the different stage/ages in their life. Not 'visualizing' this will affect all of us in making bad financial decisions. After all 'a fool and their money are soon parted'. We can either make things happen, OR we can constantly make excuses for not achieving what we hope for.
Lastly, my parents took the same path as you and your wife. My mother cared for us until all of us were able to attend school; then she jumped into the workforce also. Any additional income does bring more stability into any household.

I would have been much better off financially, had I decided to stay on the mainland after college. But I made a conscious decision to return to Hilo and scrimp-save-budget in order to live in what I feel is paradise on earth.

I love the people here. I love waving at policemen and having them wave back. I love the smile on people's faces at the Target Customer Service (yes, they really seem to be enjoying their jobs as opposed to on the mainland, where they seem to be just going through the motions). I love the fact that I almost always run into someone I know at the local Long's or KTA stores. I love the different moods of Mauna Kea in the morning, in the afternoon and in the evening. Ua mau ke ea o ka 'āina i ka pono, nowhere else do these words carry such import.

I'm 70 now, retired for seven years. I haven't done a whole lot since retiring, mainly just catching up on the honey-do-list. But you know what, I don't think I've missed a thing. Living in Hawaii has been like one long dreamlike vacation for me. If I had to do it over again, I wouldn't change a thing.

Your proud of your wife starting to work ? ....A "Stay at home mom works 24/7 ", she's a cook, cleaner, care taker etc. She just doesn't get paid for it.

I have a house on the big island but scare to move there right now. I’m working in Texas and saving up before I move there

Please talk more about budgeting!

Youre very inspiring man. We just had our first kid in California. Very expensive here too. Well be budgeting more closely even though were dual income.

❤❤

That was a very honest, sincere and powerful discussion! We need to be mindful and diligent when our finances, especially today! Great video, thank you and Good bless you and your beautiful family! ❤😊

Stop spreading stupidity!

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asians are good at math

Thanks for all of the great feedback on this video. I had planned on doing a monthly breakdown of our budget in Hawaii, but held off on making it because certain sponsorship opportunities fell through. (Eh, no worries. All good.) Despite that, I do plan on making that video at some point, which I think will be really helpful for those wondering what kind of budgeting it could take to make it in Hawaii. 🤙