Good for you for thinking and planning ahead. Our rent is exceedingly low for the area and for the fact that we have acreage. It's low in part because we're renting from my parents - but they rented it out before at around this price in part because the house is a SERIOUS fixer-upper and the property is A LOT of work.  So, you can find reasonable rent if you're willing to accept less than what is sold to you on television as how real people live.
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I love what an earlier commenter wrote about simplified eating - I LOVE to try fabulous new recipes too, but the budget can't handle it. No cable here (just a television with no reception so we use it for movies), no credit cards, no debt (bought older vehicles and paid cash), very little eating out, even less vacationing. When we do "vacation" it's usually to an event related to DH's business so we can write off most of the expenses. If not, it's staying in a friend's cabin, etc... We raise our own beef, pork and chickens/eggs and sell some of it so that pays for our own consumption of the meat and eggs. We grow a garden - cheap way to get organic food! I hang clothes on the line and (when I'm being good - I'm off the wagon right now), we cloth diaper. I breastfeed and we feed our children what we're eating - no store-bought baby food, etc... We shop yard sales and thrift stores (don't remember the last time anyone had storebought clothes).  Like Chicky2 we have learned to live with things that other people go out and fix/replace immediately. For instance, my dishwasher hasn't worked for months...my washing machine doesn't work right but it's good enough for now...and the dryer timer doesn't work so if you use it you have to pay attention and not let it run all day. We do have money set aside to replace all three, but we'll get by until a killer deal comes along. A few years back 3 of my stove burners didn't work at all and the element in my oven went out. Fortunately it was summer and we got by with that one burner and the BBQ - then someone we knew was remodeling a home and gave us a double oven and a new stove! My carpet is atrocious (I said the home was a fixer upper) and we just get by. (Okay, my A/C has been out in the van for 2 years - and finally I did tell DH that I WANT it fixed ASAP! But, by God's provision and because we live frugally, we have cash set aside to take care of that.)
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To be honest, in my opinion, two of the best things you can do is a) begin living on one income right away - sock the other away in savings and b) dump the magazines and television shows that make you think that what you see in/on them is how "regular people" live. IT'S NOT!!! At least, it's not for regular people who are living (within their means) on one income.Â
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I cannot tell you the peace that comes from having no payments to make, very little stress ever over money, and getting to raise my own children! I've been on the other side of this fence and I'd eat beans and rice every day of my life not to have to go back there again! (Oh...and there are 6 of us at home right now...another on the way...and we live on about $40k/year.)
