"If My Salary Stopped Going Up, I'd Quit."

• 5.07.2026, 10:58

What does the budget of a Belarusian family with an income of 11,000 rubles look like?

Two kids, a mortgage, two cars, and an annual vacation at the beach—here’s another story about a family budget. Kirill, a resident of Minsk, explained how his family lives on 11,000 rubles a month, why he considers this amount to be “a normal life without frills,” and why he still paints the walls in his apartment himself, writes Onliner.

“The main life hack turned out not to be about saving money”

— I’m from Minsk, a father of two, and married. For years, I’ve watched my friends and colleagues with families struggle to make ends meet: they scrimp on everything, hunt for sales, choose the cheapest option over quality, and their vacations are limited to the dacha. At best—a cheap package tour. And I understand perfectly well why: two average salaries for four people simply aren’t enough to cover all their needs.

My main life hack turned out not to be about saving money, but about increasing my income. I set a goal: to increase my salary each year by the rate of inflation plus 10–15%. If I couldn’t negotiate a raise at my current job or stopped gaining new experience, I’d leave. That income growth didn’t happen on its own. Changing jobs, negotiating, and honing my skills—that’s what paid off. There were also difficult periods when I had to adapt to new conditions or projects, but overall, the strategy worked.

For nearly two months, we’ve been sharing stories about Belarusians’ budgets as part of this contest. But the good stories about money don’t end there—we’re continuing to look for people to feature and show how Belarusians earn, spend, save, and plan their family budgets. If you’re ready to share your story, we’d love to hear from you at nz@onliner.by.

Today, our family’s total income is about 11,000 rubles a month. For some, that’s a lot, but for a family with two children, in my opinion, it’s enough for a normal life without frills.

I’m a designer by profession, and my wife is a pharmacist. I started out more than 15 years ago as a design technician and eventually worked my way up to lead specialist. Now I work in the client’s office and manage the design process. In other words, I’ve shifted from directly drawing up blueprints to organizing the process and overseeing it on the client’s side.

Our expenses

· Mortgage and loans—2,500 rubles (25% of income, compared to the 40% recommended by banks).

· Utilities, phone, and internet—600 rubles.

· Children’s extracurricular activities (two English classes, music, two soccer classes) — 700 rubles.

· Food for four people — 1,750–2,000 rubles.

· Clothing as needed — 500–700 rubles.

· Transportation (fuel + scheduled maintenance) — 1,000–1,500 rubles. We have two cars: one is new, the other is six years old. We spend almost nothing on car repairs—mostly just consumables.

Total typical expenses—about 8,000 rubles. The rest goes toward vacations, paying off loans early, or savings. If it weren’t for the loans, our expenses would almost fit within two average salaries, but then we wouldn’t be able to dream of going to the beach.

My Life Hacks That Actually Work

Buying an Apartment. Buying a two- or three-room apartment in a new building without any down payment is very expensive. It’s better to first buy a one-bedroom apartment on the resale market, do some cosmetic renovations, and live there for a couple of years. Save up for the down payment yourself or borrow it from relatives or friends, and take out a loan for the rest. If you’re registered with the city administration as a young family, you’ll receive a 13% tax deduction. Important: The deduction is granted once per person (unless you have multiple children).

Once you’ve paid off part of your debt, it’s worth thinking about upgrading. You can do a “double deal”: sell your one-bedroom apartment and buy a two- or three-bedroom apartment, financing the remaining amount with a loan. In this case, you can claim the tax deduction for your spouse as well. This approach helps you save significantly and avoid getting bogged down in debt during the early years of married life.

Do-it-yourself home improvements. Painting walls, hanging wallpaper, replacing an outlet or a toilet—you can actually learn how to do all of this from YouTube videos. It might not work out the first time, but by the second or third try, you’ll get the hang of it. After a couple of years of trying, you’ll become a pro, and your renovation costs will drop significantly.

Online classifieds sites. You can sell almost anything there. Old linoleum in good condition? People will snap it up. A mirror, a kitchen set, a bathtub—everything goes to good homes. I buy my kids’ phones there, since they’re learning how to take care of their belongings, and for the first few years, these are just consumables for them.

Extra-curricular activities for kids. A school pool in 4th grade is a great way to save on swimming lessons (though that’s not the case everywhere). Music school is inexpensive if the child really enjoys it. English classes and extracurricular activities: if two children attend the same club, ask for a 5–10% discount—they usually give it.

Meals. Homemade meals packed in containers—a classic. In the summer, our dacha helps with vegetables and herbs. Thanks to my mother-in-law for the garden plots—it’s free, but it takes a lot of effort.

Leisure. The budget option is the dacha. Some people spend half a year planning trips with super-cheap tickets and lodging, but that’s not my style. I’d rather spend my free time with my family or on a side job.

Last year, I managed to save quite a bit on vacation: I worked on the Mediterranean, my employer paid for my family’s housing and flights, and the kids spent almost the entire summer at the beach. This year, we’re planning to drive to the beach in our new car.

What’s next?

The increase in income allowed us not to tighten our belts, but to buy an apartment, a new car, do a high-quality renovation, and go to the seaside every year instead of to a summer cottage.

Our next goal is to pay off our loans and save for our children’s college education. And yes, I still paint the walls myself. Simply because I can.