We are facing a little dilemma here at 1928 Bungalow. Brandon works full-time as a public school teacher, and I am a public librarian. I worked full-time until the girls were born and went part-time after maternity leave ended. Until now we've been able to avoid the cost and trauma (for me, mostly) of putting the girls into daycare. We debated over nannies and child care centers, checked a few prices, decided we couldn't afford either option, and ended up convincing my sister Kathy and my mother-in-law Patrice to take turns and come each week to watch the girls. I have an odd schedule at work and basically work a week straight every other week (told you it was odd), so it works out that each of them only has to come twice a month. But both of them drive two hours to get to our house and stay 1-3 nights each visit. For FREE. They agreed to do this for "a few months" meaning, maybe three months. That was, well, a year ago. And they still come. Yeah.
So now that we've abused their goodwill for way too long, it's time to find another solution. If I return to work full-time (which may or may not be an option) and we pay for full-time care, then I'll bring home (factoring in things like car expenses, etc.) roughly $125 a month after all expenses. This would be in addition to us getting rid of some luxuries, like cable and maybe...yes...internet. If I stay part-time and pay for daycare, we'll be losing money each month...somewhere along the lines of $300+ since I can't find part-time daycare for kids under 2 years old. If I quit and stay home full-time, we'll be anywhere from $60-200 short each month.
Our first choice is for me to stay home full-time. This will require some sacrifices, but we think we can do it. We'll have to cut back on cell phone service, cut out cable, and be stingy with the electricity. No dinners out. A tight grocery budget. Sell one of our cars. We have some debt, but if we can pay it off (not this year, but we can get started on it), we would be okay. Part of the problem is that neither of us got raises this year (teachers get an annual step raise each year because they are more experienced, and we usually get a meager 1-2% based on merit, but all were dropped last year...not to mention furlough days and unpaid holidays). Part of the problem is we didn't budget last year since we didn't sleep for an entire year and our brains didn't work.
I have a feeling posts here will take a turn for the frugal. I don't think I'll be like some bloggers who give up one thing a day, week, or month, but we will be giving some things up and I'm sure you'll hear all about it. But it will be an experiment in the old adage Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without. To keep our grocery and household budget in line, we'll be exploring things like baking our own bread, making our own household cleaners from vinegar and baking soda, and moving to reusable (glass!) storage rather than Ziploc bags. I've been reading a lot of blogs, books, and articles about living with less, and what worries me is that we've already cut out a lot of those things before we even realized we were being "frugal." I've checked out some budgeting books, and all of them talk about putting money in savings or giving to charity before you deduct your household expenses, and make sure that you leave some room for emergencies and errors. Well, folks, our budget has no room for error, and with just the basics of mortgage and utilities, we'll be running short. I have yet to find a book that addresses THAT budget.
So, wish us luck and send us your frugal tips and cheapskate (but healthy) recipes. I'll continue working for the time being, and once we feel we've got a bit of solid ground beneath us...off we go into the world of one income (plus a lot of little side projects to make a bit of cash).
2 comments:
Are you familiar with the "Tightwad Gazette" (particularly the collected version)? Full of excellent ideas and, just as important, an attitude that focuses on creatively living according to your priorities. We are only one of several families we know who have raised big families on one income-- most of us in small houses-- and it is not only doable, but worth it.
Yes! My sister gave me a copy a long time ago, but I must have decided at some point I didn't need it, and it's disappeared. A friend just sent us a copy, though, and although some of it is a bit out of date (or extreme), it's got a lot of great ideas. Thanks for the vote of confidence--I'm starting to get pretty nervous about going to one income.
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