Before I start with the "what we are going to do", I felt like it was only fair to tell you what we are not going to do on our financial journey.
Obviously, I am saying this without the knowledge of how our days, weeks, and months are going to look like. I really don't know how this journey is going to play out. I do know that we will have to be making very hard decisions. Decisions that not everyone in our family is going to love or even like for that matter.
And to be honest, I am ok with that.
I guess I keep going back to the realization that we only get to live once. And while this life can feel overwhelming and hard at certain times it flashes by in just a blink. It seems like just yesterday I was a single 21 year old girl with a new baby boy and now I am married with 3 kids and a step-son. That baby is now 12 and a 7th grader.
Wow, talk about a reality check.
So what do we want with our life ... freedom! Freedom from bills over our head. Freedom to visit family members out of state. Freedom to take a vacation once a year. Free to give to those less fortunate. Free to take dinners to families with new babies.
Seriously, we just want to feel free.
So here is a list of things we are not going to do ... at least I don't think that we will.
1) We are not going to sell one of our cars.
Here is the deal with our vehicles. Since the birth of our son, Hudson, we had to buy a minivan in order to only take one vehicle when everyone is together. With buying a minivan we also inherited a car payment. Boo. A $406.46 car payment. But our other vehicle is an older Chevy Equinox which has been paid off. Since one vehicle is paid off we won't be getting rid of it. Also, my husband works about 30 minutes away. And Jacob has soccer practice almost daily. So I need to have a vehicle to get him back and forth to practice. Also, since my husband's job is commission based he can chose to work late to make more money.
2) Jacob is not giving up travel soccer.
Yes, travel soccer is a huge expense. Think a $1200 a season expense along with the uniform fee, the tournament fees, new cleats, and travel expenses. Let me just tell you ... I am one lucky lady. Jacob's dad pays for his soccer expenses. He even shares the travel expenses with me. He is still a single guy and his money isn't as tied up as ours is. Also, he loves his son and wants to provide things for him. So our particular situation I pay the school expenses and his dad pays for soccer. Also, we are hoping that soccer will provide Jacob with college scholarship opportunities in the future.
3) We are not moving.
Ok as I say this one and then hold my breath. I honestly have no problem moving as long as it is out of state. We can't really move out of state. With two of our four kids having other parents, we would have to get special permission from each of them to move and we would risk not seeing one of our children for most of the year. I love where we live. Well ... kinda. We live in a suburb of Chicago. It gets cold. Really cold. I hate the cold. My kids go crazy in the winter since they cannot play outside. But I love my neighbors. There are 4 little boys that are the same age as Maysie Grace and 2 little ones the same age as Hudson. We are all in the same stage of life. Jacob can go around the neighborhood on his bike and meet up with his friends. The schools are amazing!! I went to the same schools. I love Jacob's teachers and they are willing to work with us. So I don't really see us moving.
4) My grocery shopping won't really change.
Just because we need to get out of debt and save money doesn't mean that our diet has to suffer. Maysie Grace has food allergies. She is allergic to gluten, corn and all corn products, strawberries, bananas, oranges, apples, and vinegar. We will not be eating processed food. So you won't find mac & cheese or ramen noodles in our cabinets. I try to make things from scratch as much as possible. I do purchase organic as much as possible. I follow the dirty dozen for the most part. Also, I make my husband and Jacob lunch every day and I make a pot of coffee for all of us. We don't buy crappy coffee. Nope. Nope. Nope.
5) I will not be getting a traditional full-time job.
The cost of daycare is way too expensive and my husband and I both want me to stay home with them. That doesn't mean I won't be trying other alternatives in order to make money while I am home. Currently, I work one night a week at a restaurant making about $70 a night and I watch a little boy one day a week for $80. I will be looking into different avenues to make money but my husband will continue to be the main bread winner.
Stay tuned for what I "think" we are going to do.
Are there any "not gonna happen" rules on your financial list?
No comments:
Post a Comment