OCTOBER challenge: Living Off Of Your Stockpile. WINNERS declared!

[cody82414]

We have relied on God to take care of us, and He has. We have not missed a meal and we have a roof over our head, etc. I wouldn't change it for anything. Raising a family is the most satisfying job I have ever had, even on the bad days!!!

Amen and Amen!

I need to chat with you MSD off this thread.
I believe that you know what you want to do, but lack the wherewithall to see "how".

This is So exciting

PMing you now

[cjpsmom]

My turn, my turn.....I quit a job that made up 3/4 of our income-GASP!!! But with some cutting back and changing the way we lived and shopped we've been able to manage. I have to admit the cost of me going to work and eating out covered the expenses that we would incur if I didn't work. By the time I quit, we only really had a credit card and house payment (now only the home). We've never been ones to run up our debt so we were really blessed with me being able to stay at home. We don't spend a lot on "stuff" and I definately am not a clothes person (:sad:), I shop kids sales for just about all of DS's needs and we hardly ever really just go somewhere. We were a little more set in our ways (settled down) when we had DS, plus I started shopping for stockpiling (sort of) before we had him so we were pretty much set up for awhile after I quit. God (above all else) has continued to bless us as a family and a business and for that we are very grateful.
I don't know if this helped but like someone said before....my .02.

[cjpsmom]

Amen and Amen!

I need to chat with you MSD off this thread.
I believe that you know what you want to do, but lack the wherewithall to see "how".

This is So exciting

PMing you now

Come on now....no secrets!

[pkchicken]

I can only tell you about my experience with work/stay at home.

My family is healthier , more loving, less stressed and better now that I am at home full time.

I like what Cody said about finding the "How". If you can make (or save) even 1/3 of what you are making now, and stay at home it should work.

My garden saves us alot of money in vegetables. Couponing saves us more. Thrift shops, bartering, yard saling your surplus, refunding.....stuff like that.

I sure hope you can swing it!

pk

[texxie]

lol, yeah! no secrets!

I'm a SAHM, going on 5 years now. While it's the hardest job I've ever taken on...it's the most rewarding. We had to make adjustments, sure, but it was well worth it. You'll be suprised how much (little) you truly need that income. Where there's a wil...........

kudos to the working momma's though, it was'nt for me but I know it's not a choice for everyone. Or even a preference for that matter. Something that helped us in the beginning....after my "maternity leave" period, in order to stay home with DD#1, I started babysitting another baby 9 months older than her. I was earning some extra money but never had to leave my daughters side. did that for a few months, next thing i knew, we just did'nt "need" my income anymore. This was way back when i hardly knew what a coupon was.

good luck to you!

[jenrose]

I feel like the oddball in this group all of a sudden

I love my kids but think that me working has been a great benifit to them. But I would likely feel different if I didn't have family taking care of them while I worked. MIL has a very different way of teaching things than I do and so things the DS just doesn't get when I try to show/teach him he can get easily from MIL and vice versa. And work is my adult time where I can have conversations that don't include the words potty and mommy.

But then again if suddenly tomorrow we won the lottery I would likely at least consider staying home. Especially with the child care issues I have had in the past few weeks.

[nateNnatsmommy]

Don't leave Jen - you're not the oddball at all!

My husband stays at home with the kids, and I work. We both used to work, and the kids were in daycare. When we were both working, the income was significant, and worthwhile even after paying for daycare.

My husband is a contractor and ran his own business; when the work became too sporadic to count on, we made the decision for him to stay home. BTW, he loves it! (Although he's put on a lot of weight )

Everyone just needs to do what works best for them to keep their family healthy and happy, without feeling guilty about their choices.

I feel like the oddball in this group all of a sudden

I love my kids but think that me working has been a great benifit to them. But I would likely feel different if I didn't have family taking care of them while I worked. MIL has a very different way of teaching things than I do and so things the DS just doesn't get when I try to show/teach him he can get easily from MIL and vice versa. And work is my adult time where I can have conversations that don't include the words potty and mommy.

But then again if suddenly tomorrow we won the lottery I would likely at least consider staying home. Especially with the child care issues I have had in the past few weeks.

[grainne15]

I'm due to have our baby in May

Congrats! That's fantastic!

Staying home or working is partly a financial decision and partly one of the heart. Go with your heart, and if that means staying home, go for it if you can swing the finances.

Since you have time between now and May, talk with your husband, start running numbers and putting together some plans to see what you can do to contain your costs. Then start doing those things NOW and set aside the money you are earning now while still working in savings as a cushion for when the kidlet is born (and/or use some to pay off debt, if you have any). If you do it all now, you can figure out what works and what doesn't while you still have some flexibility.

Money will be tight no matter what - that's more or less the definition of life with small kids - so think about what will work best for you. Remember if you go with work/daycare that the worst expense is only for a few years. Daycare costs go down as kids get older, and when they hit kindergarten they drop even more if the kids go only to after-school care.

Worst case, you can go back to work.

We have two boys (3 and 5) and I've worked full-time all the time, with the kids in daycare; it's rough sometimes (and my housekeeping suffers too!) but I am DEFINITELY a happier person working than I would be staying at home. Now that DS#1 is in school the finances are easing up a bit.

Best of luck, and don't forget to budget for diapers :D

[pkchicken]

almost forgot to list my oop for today!

acme: .60<10% milk, bread and vegies, used catalinas from last week
Shoprite $14.50 -$8.00 (friends grocieries) OOP $$6.50 applecider!, free with coupons steamfresh vegies, other free's and I earned the free turkey!!!

Cody's fridge picture got me excited. My freezer is back to being overloaded again! See? I really need those goals!

pk

[jenrose]

almost forgot to list my oop for today!

acme: .60<10% milk, bread and vegies, used catalinas from last week
Shoprite $14.50 -$8.00 (friends grocieries) OOP $$6.50 applecider!, free with coupons steamfresh vegies, other free's and I earned the free turkey!!!

Cody's fridge picture got me excited. My freezer is back to being overloaded again! See? I really need those goals!

pk

You need to make some room in the freezers for some of that Pillsbury breads before it gets past date LOL.

I only wish I was stocked that good. We eat meat at every meal so as soon as my freezers start looking full we empty them again!