give me some opinions

[inky leeuhhh]

i have two choices for the upcoming school year: stop working, and live off of a very VERY tight budget (we would be able to pay all bills, eat, ect... but almost no extra money- maybe 200$ extra/ month), or work full time and have the girls in care all day (which is what we do now- dd does school work evenings and weekends). i have not had much luck in finding potential p/t work, so i'm kind of counting that out for now, but i could potentially quit work and "be on the lookout". if i was working, it would be more stressful trying to continue to get things done evenings and weekends (we hs over the summer too, so that takes some of the stress off), but we would have extra money for cool supplies and outings on weekends and whenever i can get time off. i take time off whenever possible so i can spend time with the girls right now. if i stayed home, the extra money isn't there, but there is more day time for me to work on homeschooling (and other things obviously). anyone btdt have any opinions or viewpoints? i'm pretty sure i am over thinking this way too much and i need to just pick one and try it out. i just don't want to quit my job and regret it later, kwim?

[Lisa1970]

I had to quit and live off of next to nothing for a long time. I would vote for that for your option.

Only drawback is, later, when I considered returning to work, I really could not make enough to make it worth it. I am sure others have found better solutions.

But back to the budget, once you adjust to the lower budget, it works out just fine. In the long run, it works out better too. You will always be used to spending less money. If you have 2 incomes, you should try to live off of 1 income if at all possible and save and invest the rest for a later day. That way, you will never be stuck in the position where one of you lose your job and then you lose your house and so on.

BUT, I think I would cancel the daycare. I cannot help but wonder if daycare is any better than just sending them off to public school. Not sure, maybe it is a home daycare that is ok with older children? Of course, in that case, the daycare is probably better.

Good luck with your decision!!

[inky leeuhhh]

oh of course i would not be sending them to daycare if i wasn't working. it is a home daycare, and the kids both love going there. not big an institutional at all. we are mostly homeschooling because i feel like the girls learn much more that way- the public schools in our area (even the "good" ones) are pretty poor. dd has thrived over the last year, and she did very poorly when i had her in a more mainstream type daycare/ preschool with many other children (she has autism, and had lots of anxiety being in a room with so many of her peers).

we have been living off just one income for the last month, and it has been going fine. just very tight, and i have to watch dh like a hawk because he likes to spend money. i have been putting my paychecks towards paying our car off, and that should be done by the end of summer. i've added that amount into our budget already. i'm leaning towards staying home, i just want to make sure i've really considered things before i make the leap, and i thought getting some outside opinions may be a good thing.

[ikesmom]

If you can survive off the one income I would do that. I haven't worked past 2 months and our budget is tight. I am in the same boat as you are and I will have to drive a good distance for most jobs. I am currently looking to do childcare and take the kids with me for extra income.

[inky leeuhhh]

thanks ikes. i do preschool right now, and had been trying to find work where i could take the girls with me, but there wasn't much out there in my area. i think what i'll do is quit and try and find something like an evening babysitting job. we would only need an extra few hundred a month to give us a little wiggle room. i am most worried about the holidays, and trying to get presents together for the family.

[SundayCrepes]

What about seeing if any working homeschooling parents need childcare for their school aged kids during the day?

[MrsJewelsRae]

When we absolutely could not get by w/o the extra income, I babysat- I got to be home with my kids all the time and they had some playmates to share their day with. But since I started hs'ing I decided to quit babysitting so I could focus solely on the kids, plus my health was poor. We get by just fine w/o the extra income. We live cheaply, and sometimes the rent is late or I have to trim the grocery bill that week (dh is self employed so his income is always fluctuating) but we're just fine and very happy with the way things are. Even if you have a little wiggle room, I'm sure you will adjust to one income fairly well. Borrow from the library instead of buying, use bunny ears on the tv instead of cable (besides you can watch almost anything on the internet anyways), shop at thrift stores whenever possible- I'll take a trip to Value Village over the mall any day, or a visit to a used book store (what treasures!!!) over Chapters hands down! You can find all kinds of neat treasures and treats at the thrift store for hs'ing- I've scored an abacus, a globe, cool board games, puzzles, craft supplies, books, microscope, etc. Personally, I could never operate on your schedule- I applaud you- you must be exhausted! Good luck!

[inky leeuhhh]

yep, i am exhausted. LOL. i don't realize it either until i lose it with dh or one of the kids, or realize i'm zoning out at work. we live in a little apartment, otherwise i would be all over babysitting neighborhood kids here. i may be able to find a regular babysitting job in the evenings or weekends though, or at least a couple of families to do some occasional sitting for. and yes thank goodness for the library! ours even carries new release dvds, which is awesome. tons of great resources for the kids too. we don't buy books any more unless they are something we will refer to over and over again. i am glad to hear that other people have been in my position before. i hate the idea of putting dd2 into public school because she has done so well being homeschooled this last year.

[luv2homeschool]

I would quit. I quit work a few years ago. Had a good job making good money. I have had part time jobs over the years to make ends meet, but it is so worth it for my children.