Financially, life would be much easier if I worked. I had a very high paying job and it made life extremely comfortable for us. After daycare and all other expenses, including figuring in higher tax bracket, clothing and lunches out, we'd still net 3K more a month. But 3yo dd is high-needs and the 3 weeks I was back at work (after being off 3 years) were hell on the family. Simply put, my family needed me at home more than we needed the extra financial security.
We are fortunate enough that dh has tenure which is the ultimate job security and we have rental property to help our income. We have no debt (no credit card debt, no car payments, but do have a mortgage, which I don't consider debt because it's a secured loan). Being debt free was a big key to me being able to quit my job for good. But I do shop at thrift stores, freecycle, and we've stopped eating out. Eating out was more expensive than our mortgage payment at one time. What a waste that was! And now that it's yard sale season, I'll be there.
My mother lives with us and now I just need to convince HER to cutback... wants the AC on during the day, and heat on at night. Small things like cooling the house at night and wearing an extra layer is lost on her. But it's these small steps that are most important, imo.
We are fortunate enough that dh has tenure which is the ultimate job security and we have rental property to help our income. We have no debt (no credit card debt, no car payments, but do have a mortgage, which I don't consider debt because it's a secured loan). Being debt free was a big key to me being able to quit my job for good. But I do shop at thrift stores, freecycle, and we've stopped eating out. Eating out was more expensive than our mortgage payment at one time. What a waste that was! And now that it's yard sale season, I'll be there.
My mother lives with us and now I just need to convince HER to cutback... wants the AC on during the day, and heat on at night. Small things like cooling the house at night and wearing an extra layer is lost on her. But it's these small steps that are most important, imo.
