Financially Challenged Mamas! - Page 2

[DreamsInDigital]

One thing I really struggle with as being a financially challenged family is that DH and I are longing to add another baby or two to our family, and we'd like to do so as soon as possible so we are still young enough to enjoy them. And not one person in my group of friends or my family will say one thing supportive of it. Am I the only one that thinks that money really isn't everything?

[holyhelianthus]

Emily- i suck at making bread but found this GREAT recipe on a vegan recipe site i go to. this bread is soooo good!

Joshua's Whole Wheat Bread

6 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon salt
2 tbs dry yeast
3 1/4 cups warm water
2/3 cups raisins or dates (optional)

In a large bowl mix all the dry ingredients together (along with the fruit, if you are using it). Add the water and beat the mixture to make a nice thick batter. **Take it out of the bowl and knead it a bit if you can't quick stir it.**

Pour it into 2 greased loaf pans and smooth out the tops. Cover the pans with greased plastic wrap and let it rise until doubled in volume. Bake at 400* for about 45 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Remove from the pans and cool on a rack before slicing.

Serves: 2 loaves

Preparation time: 1 hour


i haven't tried putting nuts or anything in it yet and i changed the ammount of yeast because there wasn't enough (the orginal recipe called for 5tsp). i also want to try and add some wheat gluten to it but who has the money for that? a warning though it won't rise as much or be as fluffy as conventional store bread. it's denser and oh so yummy fresh!!

[frogleymom]

Originally Posted by DreamsInDigital

One thing I really struggle with as being a financially challenged family is that DH and I are longing to add another baby or two to our family, and we'd like to do so as soon as possible so we are still young enough to enjoy them. And not one person in my group of friends or my family will say one thing supportive of it. Am I the only one that thinks that money really isn't everything?

I completely agree that money isn't everything. We've also been getting a lot of negative comments as we tell people that we're expecting baby #3. DH isn't even out of school yet, and we don't have a steady job, so they mention things like, "why don't you wait until you're done with school?" or "wow, I guess birth control doesn't work for you guys!" DD#2 was a surprise, but not totally unexpected, since we weren't using birth control (though I was exclusively nursing and DD#1 was only 3 months old), but we were actually TTC for this baby. I've always wanted a large family (I'm the oldest of seven), and I really want my kids close together. If we have to be poor for a few years to do that... then that's what we have to do. I figure, I don't have to spend a ton of $$ on toys for my kids anyway, they can just play with each other.

Emily

[holyhelianthus]

as long as our babies are being fed and loved and cared for nothing else matters!!!

[Boernemama]

Hi everyone! I feel as though I fit right in with all of you. I am glad this thread was started! Though DH and I don't have children yet we are starting to TTC. We have been tight financially since we got married as well and I often struggle with the frustration that comes knowing we work hard for the money we earn and it still isn't enough! We recently moved from Northern VA to Texas because cost of living was less expensive...and it is...but the salaries are lower too. We did find a house that we are in the process of buying but it is a real fixer upper. We feel that once we are able to put the money in to remodeling we will get it back when we decide to sell. This area is really growing and we really feel this to be a good investment but things are going to be getting tighter than they already are. I am always stretching the bills through the month barely paying them before the grace period is up. We hate to use credit cards so what we have in the bank is what we have to work with and if we don't have it, we don't have it. We try to keep to a $50/wk budget and go biking or walking for fun activites. I do believe that our financial situation has made our marriage stronger. Not only do we spend a lot of time together doing fun things but we also have had to have those uncomfortable money conversations. I know that one day it will get better and we will be able to have a little more freedom, but for now this is what God gave us to work with. I truly am grateful for all that we have...it could always be worse.

[frogleymom]

Originally Posted by magstphil

Emily- i suck at making bread but found this GREAT recipe on a vegan recipe site i go to. this bread is soooo good!

magstphil - That was the EASIEST bread recipe I've ever tried. DH says he doesn't like the "fluffy store-bought" bread because "you're only eating air." When we have the funds, DH usually enjoys spelt bread from the health food store here. So we don't mind the denser breads. This one did come out a bit denser then even I anticipated, but it tastes great, and was SO easy!!

Just wondering, have you tried using half white/half wheat flour? The all wheat is great, but I do have some white flour I'm trying to use before our move, so I'm just wondering if that would work too... I'll probably try it out when this current batch is gone. I normally only use white flour for white sauces and cookies... but I'd really rather avoid making 2000 cookies just to use up my flour.

Emily

[revolucionaria]

i just bought my first issue of hip mama last week and loved it! it felt way more like me, a little funny, sarcastic and edgy, more political than mothering, and way more relevant to my life. also, what's up with every issue (in addition to anti-vax) about the benefits of breastfeeding. hello, do they not realize they are preaching to the converted, here?

anyway, i wanted to ask you, gendenwitha, what you were referring to when you wrote:

"Plus the biggie for me was I'm really sick of all the censorship and mdc and didn't want to financially contribute to that sort of thing anymore".

i am not familiar with this issue, the censorship, i dont think. thanks!

a little about my fam, i am a single mama with 2 little ones. i support myself with an AP friendly, organic home daycare. i have a college degree, too, and could be working in a school, sending my kids to daycare and never seeing them, but have a steady income. but i choose to be at home with them now and i dont regret it.

in terms of bills, we are actually lucky enough (funny to call it luck...) to be considered low income enough to receive assistance (subsidized state insurance, for one, go massachusetts!) from the state. i think its probably more difficult to be just above the poverty level to not get assistance, bc after paying atrocious insurance bills, you are probably back below the poverty level again! it makes it really hard to break out of the cycle of poverty and debt and dependence.

oh, by the way, everyone who reads this thread should read 2 books:

Nickle and Dimed, by Bárbara Ehrenreich
The Working Poor: Invisible in America by David K. Shipler


great thread!

~peace

[holyhelianthus]

Emily- i haven't tried to half and half it. if you do tell me how it goes!

i have heard so much about 'hip mama' the past few days. i really need to check it out.

DH works 4 days a week/10 hrs a day. today is his Friday!!! i love it when he is home and i can get things done. here's me doing a little jig.

[MamaWindmill]

Count me in, mamas! We've got $100 and $40 in food stamps to last 'til June 10th (we are blessed that this is after the bills are paid, so no danger of lights going out) - we can do it! Pancakes make a good supper, even if you have to have 'em one or two or eleven times!

[mamamoo]

mamas! I think most of you have heard about my situation from the afford thread.

thanks for this tribe, what a great place to go. I wish I could get hip mama again, I used to years ago...I'll ask for that for my birthday.

[holyhelianthus]

DH got a raise today. guess how much?





























go ahead, guess....




























$.50 yes. fifty (*(#&()#*)(@#&*%^&@#%*@#()()#(# cents. they skip giving him his 6 month raise for a BS reason and then give him ANOTHER $.50 raise after telling him the first one was because he was late and if he fixed that they'd give him more the next time. well, he fixed it. and...... yay! he has $.50 an hour to his name.
i know, i know every little bit helps but he should have gotten at very freaking least $1. he deserved $2. what pisses me off the most is that he convinced me that this job would be better than the last one he had because in the last one his supervisor was a jerk. but his boss there wasn't. i told him he should stay there but he didn't listen. wanna know what his raises looked like there? $4 raise the first time and $1 the second because he had gotten a bad phone call in for his driving. BUT THEY STILL GAVE HIM A FREAKING $1!!!!!!!

[holyhelianthus]

and welcome to Amy and mamamoo!!

[Kelly1216]

Maggie, that sucks so bad! Is Robbie going to job hunt, or just stick it out for a while?
I'm joining, if that's allowed! I'm Kelly, married to Damian (3.5 years!) and mom to Isabel (2 y.o.) I work fulltime 3rd shift at a hotel, and Damian works fulltime (now that schools out) as a translator and a cordinator for interpreters for a local non profit agency. He is fluent in Spanish thanks to a church mission. He also is a fulltime student getting a degree in Spanish with a minor in Elementary Education. He either plans on being a teacher, or a professional Translator/Interpretor.
I work b/c I have to. We do "own" our home but it is a major fixer upper that needs thousands of dollars of work, which we can't afford. We're actually considering selling and going back to an apartment to save money! We have 2 cars, both 12 years old, both paid for from before we were even married. They seem to take turns being broken, and since we both have 15 mile commutes one way to work, we can't afford to downsize to one and risk being stranded. Dh and I don't have health insurance, dd has Medicaid, we're on WIC. We rarely go clothes shopping, and both our parents help out considerably by buying all of us clothes sometimes. I do laundry at work to save money (and time!).
With gas prices being $3.50 a gallon, I can barely afford to drive to work! We work opposing shift to save on daycare.
Our dd is loved, feed, sheltered, and happy. We have perfected the art of bill floating. We're normally at least 2 weeks late with our bills, but have been able to avoid utilities being shutoff for the most part. Our gas was shut off after Isabel was born, we had to borrow money to get it turned on, but we've been doing better since.
I'm looking forward to Farmers Markets! Produce is so expensive, so hopefully we'll be able to get some good stuff there.
All in all, we're thankful. Michigan has one of the worst economies in the country, and one of the highest unemployement rates. We're grateful we're employeed and are able to have what we do.
Although, I'm always looking for tips on how to get a lttle bit better, so I'm super excited for this thread! I'll have to try unpluging everthing at night/when not in use. That sounds easy and doable!

[DreamsInDigital]

I got my annual review last week and guess what my raise was...23 cents. I almost spit in my boss's face. I was so insulted.

[Hollycrand]

Can I join?

We are a family (I'm American, dh is French) living in Germany. We live in a tiny apartment, and live from paycheck to paycheck.
Debt is almost criminal here, and there are no credit cards for deferring payment. So it really means we can't spend more than we have.
It is a bit hard, because most of the other foreigners here are ex-pats with huge salaries. Most of our friends back in France or the US think we're living the high life in a chateau. Dh doesn't get the salary he deserves, and with the cost of living so high (we pay 300 EUR per month for electricity) we have to watch every penny.
But we're happy. I stay at home with our two girls, and scope the shops for bargains and sales all the time. Fortunately Germany has a low birthrate, so the government supports families by giving them 150 EUR per child per month no matter what the income. Low income families also qualify for financial support such as a 'pass' to go to the zoo and to the swimming pool. Thank goodness we have this, otherwise we wouldn't be able to do such activities.
Our dream is to someday buy a house, but for the moment it is only a dream. We may have to return to the US to do this, but for the moment we don't even have enough for the airfare.
It's sure nice to know there are other families who are living month to month...

[paakbaak]

:

don´t liek to wine...BUT...sometiemes it feels good afterwardas!
we live in spain, so euros don´t help much. my dh works and i´m starting next weekend, mornings sat and sun. hopefully we can make it to end of the months that follow. he works 10hrs a day but will be starting to deliver pizzas at night, 4hrs...we will hardly see eachother but this way we can catch up on what we owe ans still have something to earn for the summer.

i won´t be coming here alot cuz we´re cutting off internet...we´ll only get it from 6pm onwards...means that i´ll use it about 2hrs a day. so i hope everything gets better for all of you!

we also recycle clothes, shoes, everything we can for our ds and for ourselves. been eating pasta for the past 2 weeks, so ds can have all he needs. obviously getting some vitamin supplement every morning cuz i couldn´t go through the day without it!

yes it´s hard, yes it sucks, and yes it messes uup the relationship a bit...i mean, there are so many other important things in life apart form money. but when you don´t have enough to get through the month...you get tired of everything.

a couple of friends are coming in tommorrow and we´ll go to the beach on sunday...this will be good. i think it´s important to do things together out of our rented homes! no need for money to go to the park, or the river, or the mountain (if it´s close to home) with a bottle of water, a couple of pears and some good bread!

[holyhelianthus]

Originally Posted by DreamsInDigital

I got my annual review last week and guess what my raise was...23 cents. I almost spit in my boss's face. I was so insulted.

ack! :Puke i so know the feeling!
the thing that irks me the most is that Robbie makes cabinets and does audio/video stuff for rich folks so he builds a desk and they sell it for $7,000. he's one of only a few guys working there. so his raise was $.50 because....... ???? i'm SOOOOOO angry that he left that job. everyday there is another reason why. :

Maggie, that sucks so bad! Is Robbie going to job hunt, or just stick it out for a while?

it's been a year but, yeah, he's going to stick with it. : i'm ready to find a job for myself. but it would more than likely be minimum wage which is about half of what he makes. he likes his job which is great for him. but we really need something that is going to do something for us. he gets all these empty promises from his boss that his boss has yet to deliver on. at his other job he was actually doing well and moving up. but his boss was a jerk. boo hoo! i have worked with guys who sexually harassed me and got away with it (by, did i complain over and over!) but i *had* to work and that was the best job i could get. he says he wants me to stay home (we really have no other choice unless i work overnights) yet he's not willing to go outside his comfort zone for us. oh yeah, and that boss guy was fired shortly after he left. Robbie was going to get his job before he got there which is why the dude was a jerk to him so after he left it would have been his. but why would he listen to me?

[mamamoo]

I am so sorry magstphil. That was mu hubby's last raise too, after they dicked around for 6 months, and changed their review policy(used to be twice a year, but they never did it on time, and now they changed it to 4 times a year, and they still are not doing them on time).


I feel for all of you mamas, I am in the same boat...but got pregnant while using condoms and dtd at a supposedly safe time, and dh freaked out, is super depressed, and was treating everyone like sh*t so I asked him to move out. And he did. I thought money was tight before. LOL He is starting to pay child support, but that is still only goign to be just over $800 a month! Not sure exactly how I am going to make that work. It seems like he has been coming around little by little lately though, we've been hanging out more, and laughing more, and he seems a little better, and not so freaked, so hopefully he'll be coming home soon...we'll see.

[kathirynne]

Come join us!!

Originally Posted by magstphil

we need a place of our own, mamas! to lean on each other and share frugal living tips. i know i need the support. : finances are forefront (among other things) in why i feel so down so often. it'd be nice to have some others to lean on. ...

You mean like this thread? (Which was originallly posted in FYT and then moved to Frugality and Finances by a mod.....)

[holyhelianthus]

Originally Posted by kathirynne

You mean like this thread? (Which was originallly posted in FYT and then moved to Frugality and Finances by a mod.....)

whoops! that would explain me not being able to find a thread here which i thought was odd.