"I finally accomplished my dream job of being a stay-at-home mom."
How I did it: * I decided that I had to quit the jobs I hated.
* I majored in elementary education and decided teaching was not for me...it created so much anxiety and stress in my life, my health and happiness was suffering. Luckily my husband was in a job where he could be the main bread-winner in our family. We did not have children yet, we did not have house payments (we were in an apartment), we did not have credit card debt, we had money in savings, we did not have car payments. The only debt we had was our student loans.
* After discussing this, I took a job at Starbucks where I'd still bring in money and have access to health/vision/dental insurance. During the year and half I worked there, I managed to put more money into savings.
* I knew I'd always wanted to be a stay-at-home mom and my husband agreed that it was something we could look at (after all, my entire paycheck at Starbucks would go to daycare).
* We came up with a strict budget on how to handle our money, and tried to find ways to cut our spending.
* Each month we sit down and look at what we spent during the previous month...we use our debit cards for nearly expense, that way we can see exactly what we spent on gas, groceries, eating out, etc.
* I use coupons and look for deals on different items we use.
* I spend money very rarely on things I don't NEED. This means I don't go shopping for fun anymore, which can sometimes stink...but at the same time, I'm now in love with my job...being a mommy!
Lessons & tips: *Make sure you set up a budget and figure in EVERYTHING.
*Each month, go back over what you spent. My husband and I use our debit cards to pay for nearly everything...that way we can go online at the end of the month and see specifically what we spent on gas, groceries, eating out, etc.
*Use coupons and check out deals online.
Resources: *Kroger- The shopper cards at this store lets you get discounts on most items in the store. They also have started monitoring what you buy and then send you coupons (sometimes for free products) in the mail, tailored to what you buy.
*Target Brand Formula- Compared to name-brand baby formula and even brand X at places like Walmart, Target carries their brand for nearly HALF the price and it is just as good. This has saved us a TON of money.
Jun 10, 08:33AM PDT
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