It is OFFICIAL! I'm a SAHM!!

Ok, so I officially became a SAHM as of today. I can honestly say that I woke up early looking forward to starting my day. Last night my daughter and I discussed us walking to school together and we weren't exactly sure how much time we'd need to walk 1.9 miles to get to the school. (This will save me $15/week since we live too close to the school for her to ride the school bus, I have to pay for a weekly bus service to pick her up and drop her off at home) We got a late start this morning so it turned into a power walk. We can walk it in 20 minutes! The baby was content with the new route and was pointing at birds and trees the whole time. He would even giggle when we went over bumpy sidewalks. The only drawback is that we live in a humid climate, so my daughter's hear needed another visit with the flat iron.

When I returned home, I was tired, and needed to get my crock pot going, I'm making potato soup from a recipe I got off of crockpot365, I'll let you know how it turns out. I still wanted to finish my "to do list" and if I could finish it early, would mean that I can get used to this...The last major thing that I needed to do today was to go to the courthouse to pay for my registration for my truck. I don't know how I let it expire, and secondly how did I not find the time to pay it between August and now. Either way, the penalty for not taking care of it online or on time, was a ONE HOUR wait in line. Now I guess I'm a glutton for punishment, because not only did I add the baby to this wait, I did not bring a stroller. The best part is once I got to the part of the line that was against the wall that leads into the actual tax office to continue to wait in line;, I saw the sign that  read, " cash or checks only". I had to get out of line to go to the ATM which was in the same building, to return and start over again in the back of the line. I truly put the baby's diaper to the test today, and we made it home in time for what could have been a nightmare in a public restroom.

So now that I have put the baby down for a nap, wouldn't you guess it, I'm exhausted too! Why didn't anyone warn me about overdoing it on the first day. I still have another 1.9 mile walk to get my daughter and another to come back home. The house doesn't even look like I've been home today, and I'm hoping potato soup is going to be enough for dinner (My husband likes hearty meals).

I've got to hand it to all of you SAHMs out there, this is a lot tougher than I thought it would be. Don't get me wrong, I'm up for the challenge, I just need a nap first.  KUDOS!!

Related articles

• Where The Sidewalk Doesn't End: Walking To Save The Earth (education.change.org)

Random Acts of Kindess

I attend Lakewood Church, and last weekend we had a visitor to our church, Dave Ramsey. Now I'm not a Ramsey follower (yet), but I know several people that do listen to him and have suggested that I listen to him. I did listen to his radio show briefly prior to last weekend, and he does give good financial advice. Last weekend when he was at our church, he mentioned doing Random Acts of Kindness. Basically, if we do what we can to help random people, it will create the "butterfly effect", which may end up helping someone else on the other side of the world.

Well with that being said, I recently started following a blog called The Days of a SAHM. As you may recall from my more recent posts, I will be a SAHM starting in January, Jenn's blog has helped me realize that this is a blessing in disguise, and I need to embrace it! I was so concerned about the financial ramifications, that I didn't see the big picture. If you look at her blog and her pictures, she has a beautiful family and truly enjoys being a SAHM. I plan to be just as proud.

Recently posted that she has also learned how to create buttons for your blog,  and for a short time will create them for you at no cost! Would you like to advertise on her blog or do you need an ad on your blog? Well, you can with Jenn as well (I'm not sure for how long) FREE OF CHARGE! Now you'll need to be patient since I'm sure that she may have a significant number of people taking her up on her offer.

I know that there are several small businesses that can and will benefit from what Jenn is doing. This may be bigger than what she may have imagined! Should you decide to contact her, please make sure to let her know how much we appreciate what she is offering. Don't forget that you can sign up for her giveaway too!Once I get my button, I'll add it to my site, and I'll also add her button to my blog as well.

To Work or Stay At Home (2 of 2)

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Well it looks like I may have until the end of the year to work full time. That will help since I'm still working on paying down our debt. I've been using this debt reduction calendar that I found online, it is fairly simple to use. I've talked to my husband and we are trying to figure out if we can afford to live on one income or if I cut back my hours to work part time if that will help. I found this stay-at-home calculator on the Parents.com website, I do like it but I'm looking for a calculator that I can use in Excel format. I want to have the ability to adjust my expenses and possible income as a SAHM.

It is a mixed blessing, my daughter has been asking for time with mom that I haven't had. My eldest son is graduating this year, and he wants to look at colleges together. The youngest son is walking (I missed his first steps because I was working), and I know my babysitter is not going to feel comfortable with potty training.  So when it comes to these issues, I need to be home. I've come to accept that this is going to be a good thing for my family.

The negative is that I know that once you leave the work place that you don't come back earning the same pay as when you left. This is where I'm hoping that the savings and retirement plans that I have in place are going to be sufficient. I've got some money saved in case of an emergency, and I've also decided that I would try to sell Premier Jewelry. I would be an independent consultant, so I'll have to keep you posted on my progress.

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• "Battle" of the Moms (chicagonow.com)

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To Work or Stay at Home (1 of 2)

How do you decide if it is feasible to work full time or to become a stay at home parent? I know I've been blogging about some money saving tips, unfortunately with the changing economy, I feel the need to be prepared. My husband and I have been discussing this for some time. Nowadays, there are no guarantees. We are trying to lower our debt so that should I leave the work place; money would not become the subject of arguments. I know that I can save money by clipping coupons, and using my freezer to do bulk cooking. The bottom line is that I hear about many people losing their jobs, and it scares me. The reality is that I can see the "writing on the wall" so it is time to prepare for the worst. Here is a little back ground information, I'm a people person, I need to find some way to be around people, otherwise I think I may be unhappy.  On the other hand, I'm not really happy working full time anyway. I feel guilty leaving the family to go to work, and I work late most of the time. Then when I need to take time off from work for my family, I feel guilty leaving work undone and most of the time I'm off I'm getting calls or texts that are work related, so my kids really don't get that time with me. Becoming a stay at home mom may actually be a blessing in disguise. Right now I'm having. to chose between work or family.  This should not be a decision anyone should have to make. Frankly, it is only a matter of time, and the decision will be made for me. Don't get me wrong, my husband is very supportive, but he wants me to leave my work at work, or not to work at all.

We have paid off my husband's truck and I'm almost done with another credit card, but there are some bills that I'm having to pay because I work full time. I pay for daycare/babysitting, on top of the cost, I prefer to use my sister-in-law which adds a two hour commute to and from  work. I also have to pay for a private bus service for my daughter since we live 1.8 miles from her school, in order for her to ride the bus provided by the district, we need to live 2 miles from the school. I'm not home when she gets home but she does call me when she gets home. We recently had our microwave break, so the option has been to eat out or order take out. I do think that if I was home more I could offset some bills and be more of a parent to my children. I also have a 17 year old that needs to get his college applications sent off before December 1st. My gut is telling me that becoming a SAHM is what I need to be doing right now anyway.

I've been looking online for a way to calculate the cost of working vs. staying at home. there are several calculators out there, but they aren't accurate. They don't include the loss I will take to my retirement since I won't have the money to contribute, and I won't have my employer to contribute to it anymore. Not to mention medical insurance, mine is paid for by my employer, so my husband and the kids are on his. I know that it is cheaper to pay cash for regular doctor's visits. I would do that instead of using my insurance since my deductible was so high. I may have to create a more accurate spreadsheet to truly see what the savings vs. cost will be.

So it looks like my blog will not only have some tips about saving money, it will also include a diary of a working mom turned SAHM.

Related articles

• Keep working or stay at home with the kids? (theglobeandmail.com)
• Pros and Cons of Leaving The Workforce to be a Stay-at-home Mom (socyberty.com)

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