I have 3 kids, but I came from a family of 8 kids. I know what it's like to have hand-me-down clothes and live life spending very little. I've been on a budget and have been through the tough times of making sure I can pay every penny of my bills. A couple months before I finished college, my parents decided they were moving out of state, which left me taking on full responsibility for my life immediately following college.
I was very fortunate because one of my brother's found my apt paying considerably less then anyone else I knew. I was also fortunate to have a job in April prior to graduating in May. I didn't have any savings and wasn't sure I could afford this new apt, but I also knew I didn't have a choice. I had to make it work. My parents sold their house & my job was an hour away from where my siblings lived. I was in a very unstable environment but managed to make a very stable situation out of it. I also didn't have medical insurance right away after college because the job I had taken was a 'temp to hire' position but I was convinced I would be getting the job.
I tell you all this because I grew up with moments of feeling like I had nothing & could not do much because money limited us. I also challenged myself after graduating college by living very frugal and paying bills where there were times that only a few dollars were left in my checking account. I did this because I didn't see another alternative. I had just finished college so it didn't make sense that I would depend on another adult when I was an adult myself and capable of making my own money. At the time, I had so much more determination than I do today.
In my current situation, I don't feel the same drive & passion for my job as I once did to make it work no matter what. I've got some experience under my belt so that makes a difference, but my priorities are different as well. The second I had my first child, I realized that work (a job) would never be as high a priority as my children ever again. I have 3 kids and they are my true focus. I want to live life making sure they are happy and I spend as much quality time with them as possible. So, I need to find work that makes me feel like I'm living up to that expectation for them as well. I sit at work now & feel frustrated about processes and having that old cliche of a hampster running in a wheel and getting nowhere.
I believe I need to work at this point in order to make our finances work and the second I find an alternative to working or leaving my kids full-time, I will not be working the way I am now. I am currently working towards a better work-life balance, because I do enjoy working in public and interacting with other people. It's amazing the inspiration and stories I hear from other people that help me in life, even when it might not have anything to actually do with the job I'm currently doing. I meet incredible people in life so I do believe that I need to maintain a certain level of interaction with the general public (getting paid or not) to be happier overall with my life.
All of this was to lead to a few tips I had over the last week about ways I've managed to save some money. I went to Kmart a couple days ago to buy my kids Halloween costumes for next year. I also bought costumes for my husband & myself. So for 5 costumes, I was able to spend $25 which is an incredible deal - 75% off. So buy Halloween costumes for next year a few days after Halloween when everything is on clearance. I thought hard about whether this was a good idea based on the fact that our finances are extremely tight right now & I'm trying to save for an emergency fund. I decided that spending a little now would help me avoid spending more later (next year) when I might think we don't have costumes. Of course, I am very creative and there will be a point where I will create the Halloween costumes out of existing clothes, themed outfits, etc that we already have.
The other tip I had was to save unused, unopened toys/gifts that my kids have received from past birthdays or holidays & store them in a closet that the kids won't access. Most friends/moms I know always have toys that they stash away from their kids because their kids already play with so many toys. Many of my friends say they put the toys away especially after Christmas and bring them out throughout the year so the kids are excited all over again. How many of those toys are really needed or are forgotten about? We also have the duplicate toys that because it was popular your child got every variation or 2 or 3 of the same thing. Use these toys as gifts for the classmate birthday parties or friend parties that pop-up through out the year so you don't have to spend money unexpectantly for those parties you didn't know were going to come up. Obviously, if you are going to re-gift these items amongst the family that gave them to you, you need to be sure not to give them back to a cousin/relative that gave it to you. This can be done for any gift, but making sure that the packaging and tags are still intact and in good condition allows you to give the gifts in confidence without feeling like you're giving a shabby gift.
Final tip, if you have a smart phone that uses apps, then a great suggestion for books, is Overdrive.com. This is a website that allows you to 'check out' LIBRARY Books just like you used to do as a kid, but electronically. It's fantastic & FREE---YES FREE. I've only downloaded free apps at this point because I can't justify buying one at this point. It will need to be an amazing app to make me want to buy it. I've really been making some strides on reading up on motivation and financial successes and I find that by going to overdrive.com and putting in my local libraries, followed by my library card #, then I can search all these books for free & take them out for 2 weeks at a time. You can check out up to 10 books at a time, both ebooks or audio. It's not only great for my new mission to take control of my financial life, but I'm able to pull children's books that my boys (my daughter isn't old enough to care yet) just love! My boys love anything that is associated with my smartphone & I find it to be great quality time since I don't let them run off with my phone...my oldest is only 4 yrs old so he understands not to touch too much on the phone, but curiosity overpowers discipline :) It's one of the best finds I've made since I've gotten my iPhone this summer.
Until next time. I hope you are all sharing your tips with each other. We can get out of this financial mess together!
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