So now what?!?

Here's a fact for you...no job equals no paycheck. We were there. We had the big house, ate out when we wanted, no shortage of spending money and we walked away from it all. It's not like we were swimming in money but we were comfortable. First thing was first. We quickly had to figure out just how in the hell this was going to work. So I prioritized (and let me add that these are my personal priorities and I in no way condemn mothers that choose to work). Obviously keeping Makenzie home was top priority. Premium cable channels, every option on the cell phones, lightening fast DSL and all the other little extras we had were the first to go because they were unnecessary. Just cutting those down to the bare minimum dropped the monthly expenses by $150. Now for the big house. Truthfully, we didn't need all that room or the expense to heat and cool it. So we downsized to a small three bedroom ranch and we loved it! That freed up another $400 a month. The life style change alone saved another $150 a month. We stopped eating out, kept the A/C on 78 or the heat on 68. We were cautious with water and electricity usage (things we should have been doing regardless). That's a total monthly savings of $700! I compared it to stuffing myself silly of Thanksgiving dinner and being so uncomfortably full, then unbuttoning my pants to get that little bit of relief.

I am not trying to make it sound easy because I promise it wasn't. I missed the paychecks and the security that went along with it. But I also knew that if I was working the things I would miss were more valuable than a paycheck such as my baby's first step or smile or word. And to me those things are priceless. So we dropped everything down to the bare necessity. And that was ok with me because I truly felt like I was still living "the life". I was a sat-at-home mom!