for most of the 8 years of marriage Chris and I have had a DINK lifestyle (double income no kids). obviously thats all about to change as baby Kinion makes his/her appearance in several months and i plan on being a stay at home mom.
after the joy and elation of finding out i was pregnant faded the reality sunk in...how are we gonna afford it? to be honest this scares the hell out of us (pardon my french). with the way our income is currently as DINK, both working full-time, we barely get by each month, with little left at the end. lets hope there is no major emergency or unknown expense that pops up because we'd be screwed. so it begs to ask, how will we survive on one income? (for the cost of daycare these days even if i did work outside the home all the money would be going to pay for that. and thats just a waste. i much rather be home with the baby. thats has always been our plan.)
we have talked to various people in researching our options (such as bankruptcy, consumer credit programs, WIC, Medicaid, local help networks, etc). the frustrating thing is that right now we make too much to qualify for government funded programs/assistance, but we barely make enough to get by. its a catch 22. if we were truely at poverty level we'd qualify for alot more assistance but we are just over that. i'm not ditching the fact that theres help for the poor, not by any means, but what is there to do for people like us? once we become a one income family we may qualify for more help such as WIC, and that would be good. there's lots of resources there nt only for food but medical expenses for the baby,too like free shots until age 5 and breastfeeding supplies.
but what i'd really like is to find a job where i can work from home to give us supplemental income to help with the bills. obviously i doubt i'd find anything close to what i'm making at my current job (but the ironic thing is that any extra income would prob put us back over the boarderline income limit where we'd not qualify anymore and we'd be back where we are now). i just am at a total loss on where to begin looking for jobs like that. i'm soo leary at all those "work from home" type ads on the internet.
i know this baby is a major blessing and miracle in our lives, and i cant help but think God would not give us such a gift without the resources to provide. i know he is the ultimate Provider and will guide us in the right way. i just need direction on where to look.
so as my friend chris wrote on his blog (thanks buddy!):You cannot heal, until you let someone see the wound, and help you out so now i'm asking you, dear friends, if you have any ideas or suggestions or wisdom on how to be a working stay at home mom, i'd love to hear.
6 comments:
You, my friend, have pretty much laid out the thoughts coming from my brain as well.
I want to be a dad in the worst way...but I always tell my wife that it's just not time. We're not financially ready.
And then everybody always says, "You'll never be ready for a baby". OR, "God will provide". And while I wholeheartedly believe those things with all my heart, I have a hard time putting my belief into action.
I dunno...it's tough...and I thank God that Danielle has a business that she runs from home. So when we do have a baby, she can quit her current job and work from home. (WARNING: shameless plug for wife coming up!) She has a business called "RSVP Designs" that basically caters to anybody who needs anything paper. Invitations, announcements, etc etc. You can see her website at www.rsvpdesigns.com. She does amazing work...and, actually -- she does amazing baby announcements (hint, hint!).
Ok sorry. LOL. Anyway, I think that there are millions of opportunities in this age of working from home...and I am confident that there is something for you. You know as well as I do that He would not have blessed you guys with this most perfect miracle if He didn't have a plan for you guys to be under His ultimate provision.
I'm praying for you and Chris!!
Take Care, Lani!
Dave
I agree with Dave. There is a lot of work from home jobs out there and God will provide. Listen, if he has provided for us all these years, I know he will provide for you as well.
Also, I can talk with my boss and we are starting an online CDA course and would need people in your area to do "check-ups" on the students and be a liason between us and them. If you would like, I can put in a word for you. Just let me know. I will definately be praying for you and Chris and Baby. In the meantime, don't stress God will provide and He has a plan for your family.
hey lani - im not sure if you remember me or not but i remember you and came across your blog. in a way back world, i was actually assigned to be your big sister at flagler. i doubt you remember me but i thought i would say hello. im one of chris hollister's bf's. we have to tots and i work opposite shifts of my husband...we know it stinks but feel it's a small price to pay for the kiddos to have a parent home and it wont last forever...just til kindergarten. maybe that's an option...finding a job in the evenings and on some weekends assuming chris works weekdays. i work for hospice as a therapist! take care. my blog is www.hallsey.blogspot.com
thanks dave, its good to know others ponder like i do! i did check out your wife's website...nice stuff!
jj, i will be giving you a call soon!
lauren, i left a msg on your blog. thanks for saying hi! come back anytime :)
it's certainly not a fool-proof strategy, but it's always a good mental exercise to think about what you are passionate about and trying to figure out if there's some money to be made (even a little money) in that realm. for instance, you have talked in the past about opening a bird store because it can be hard for bird lovers like you to find the things you want to buy for your birds. well it would be hard to run a bird store as a stay-at-home-mom, but you could easily open an on-line bird store and run it from home. that's just an example, i'm sure there are already some good on-line bird stores out there (i would think, maybe not), but by taking some time to think about your hobbies & passions maybe you can come up with some other ways to generate a little extra income while taking care of little bertha jr. or you can always do what mom did and do dictation from home or something along those lines (or assemble rubik's cubes!)....good luck!
I used to do babysitting for my friends who opted to go back to work. I was fortunate enough to have a few days off during the week with only my own children, and it benefited my friends who needed a reliable sitter for their own child without putting them in a large day care situation. Just be picky who you would do this for, you would want someone who you wouldn't mind being around your own child. I also babysat at the church during the week for the women's groups and could take Chris with me while I earned that money too.
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