Life As A One Income Family

Time to dust this ol' blog off and get back on track. Hubby was asking me the other day where my drive and fire went concerning our finances. Once, I stopped the accountablity here, I just fell into a routine and got lazy.

Let's be honest. Living on one income as a family of 3 (actually any sized family) is difficult. It takes more discipline and effort than paying off debt! At least for us.

It's been awhile so let me recap for you.

Just over 2 years ago in December 2009 we made our last payment to AES and became debt free! When we got married in July 2007 combined we had about $40,000 in debt, $5,000 of consumer and the rest in student loans.

The following Spring we set out to buy our first house. It was a very trying process since we live in such a high cost of living area and our price range wasn't very high.

After jumping through a TON of hoops we finally went to settlement and became homeowners (mortgage owners) on July 30, 2010.

We also bought a new (to us) car in August 2010 after hubby's was totaled. That car is now the only car our family has. More to come on that later.

On March 27, 2011 we become parents to the cutest little boy!

On July 15, 2011 I officially became a stay-at-home-mom and we became a one-income family.

Now, almost 6 months on having one income, watching our savings shrink every month, we decided to get re-focused and back on track. I'll be posting our budget and what we are trying to do in a future post. But let's just say that when we first sat down to write it up we came up in the negative. Actually, scratch that, we STILL are in the negative! Yesh! What happened?!?!?!!

What's New?

I guess the bigger question is what ISN'T new?

Let me give you a very quick overview of what our past month has looked like with what's new.

1. My niece was born.
2. We bought our new (to us) house.
3. We bought a new (to us) car. Thanks to hubby's being totaled the day before settlement.
4. We got two new kittens.
5. We're going to have a new baby.

So three out of those five are huge major life purchases/expenses and we have all 3 in one month. Never have I been more happy about having paid off all our debt and have been proactive with our savings. Sure it makes me a little nervous thinking about all of it, but I know that we are prepared and the knowledge to handle it. Obviously, purchasing the house was planned. We saved, we crunched numbers, we found the 'perfect' house, and we fought to get it. I feel totally comfortable with our decision and proud of the choice we made. I love owning a home and making it ours. It's still a long, long, long ways from being done, but it's our and it's comforting.

The car on the other hand was unplanned. We knew that hubby's car was on it's last legs, and lucky for us we had started to save a little bit towards a replace car. We just weren't expecting to replace it so soon. A guy decided at the last minute that he didn't want to turn left, but rather right, so he turned right into hubby. Luckily, he was completely fine, but his car, not so much. We were both surprised with how much he actually received for his '95 car with 220k miles. It was just enough, combined with our savings to buy a 2004 Honda Accord. It was definately a blessing that we found it for such a good price, and not a single issue with it.

Oh yeah, and the baby on the way. :-) Not entirely planned, but not completely unplanned either. As you may remember, that was one of the things on my 10 things in 2010 list. Finding out right before settlement on a new house is a little unnerving, but super exciting nonetheless. We are so excited to meet our new edition in March, as is our families.

So as you can see it's been quite an insane month.

Life Updates

The last week April? What??!?!

First off, I'm in the spotlight over at Me in Millions Monday Morning Inspirations! Check it out!!!

Second of all, we put another offer in for a house! Eek!!! Actually, it's a townhouse end unit, and is crazy, ridiculously priced. If we get it, our mortgage payments (not including taxes and fees) would actually be LOWER than our rent!!! I never thought that would be possible around here. It's a short sale, so we're praying that everything goes smoothly with it. There's been a lot going on with the houses which is why I haven't been around much.

I feel like I say it every time, but life just seems to be flying by. I can't keep up with it. I love looking into our future and seeing how we'd like this to go, but I really have to learn to stay grounded in the here and now. I'm never going to get this time back.

The company I work for is receiving an award from the SBA today, so it's been a whirlwind around here trying to get cleaned up for them. We are also in the midst of our busy season, so it's just added chaos.

I just started reading a new finance book. It's definitely interesting. It's called Shoo! Jimmy Choo. It's a very girly book and I'm not very far into it, but I like the 3 points she made in the beginning. Financial Fitness, Debt Diet, and Saving Style. She puts everything on a level that most women can understand, fitness, dieting and style. Love it! I'll let you know how the rest of the book goes.

Five Years Down the Road...

Frugal Dreamer did a post on what she wants her life to look like in 5 years from now, so I'm gonna copy and do the same. I think it's great to have a vision for the future. Even if it doesn't turn out at all, at least there is a goal to be striving for, even if it does change as time goes on....

The idea is to close your eyes, imagine it’s a Friday morning a few years from now (2 to 5 years from now). Now think about exactly how you’d want to spend the day, keeping in mind that it is a weekday. The idea is to plan your perfect day, using the following questions…

1. What time do you wake up, and how are you feeling as you greet the day?

6-630, so I have time with hubby while he's getting ready for work, and workout before the kids get up. I feel well rested and ready to tackle the day.

2. Where are you? If you’re at home, what does it look like?

I am at home. In an older, 3-4 bedroom which is undergoing self renovations. It may not be the neatest home with kids running around, but there isn't unnecessary clutter.

3. Who is with you?

Hubby and 2 kids with possible a third on the way.

4. What kind of work are you doing? (if you have no idea what kind of work you’ll be doing or want to be doing, list the qualities you want to find in the work you do and the kind of work environment you want.)

I'll be a stay at home Mom, with a little side business that I can do out of the house.

5. As you head out to face the day, how do you look? What are you wearing?

I'm dressed comfy to play with the kids, but I still look put together.

6. How do you get to work?

I work at home, so I'll just have to roll out of bed. :-) Hopefully I will still have my car, but I may have upgraded to a super sweet minivan.

7. When you’re done with work, how will you spend you spare time and with whom? What activities do you enjoy?

With family and friends. Hopefully tweaking my photography and craft skills.

8. What is your evening like?

Friday nights we always made homemade pizza growing up, and lately hubby and I have been doing the same. We'll either have a family night in or hang out with one of our siblings and their kids.

9. When you go to bed that night, how are you feeling after spending the day doing exactly what you love?

I feel ready for sleep, but not exhausted in a bad way. I feel very content with my life and blessed and thank God for all that He has blessed us with.

10. What are you most grateful for and what are you looking forward to as you go to sleep?

I'm grateful for having a healthy family and being able to stay home and raise my kids. I'm looking forward to a Saturday with my family working on projects around the house and seeing the grandparents.

I realize that I am dreaming big, but what other way is there to dream?

Join in and let us know how you view your future in 5 years!