|
Users viewing this topic:
|
|
Login  | |
|
RE: SAHM Support Part II - 5/12/2008 9:15:38 AM
|
|
|
HisCovenant
Posts: 4746
Joined: 4/12/2005
Status: offline
|
I'm so glad everyone had a good Mother's Day. That card was hilarious, Zoebob!
I get tired of the cycle of cleaning, too. It seems like it just never ends. Laundry doesn't bother me... but yesterday I had a little spurt of temper when after finishing loading up the dishwasher and getting it set to run I turned around and hadn't cleaned the pans off the stove. If I bleach the sink, dh rinses a dish and leaves bits of food in it to dry. If I pick up all the clutter, he comes home and strows the mail, his pocket contents, and shoes all through the house. If I mop, he cuts the grass and tracks stuff in. That's the thing about being a SAHW that drives me the most nuts. If I do the work, I hate to see it messed up quickly.
On the flip side, if I take a break, I don't feel at all guilty. My work doesn't end when dh comes through the door. I still have to feed us and clean up the kitchen, if I do nothing else. Also, the things I do with my time that aren't "working" are still of benefit to myself and dh. For example, I ice skate during the week, which sounds frivolous. However, the exercise is good for me and dh benefits because I'm able to do more physical things for longer periods of time than if my exercise was walking around my neighborhood. If I sit down with a cup of tea or go outside to read for 1 hour in the middle of the day, it's of benefit to him in that I don't work myself to death and get grouchy due to being so tired.
I guess in my mind there's a line between laziness vs not overdoing it and enjoying life. Guilt isn't a big problem for me, but when I cross into laziness, there's just enough to get me motivated to do better the next time.
Today, I'm just going to be around the house. It is the clean the office and pick up clutter day. I'm supposed to grocery shop, according to my schedule, but am wanting to wait until Thursday (payday) to do that. I probably will need to pick up some eggs, though. It will just be a regular day for me!
_____________________________
-HisCovenant/ Zipporah
My friends call me Zippy!
|
|
|
|
|
RE: SAHM Support Part II - 5/12/2008 10:19:24 AM
|
|
|
zoebob
Posts: 8852
Joined: 4/13/2005
From: land of limbo
Status: online
|
My kids liked the card so much they went and read all the other ones with those 2 little characters. They sent me one that said "thanks a millioin" and then it goes on and on with those 2 saying "thank you" "thanks mom" 1 million times. I've had it running for almost 12 hours and it's at just over 500,000
_____________________________
L-R: DD1, Ellies DS2, DD2, Ellies DS1
L-R: Ellies DD1, Ellies DD2, DS, Ellies DS3
|
|
|
|
|
RE: SAHM Support Part II - 5/12/2008 10:37:58 AM
|
|
|
firefightermama
Posts: 1309
Joined: 10/24/2006
From: Canada
Status: offline
|
I love those two little guys. Those are the only e-cards I send!
Jess, when we first got married and were super tight on money, I used to do our budget and get cash for our gas, and cash for our groceries, everything else was online banking or automatic withdrawals.
The only pain for me was getting to the bank to get the cash before we had a chance to use the debit card. Or, if hubby needed gas in his truck and i had the gas cash in my purse, etc.
We probably should be doing it that way now, but we never get around to doing the budget before the paycheck comes in.
_____________________________
~yolanda~
<-- Me and my baby boy :)
|
|
|
|
|
RE: SAHM Support Part II - 5/12/2008 10:40:59 AM
|
|
|
PrudentWife
Posts: 2125
Joined: 1/25/2006
From: The Promised Land
Status: offline
|
Hubby had a job once where he was paid once per month. It definitely helped him be very frugal. When he got his check, he'd pay his rent, tithe, put 50% of his gross on his student loans, and what was leftover had to cover gas, food, electric, and incidentals. He was single, so his life was much simpler then & it was easy to leave so little for his living expenses. The great thing was he got completely out of debt very quickly. The downside was it was a very lean, meager time for him. But we're the kind of people that don't mind going without if it means getting debt free.
_____________________________
Don't worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you.
|
|
|
|
|
RE: SAHM Support Part II - 5/12/2008 11:28:17 AM
|
|
|
Mrs.X
Posts: 2238
Joined: 7/7/2005
From: Newberg, OR
Status: online
|
Yolanda, that sounds like so much fun. I love camping too, but I have to have an air mattress or bed or something. I can never just sleep on the ground. This summer we're hoping to rent a YURT because I just can't imagine tenting with two babies. I want to be able to relax too LOL!
< Message edited by SteelMagnolia -- 5/12/2008 11:44:01 AM >
_____________________________
-=|Christina|=-
MySpace
From Sweet Grass to the Packin' House (blog)
|
|
|
|
|
RE: SAHM Support Part II - 5/12/2008 11:35:03 AM
|
|
|
lexie
Posts: 2525
Joined: 6/27/2005
From: Toronto
Status: offline
|
Up until recently we have one pay day at the beginning of each month. We paid our rent and all of our bills right at the beginning of the month, and then I budgeted the rest of the money to groceries, gas and other expenses.
It didn't work at first, because Dh wasn't paying attention to the budget and just spending. There were a few times that we had to dip into our savings to get to the next paycheque. But once I got him to understand the budget, things worked out much better and we had a great system going.
I use a pre-determined amount of cash for groceries. When I make my grocery list, I write down the amount it will cost next to the items. I do everything for meals first and add that up. Then I add everything for snacks and add that up. I'm very careful about making my list only from advertised sales and needs, and I make sure I stick to my list. I usually end up with some room to pick up a few items that tempt me throughout the aisles.
Also, when I put the cost of items on my list, I tend to over estimate if I don't know the exact cost (or items that are based on weight). That way, I usually end up spending less than I had planned.
|
|
|
|
|
RE: SAHM Support Part II - 5/12/2008 11:54:25 AM
|
|
|
Mrs.Wifey
Posts: 4878
Joined: 4/12/2005
From: The Gorgeous plains of Colorado
Status: offline
|
quote:
Secondly I am thinking about getting the grocery money in cash each month and making myself shop from that (as opposed to paying with my debit card.) I would start out the month with the alloted amount of cash and have to make it work through the whole month.
Apart from losing the cash
That is the system we are getting ready to go back to using, it works well for us. We do cash for the grocery, gas, clothing, and entertainment budgets. Although right now our entertainment budget is Netflix, we just dropped our monthly budget by $500 to pay off debt(especially the truck so we can trade it in). It's definitely tight but I can manage it as long as I'm strict.
As far as getting paid once a month... We have never had that option so I've never tried it, but I would think it would help you be more disciplined.
ETA- I do feel caught in an endless cycle of laundry, dishes, and vacuuming but I often felt the same way at work. I just think work was more rewarding in the short term not only because of the paycheck but because of nice comments from the parents of the children I was teaching.
My MIL and I just finished our 3 mile walk and I forgot my house keys so now I am stuck at MIL's until Micah gets home from work around 6 or 7. It's not so bad normally, I love spending time with her and we get along fabulously but I'm stuck in my icky, sweaty clothes.
< Message edited by Mrs.Wifey -- 5/12/2008 12:01:06 PM >
_____________________________
Ryanne Gabriella Alexis born 8-22-07!
"No firebrands, or deadly arrows just a Springfield XD .40 with Tritium sights" Patriotism
|
|
|
|
|
RE: SAHM Support Part II - 5/12/2008 1:36:33 PM
|
|
|
LaurainAL
Posts: 1543
Joined: 8/13/2005
Status: offline
|
Donna: I think someone already mentioned the neti-pot. It has done wonders for Shane's sinuses. He has been plagued with chronic sinus infections for years, but used the neti pot this year and only had one.
I hope you feel better soon
_____________________________
My God! How little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of, and which no other people on earth enjoy! ~Thomas Jefferson
|
|
|
|
|
RE: SAHM Support Part II - 5/12/2008 2:09:18 PM
|
|
|
PrudentWife
Posts: 2125
Joined: 1/25/2006
From: The Promised Land
Status: offline
|
I don't know how using cash for gas would work with these rising prices. Us ladies could do it, since we don't work and many of our trips are optional. Our husbands have to drive to work every day. If he only has $60 for gas for the week, what does he do on Friday when he needs to drive home from work & is out of gas? 
CVS has helped us because I've been able to not increase our household item budget despite having two in diapers now (and two consuming insane amount of batteries for all their noise-making devices). I've also stocked up on some items.
I'm going to have to increase our grocery spending though. I've been artificially keeping it low by depleting our pantry. I'm basically in my last week of being able to do that. I had mainly been using pantry items because going grocery shopping with two babies is SO hard. Not to mention the hassle of carrying bags from our parking lot into the condo with two in tow. But I'm on my last bits of everything, so I'm going to have to replenish my stock.
_____________________________
Don't worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you.
|
|
|
|
|
RE: SAHM Support Part II - 5/12/2008 2:17:01 PM
|
|
|
SweetLittleErin
Posts: 3446
Joined: 7/20/2005
Status: offline
|
quote:
and two consuming insane amount of batteries for all their noise-making devices)
We have found that rechargeable batteries and charger are a great investment. They cost more up front but we have quickly paid for ours in just our remote batteries and other such things. We bought a couple of "sets" of the sizes we use and keep one set charged to replace. Plus they usually have a quick charge for "emergencies".
_____________________________
~Erin~
Baby Isaac Terry due about Oct. 17!!
A Glimpse Of Pink
|
|
|
|
|
RE: SAHM Support Part II - 5/12/2008 2:17:47 PM
|
|
|
zoebob
Posts: 8852
Joined: 4/13/2005
From: land of limbo
Status: online
|
Since those toys are usually noisy, we always let them stay dead when they died.
_____________________________
L-R: DD1, Ellies DS2, DD2, Ellies DS1
L-R: Ellies DD1, Ellies DD2, DS, Ellies DS3
|
|
|
|
|
RE: SAHM Support Part II - 5/12/2008 2:50:30 PM
|
|
|
Mrs.Wifey
Posts: 4878
Joined: 4/12/2005
From: The Gorgeous plains of Colorado
Status: offline
|
quote:
I don't know how using cash for gas would work with these rising prices. Us ladies could do it, since we don't work and many of our trips are optional. Our husbands have to drive to work every day. If he only has $60 for gas for the week, what does he do on Friday when he needs to drive home from work & is out of gas?
I overestimate how much he will need, and then if he needs more he takes it out of "his" account. His Walgreen's paychecks go directly into our joint account, and his money from financial advising goes into a business account, so if he goes over what I budget for gas then there is still money for it...
_____________________________
Ryanne Gabriella Alexis born 8-22-07!
"No firebrands, or deadly arrows just a Springfield XD .40 with Tritium sights" Patriotism
|
|
|
|
|
RE: SAHM Support Part II - 5/12/2008 3:37:05 PM
|
|
|
lexie
Posts: 2525
Joined: 6/27/2005
From: Toronto
Status: offline
|
We budget for gas but don't pay cash for it. We have the easy pay thing on our keychain and it goes straight to our mastercard. Every time we put gas in the car, we come home and pay from our bank account to the Mastercard. If we do go over what I budgeted for gas (Dh travels different distances each day), then we keep putting it on the mastercard and then pay it off the next month when we get paid as part of our credit card payment.
That only started working once we paid off our card though, but it's helped. With a tight budget, we don't buy anything we don't have the cash for, but I continually budget in a credit card payment just in case.
I think that is what has worked best for our bank account right now - cutting out unnecessary things, and overbudgeting in other areas so there is money left over at the end of the month to put in our savings, or cover if we go over somewhere else.
|
|
|
|
|
RE: SAHM Support Part II - 5/12/2008 3:40:29 PM
|
|
|
PrudentWife
Posts: 2125
Joined: 1/25/2006
From: The Promised Land
Status: offline
|
Erin, we have a battery charger for size AA. But many of their toys & vibratey things need C and D and 9-volt batteries. Mostly size C batteries. I would definitely buy a charger for size C if I ever found one.
_____________________________
Don't worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you.
|
|
|
|
|
RE: SAHM Support Part II - 5/12/2008 3:44:01 PM
|
|
|
SweetLittleErin
Posts: 3446
Joined: 7/20/2005
Status: offline
|
We buy all our gas with Walmart gift cards. For us, the cheapest place to buy in town is Walmart. We just put some money on our card each time we are in the store.
We pay for everything via our credit card, its takes alot of discipline not to go over, but we get cash back, so we put everything on there and always pay it off each month. So far we have earned about $300 in cash back. We havent cashed it in yet, but plan to to help buy baby stuff.
When we can we usually go shopping together, if we both dont agree on a purchase (even with groceries) we dont get it, it helps keep us accountable and avoid impulse buys.
_____________________________
~Erin~
Baby Isaac Terry due about Oct. 17!!
A Glimpse Of Pink
|
|
|
|
|
RE: SAHM Support Part II - 5/12/2008 3:45:10 PM
|
|
|
SweetLittleErin
Posts: 3446
Joined: 7/20/2005
Status: offline
|
quote:
ORIGINAL: PrudentWife
Erin, we have a battery charger for size AA. But many of their toys & vibratey things need C and D and 9-volt batteries. Mostly size C batteries. I would definitely buy a charger for size C if I ever found one.
Ah...I see. We have one for A and AA, we dont have many C and D things. Hmm..I didnt realize they didnt make them for those.
_____________________________
~Erin~
Baby Isaac Terry due about Oct. 17!!
A Glimpse Of Pink
|
|
|
|
|
RE: SAHM Support Part II - 5/12/2008 3:45:22 PM
|
|
|
TammyIsBlessed
Posts: 1704
Status: offline
|
Anybody know if Canada has something similar to CVS?
_____________________________
|
|
|
|
|
Forum Tools
Printable Version
is in Iraq 
are there any down sides to working with a pre-determined amount of cash for the groceries that you can imagine? 
- anything major I want to talk about with him now I e-mail him about the subject and the date I want to talk about it 
