we are living on a loan right now while dh starts a business (law practice). we have no savings acct. we have an enormous student loan to pay off, some cc debt, and then a mortage and all of the usual bills. we have just finished one month of dh working for himself...and bringing in NO money. so...everything comes out of the loan this month. he says this month there are already some payments that will be coming in and we will only have to use some of the loan money. ok...but you get the gist of things.

our house is on the market. selling it will give us a few thousand dollars, hopefully, and then we will save some money each month and just rent for a year or so.

so help me with this. i feel like dh will be successful eventually. BUT for now, we are living on borrowed money. whether all or some of the money we're spending is borrowed....we're getting more and more into debt. i am SUPER supportive of dh's decision to do this. in fact, i want him to be able to do it for as absolutely long as possible. we need the loan to last as long as possible just in case it takes a long(er) time to get enough income on which we can live. here's my question. when do we cut off the internet and TV and truly just live with the essentials? on one hand, i think we should not do the drastic stuff for a couple more months. ...like until we know for sure we are running out of loaned money. but why wait until the money is almost gone to do the drastic stuff? but...dh could be making enough in a couple more months. we just don't know. and...either way...the money is not our own and has to be paid back. oh my goodness...my brain is hurting.

:help:

gosh....i cannot imagine! :hug: sweetie....just :hug:

nak

My comfort zone would be telling me to cut absolutely everything and add back as things look up.

I think what your dh is doing is awesome.

Knowingly spending money that I didn't have would give me so much stress I woudn't be able to be very happy.

ETA: I think many people have something like this in their young married life.
While it seems so horrible in the midst of it, you'll look back some day and see that it served a purpose. Now, what purpose should it serve? :)

nak

My comfort zone would be telling me to cut absolutely everything and add back as things look up.

I think what your dh is doing is awesome.

Knowingly spending money that I didn't have would give me so much stress I woudn't be able to be very happy.

ETA: I think many people have something like this in their young married life.
While it seems so horrible in the midst of it, you'll look back some day and see that it served a purpose. Now, what purpose should it serve? :)

about to go watch some TV with dh and clicked on my thread really quick to see if anyone had any thoughts. whoa...this is SO how i feel. i am REALLY feeling like it's only responsible to go ahead and get rid of everything...and then you're so right....we can add it back in.

thanks for being supportive of what we're (dh) is doing. we need SO MANY cheerleaders right now!!

i guess one thing to think about with taking away and then adding back in...wouldn't direct TV charge us to turn the service back on after dropping it? how about DSL...any charges there? the cell phone has a big charge to drop before the contract is over...but dh and i share minutes now...and his cell is his work phone. so...won't be worth it to get a cheaper plan plus get the penalty charges, i don't think. i think TV and internet is the only thing we could drop. and i need to say no when someone asks me to go somewhere or make dinner for someone who had a baby. sounds awful really!!

i was about to edit that post about not needing to make dinner when someone has a baby, but decided to leave it and let you in on my further thoughts. i want to serve people. we have been given so much, and i totally believe that God will reward our giving and serving. i never want to not give my time and money to serve others and therefore be serving God. i just had a talk with dh about these thoughts, and he's def feeling like things need to be much more dire before we cut out tv and internet. he feels like putting our house on the market and (hopefully) living in a cheap place will be a huge sacrifice and will be smart and enough to make the money last. and he's feeling hopeful and faithful that we won't have to get to the point where the loaned money is gone. i'm so happy to see his faith in himself!!!

he doesn't feel like it's smart to sell a car (we have cheap paid for cars)...not that i think it is, but it's another idea....but i could work on leaving the thing parked and saving lots of money on gas. it costs $50 to fill and i am noticing that i fill it up every 5-6 days. saying no to farther away fun things and having people over lots more than i go to other people's houses could save lots just in gas. <sigh> alright....going to bed now. :)

i have no advice, just popping in to say i get where you are and i think you guys are doing a great job. you'll look back on it later and be glad you did this together. it WILL bring you closer.

:hug:

my dh's job loss was HUGE for our marriage on so many levels. huge in a good way. it was different in some ways from what you guys are doing but we were living on a set amount of money. i'd like to think we did it wisely but i know we didn't...but it was our money, not loaned so i think, looking back, we thought of it differently.

maybe cut back to a lower TV plan. don't do anything that will penalize you unduly but cut back where you can. in our situation we did some compromising. dh kept the cable with movies but agreed to NOT buy any more dvd's during that time (you have to understand this man is out every tuesday buying 2-3 movies so it was in fact a compromise...and cheaper to do it that way :lol: )

:hug: you'll get through it, mama. you'll be stronger for it too.

Well, I'm right there with you to a certain degree. Only no hope of things improving in the future here. Last year I wasn't sure how on earth we'd make it. This year, we're getting much less than last year. Now what comes in does not cover expenses and more often than not food has gone on credit.

I canceled all but internet. We homeschool so it's our major source of information, which feels even more important since I won't be able to purchase curriculum this year. Still, it should go really. Actually my son has said now that he's working he'll pay it, but I hate to do that too. Because, really, the question isn't should I keep it or not. The question should be do I have the money to pay for it? That answer is no.

We live in the country, but I still managed to get our gas for the minivan down to $50 a month. There is no going, because again, do I have money for gas? No. I have a credit card, yes, but that's not money.

So, our situations are a bit different, but I thought I'd share my thoughts. Even if they are totally screwed up for the most part.

We JUST got out of that phase. Like this month. Borrowing, paying on credit, feeling like there was no end, changing careers, and trying not to take the joy out of life becuase we had no money.

I completely understand every bit of your post... every single word.

Here is a bit of what I did:

I made a list of the things we didn't need, and I made a list of resources; We could get cable tv shows on the internet (ABC.com has a stream so you can watch whole shows, netflix has most of the HBO shows on dvd etc) and so we don't have cable tv. We have an online movie sub and that supplies our television entertainment. We have kept, through most (but not all) of our hard times, the internet. It provides us with nearly free (aside from the monthly fee) entertainment, interaction with others, and a way for me to sell things which was invaluable sometimes (more than a few Christmas's have been a gift from internet sales). So we did our best not to back that down.

Everything else went. We only have cell phones (a house phone would be even cheaper). We don't use any paper (except TP... this is a enviromental as well as frugal thing for me) so we don't have to replenish that type of supply. We eat out or do date nights with cash only, which means "not very often", but we do do things like split a bowl of ice cream and watch Star Trek on DVD from our Netflix sub after the kids are in bed. Which costs us next to nothing... KWIM?

The resources you find when you really break it all down are amazing. Not only in your community (I have a list of 23 things to do with my kids for under $4 in my area) but your mind expands to find other things you can do for nothing (or close to it).

The others are right. The hard times are fading and we are JUST out of the water after dealing with this transition for over 5 years. It feels kind of like we are now moving up hill... as it is much easier to get into debt than get out of it. ;) But, it also feels like we are moving the right direction now... you know. Going the right way, even though it may be a bit upstream.

Good luck and TONS of {{{{{{{hugs}}}}}}}!

Val

The wise mamas here have already given great advice.

I can just echo - we've been at the "essentials" point for years, living on less than is really possible. Just a couple of months ago we got high-speed Internet, and only because I am using it to *make* money and had added enough income to support that. Of course, I was soft and said ok to dh signing up for satellite tv too, and wish I hadn't - we don't have the budget for that and I'm really seeing that extra $40 a month hurt us (we had netflix for $19, cancelled it, added $60 for tv). When you don't have it, you don't have it.

That said, call and ask about the cancellation fees. I don't think it makes sense to cancel stuff and get hit with huge penalties. But, see how many months of service you'd get for that cancellation fee. In other words, if it's $100 to cancel the tv, and it costs you $60 a month, in less than 2 months of keeping it you would have paid the cancellation fee. So, how long would you cancel it for? A year or two? Then it's probably worth it to pay the fee. 6 months? Then you are paying 4 months x $60=$240 for the privilege of keeping it. Make sense? That's how I've done it in the past...we've stripped back to bare bones and beyond several times.

Also, I'm so glad you are doing this. :hug: It will end up being a good thing for your family, I'm sure.

I've never been in this situation, but my gut would be the same as yours.

Years ago, a close friend's DH lost his job, but got 6 months full severence pay. I was so surprised at their choices, they made the choice to look at it as a 4-5 month vacation, where they lived the same lifestyle they had continued to live and he didn't bother to look for work until about 6 weeks before the severence ran out. You can see where this is going, he couldn't find work that fit his qualifications, and his pride refused to allow him to take a job that was "beneath" him. They lost their house and at least one of the cars and their marriage fell apart. I haven't spoken to them in years, but last I heard, she had managed to get a good job and was doing pretty good for herself, having bought another house, but he was living with his brother and working at McDonalds.

Anyway, my point was that I used to shake my head and wonder when I was talking to DH about it. If DH had been in that situation, you better believe I would have given it no more than a few weeks to a month before I started cutting back on non-essentials, and DH better be out there job hunting! Even in a situation like that, where the money isn't a loan, you never know what the future holds, yk?

And do understand that this is what "welfare" is for.... it is for those of us who are making a career for ourselves, will be putting money back in the system when we are done, but just need a little boost. Some programs like WIC and food stamps are JUST for situations like this... so take advantage of them so you can cut back even more. :)

We have an online movie sub and that supplies our television entertainment. Val

val.....can you tell me more about this. i dont want a netflix account because i'm so random at watching movies and cant justify the monthly expense. i would like to be able to download & watch when the mood strikes though.......

& good to know about abc.....so i can watch LOST when it starts back up & still not get cable?

Yep! Each program is sponsored by a product, so you have to watch like two comercials per show or something... no big deal. I just pee then. ;)

We have BlockBuster online, which is $12.99 a month for two movies at a time, and each movie is a coupon for a free movie from the actually Blockbuster store. It has worked out great for us. Right now we are currently going through all of the old Star Trek the Next Gen shows with the kids... we are loving it! We have also gotten Sex and the City, Desperate Housewives, and Supranos from them. They usually have two weeks to a month for free when you sign up, so you can check it out and see if it is worth giving up cable. We have never had cable, so this is something we did when we started hearing about shows and wanting to see them, but not spend the uber money on a cable subscription. The $12 a month was MUCH easier to swallow than the $85 a month it would have taken to get us the channels we wanted.

I am still waiting for the cable stations to do a pick your own channel program. If I could just get HDTV, Food Network, Discovery, PBS, Disney, and History channel I would gladly pay $1 per channel or something... they don't know what they are missing not sectioning them out!

ABC.com is where I get my Greys Anatomy fix. :) I don't watch it most of the time, but when I want to catch up, I just stream it on to my computer and get my little fix.

So, what about sports? :P That's why dh pushed so hard for satellite tv. Only, now of course we're stuck w/it for 18 months or something. :P Oy. I can't believe I agreed to this.

He did used to "watch" baseball games on the Internet but you have to watch much more closely...I feel he is more "with us" when there's a game on the tv as background and we're hanging out cooking dinner or sitting on the porch or even having a conversation, than when he's glued to the computer watching the game. (Though he did it less often...)

I never let Don watch sports. He has W.O.W.. I can't imagine him being more distracted than with his virtual world. He will go over to a friends house for a big football game, but man, I really would end up strangling the man if he had many more hobbies that involved a screen. Urgh...

thank you to everyone for your support and thoughts and advice. i am so very grateful for all of the earning potential we have and know that i am not in a dire situation in that way. and i also know that we are choosing to do this! i say that because i just don't want/mean to sound pitiful. i can not even begin to tell you how happy dh is and how much less emotional stress and pressure he feels...even with not making any money yet.

we talked again this morning and have decided to cancel our direct tv. if we are able to add it later, we can get cable and not have to pay any reconnect fees. it won't cost us anything to cancel, and will save $50 a month. we are probably going to cancel the phone line ($60) and just have cells, which we don't feel like we can get rid of. keeping internet for now...just b/c i would be sad to lose that "connection" with people...especially if my butt is at home all the time saving gas!!!

keep any thoughts you have coming. :)

My dh lives and breathes sports. He loves them. We have no TV. He "watches" on the internet if it is important. Sometimes he will go to a bar to watch a really big game. Other times, he will listen on his XM radio.

I watch tv shows on the internet too sometimes.

You have cell phones which I do not, but I use a prepaid calling card from Costco or similar for all long-distance calls on my landline. It costs about 2 cents per minute. I recharge the card as needed.

If I were in that situation I would be cutting back now and not waiting until money is too low to pay for food and housing and still having all of the other things to pay for.

Have you called the internet company and explained you are considering cancelling? Usually they have a lower rate that they will offer because they'd rather have a customer paying them something than not have the business at all.

Is there a lower minute plan that you can get for your cell phones?

If there's a must-see tv show you want it's probably cheaper to download the season on iTunes than to have cable, etc.

Can you budget grocery money so you have a bit more leftover after shopping?

I agree with what a couple other people said, you may look back and find this time has been good for your marriage and your perspective on life.

DH and I have cut back all of the extras, even things that aren't extra to some. We have internet but DH is in school and uses it for research and various classes that insist on not handing out papers) It's been really nice to have only a few bills to pay each month. When I sit down once a month to do bills I'm grateful for all of the things we don't have.

If I were in that situation I would be cutting back now and not waiting until money is too low to pay for food and housing and still having all of the other things to pay for.

Have you called the internet company and explained you are considering cancelling? Usually they have a lower rate that they will offer because they'd rather have a customer paying them something than not have the business at all.

Is there a lower minute plan that you can get for your cell phones?

If there's a must-see tv show you want it's probably cheaper to download the season on iTunes than to have cable, etc.

Can you budget grocery money so you have a bit more leftover after shopping?

I agree with what a couple other people said, you may look back and find this time has been good for your marriage and your perspective on life.

DH and I have cut back all of the extras, even things that aren't extra to some. We have internet but DH is in school and uses it for research and various classes that insist on not handing out papers) It's been really nice to have only a few bills to pay each month. When I sit down once a month to do bills I'm grateful for all of the things we don't have.

oh my goodness...i think this will absolutely be a great time for our perspective on life and our marriage. for sure a unique kind of stress to our marriage, but good for it in many ways as well.

i have always kept a tight budget for groceries, but i CAN do better. :) i also just called and ordered a box of food from angel food ministries. it's lots of food for $25. not all of it is so healthy, but it's totally worth it for now, i think. Angel Food Ministries (http://www.angelfoodministries.com) anyway, that and a pantry challenge should have me set for the month except for some perishables.

we have a $200 contract cancellation fee for the cell phones. the contract jsut started last month when dh added a cell phone and minutes for his job. i don't think it'd be worth it to lower the minutes and save a little each month. it would certainly be worth it to cancel our landline though. i think that'll be the better thing to do.

i will call the internet service. good idea.

Do you have any Tyson plants nearby? The one in Cumming has an outlet. When we were eating meat and trying to stretch the budget, the $8 for 30lbs boneless skinless thighs really made a difference.

Do you have any Tyson plants nearby? The one in Cumming has an outlet. When we were eating meat and trying to stretch the budget, the $8 for 30lbs boneless skinless thighs really made a difference.

hmmm...not sure. i do remember hearing a conversation once where someone was talking about getting "a box from the poultry plant" for a cookout i was helping to plan. i'll have to try to figure out how to find out. thanks!

I have to say that internet is very important nowadays when starting a business.

People take it as a given that you will be able to communicate with them via computer. Your dh could do work at home presumably with access.

I suggest you two keep a journal of expenses like you never have before to see where you could cut further should you need to before his practise picks up.

Have fun!

I do agree with Mari... Don was starting a cop career and they expect him to be able to check his email more than daily, have a cell phone on him at all times, and be able to fax. He can't do the latter and so he has had to, a couple times, go to Kinkos for their fax machine. I never would have thought that he would need those things to be a cop.

Val

d another idea... to make the loan money stretch as far as possible...

make a monthly budget - down to the penny. Allot x amount for food, for clothing, etc. Be really serious about what is needed - and plan it BEFORE you use it. If it's not planned ahead of time, it just goes away... somehow it's just gone and you don't know where it went.

DH and I were looking at something very similar last summer... to do for 18 months off of a lump sum at the very beginning. We really looked at the money, looked at what we would need to pay (insurances, don't forget those!)... and it was going to be extremely tight, but do-able.

Sit down and make a list of categories (like food, clothing, entertainment - even if it's $5 to rent a movie), your current bills, etc. Then plan each penny and see how far you can go. THis will give you a better picture of how long you can be ok with the loan you have now.

And do understand that this is what "welfare" is for.... it is for those of us who are making a career for ourselves, will be putting money back in the system when we are done, but just need a little boost. Some programs like WIC and food stamps are JUST for situations like this... so take advantage of them so you can cut back even more. :)

ITA with Val. See wht help you might qualify for with the state. It cane be humbling... but it would be less of a loan payment to pay off in the short future.

We had a financial situation where we had to cut back & didn't know for how long. We basically lived with only the necessities for us. We did keep satellite as a family we decided to cut back in other areas. We felt for the little while we hoped it was going to be happening that we would rather give up paying into our RRSP then to take away the learning channels the kids were learning from. It was also a "treat" since we couldn't afford movies or any form of "entertainment". Mind you living near a free beach, living in a lovely forest and area with parks gave us free "entertainment". We did cut back on the number of channels & DH gave up all the sports ones. We stopped using long distance & had family & friends call us & then found an inexpensive long distance card that worked well for us. We still kept the internet as it was necessary for DH to finish up commitments he had made at his other job & for searching for another. It wasn't easy, but certainly now makes us apprecaite that we can afford some things again. Funny...we still haven't added the other channels & we still use our phone cards. At least now I can call my friends!! Mind you I got out of the habit so need to start calling them more often again! We also cut way back on our grocery bill, but still ate very healthy.

Good Luck. It sounds like in the long run it will all be worth it!

Another bit on the grocery budget. I do a huge stock up, and then spend the next month to two months making menus off of that. It is AMAZING how much I have been able to cut back on the budget! The two older kids, dh and I sit down one day a weekend and make a simple dinner menu. Last week was:
Tacos/Enchiladas
Tomato soup
Spghetti with meat sauce
Brown rice and Broccoli Cassarole
Steak and Snow pea stir fry
Grill burgers
Papa Murphys (with coupon, came to $12 total)

Then I bought (because I stocked up on pasta when it was on sale, had tons of bulk rice, and burgers and buns in the freezer) one large steak, 2 lbs of ground beef, onions and garlic, and breakfast and lunch stuff (milk, apples, melon, strawberries, cereal, bread, and jelly I think was all)... total for the week WITH take out pizza was $42.

This week we have done even better, total coming to $37. It pays to shop at one time and then make menus from that. It really does. We spent $240 a month ago and are still going strong off of that stock up of staples on less than $50 a week.

Amazing what a little planning can do. :)

I also have a list of regular meals we do. I put it on the computer & cirlce what we need. I even put on prices & how many of what we need per 2 weeks. I have it memorized now & my cupboards are obsessively organized (comes from having worked in a grocery store & worked in a restaurant). So I look in see we have 2 cans of peaches I stock up to 4 so need 2 more cans. My cupboard shelves are labelled too to show were things go so food doesn't get "lost". I also have labelled the fridge & the freezer. Honestly in the long run this saves so much money & time. I have "leftover" areas too so I go there first when making lunches. Also we don't stand with the fridge or freezer door open as we know where everything is & just reach in & grab it. The kids really like the system too and find it makes their life easier when they are cooking. Making a grocery list goes very quickly too!!


Kerri mom to:

Amanda(17), Emma(15), Maddison(13), foster dd(12),
Jonah(10), foster ds(10), Saige & Claire(7, identical twin girls), foster dd(6),
foster ds(5), my little boy Teagan(3) PLUS: 2 horses, 1 pony, 3 dogs, 2
cats, 1bunny rabbit, 4 guinea pigs, 3 rats( one is naked!), 1 teddy bear
hamster & 3 dwarf hamsters & fostering a fuzzy orange tabby
kitten

I have an idea for when you would like to bring a meal to new parents. Rather than bringing dinner, bring breakfast. Make some homemade muffins or an egg casserole or something. Rather than spending $10-15 dollars or whatever on a dinner, it would be more like $2, but still a really nice & appreciated gesture.

Can you get a deferment on the student loan? No sense in paying interest twice.

d another idea... to make the loan money stretch as far as possible...

make a monthly budget - down to the penny. Allot x amount for food, for clothing, etc. Be really serious about what is needed - and plan it BEFORE you use it. If it's not planned ahead of time, it just goes away... somehow it's just gone and you don't know where it went.

DH and I were looking at something very similar last summer... to do for 18 months off of a lump sum at the very beginning. We really looked at the money, looked at what we would need to pay (insurances, don't forget those!)... and it was going to be extremely tight, but do-able.

Sit down and make a list of categories (like food, clothing, entertainment - even if it's $5 to rent a movie), your current bills, etc. Then plan each penny and see how far you can go. THis will give you a better picture of how long you can be ok with the loan you have now.

dh has always been in charge of the finances, so he has all of the bill info. he's supposed to be writing down all of the objective stuff..and then we are coming up with the subjective things together. except that it has been WEEKS, and he still hasn't done his part. probably won't be much longer though. :)

I have an idea for when you would like to bring a meal to new parents. Rather than bringing dinner, bring breakfast. Make some homemade muffins or an egg casserole or something. Rather than spending $10-15 dollars or whatever on a dinner, it would be more like $2, but still a really nice & appreciated gesture.

that's a great idea. thanks!

Can you get a deferment on the student loan? No sense in paying interest twice.

not sure...but that's something i certainly need to look into!!! thanks!

Want to add my cheerleading...
:hug:

you can add visualization when you get worried...visualize what you want your life to be exactly. dh working his own practice, how much money he wants to bring in, how many hours he wants to work for that money, being successful(what does success mean, be specific) and happy clients. visualize this picture and these words many times a day:) like a meditation.

stephanie we have phone, cable and internet for $100 a month...all three together. can you guys get charter there?

Also are you sure selling your house will be less than rent? Or do you figure you will be getting more $$ out of selling the house so that you can use that money instead of the loan money. Just asking because we looked into that as well. By the time we paid the lawyers & the real estate fees, it wasn't worth selling. It was going to cost us a lot more per month to rent a 4 bedroom house than what we pay for our mortgage (we built our own home ourselves so kept the costs down to a minimum).

Have you thought of doing baby-sitting at some point to earn a bit of extra $$? I did home day-care for over 10 years and it really did help.

Want to add my cheerleading...
:hug:

you can add visualization when you get worried...visualize what you want your life to be exactly. dh working his own practice, how much money he wants to bring in, how many hours he wants to work for that money, being successful(what does success mean, be specific) and happy clients. visualize this picture and these words many times a day:) like a meditation.

thanks for this. :)

stephanie we have phone, cable and internet for $100 a month...all three together. can you guys get charter there?

not sure about charter. not even sure through whom we have DSL. i know that it's not all bundled inexpensively though. about to investigate it all.

Also are you sure selling your house will be less than rent? Or do you figure you will be getting more $$ out of selling the house so that you can use that money instead of the loan money. Just asking because we looked into that as well. By the time we paid the lawyers & the real estate fees, it wasn't worth selling. It was going to cost us a lot more per month to rent a 4 bedroom house than what we pay for our mortgage (we built our own home ourselves so kept the costs down to a minimum).

Have you thought of doing baby-sitting at some point to earn a bit of extra $$? I did home day-care for over 10 years and it really did help.

i'm sure it's less. we live in a college town with a million apartments. there are some old, cheap ones and some super nice...way more than my house....ones. we're obviously looking at the old cheap ones. they have lots of character and would be totally fine for a year or so imo. we have several options in a price range that would be about $300 less than our mortage. and there's the savings from not having to have repairs, termite control, extra electric, etc. we've decided it's worth it. and...hopefully we can make a little money off the house to live on/pay loan back.

if we run out of money and it comes down to dh having to end his practice and find a job, i would consider MAYBE keeping kids. :) it would not be fun to me at all!!!

thanks for this. :)
:smooch:

Ahh...well it's either something you do or don't. At least you know that. There are some people who look after kids but really don't "care" for them at all!!

During our financial issues last year I ended up picking up some work. I worked waiting tables (tips were awesome). I had done that for years as a teenager though & it all came back quickly. Then my second job was cleaning at a local curling club after conferences, weddings, buck & does (those were gross to clean up after!). I did the work in the middle of the night (after 1 am) or early in the morning (4am) for 4-6 hours. That helped as well. Even if there were no events I still cleaned once a week. But it worked out that there was at least one events & up to 4 a week. The 4 a week were hard because by then I was working full-time (5 days a week, 12 hours per day) at the restaurant. Then on my day "off" I baby-sat (not an option for you :))

When people found out I was doing cleaning (I also did all the cleaning at the restaurant, all the dishes, the bathrooms, the cashier, the hostess, the cash at the end of the day & even had to help prep & bake in the kitchen & prepped all my desserts. It was a fancy restaurant so we made the desserts look exquisite! We only seated 30 people at once. Still enough work for only one person. The only other person on staff was the chef!) Anyways...all of a sudden I had lots of people asking me if I did house cleaning as well as they were having a terrible time finding cleaning ladies and even a worse time having them do what was expected & then trusting them. I could easily have started a cleaning business. It pays $15.00 to $20.00 per hour in our area.

Sorry to say so much, it's just that after all we went through last year I try to encourage others to as much as possible try not to get any further in the hole than absolutely necessary. The bigger the hole, the harder it is to get out of it & the longer it takes. It was honestly one of the hardest times of my (our) lives. But if it helps we are seeing the end of the tunnel & we survived & not only did we learn from the experience, but so did our kids and other people as well. After talking to a couple of other people about how seriously they needed to look at starting their own business, they did their research & realized it was not a good time to do it or there wasn't a demand for what they were offering at that time.

Ahh...well it's either something you do or don't. At least you know that. There are some people who look after kids but really don't "care" for them at all!!

During our financial issues last year I ended up picking up some work. I worked waiting tables (tips were awesome). I had done that for years as a teenager though & it all came back quickly. Then my second job was cleaning at a local curling club after conferences, weddings, buck & does (those were gross to clean up after!). I did the work in the middle of the night (after 1 am) or early in the morning (4am) for 4-6 hours. That helped as well. Even if there were no events I still cleaned once a week. But it worked out that there was at least one events & up to 4 a week. The 4 a week were hard because by then I was working full-time (5 days a week, 12 hours per day) at the restaurant. Then on my day "off" I baby-sat (not an option for you :))

When people found out I was doing cleaning (I also did all the cleaning at the restaurant, all the dishes, the bathrooms, the cashier, the hostess, the cash at the end of the day & even had to help prep & bake in the kitchen & prepped all my desserts. It was a fancy restaurant so we made the desserts look exquisite! We only seated 30 people at once. Still enough work for only one person. The only other person on staff was the chef!) Anyways...all of a sudden I had lots of people asking me if I did house cleaning as well as they were having a terrible time finding cleaning ladies and even a worse time having them do what was expected & then trusting them. I could easily have started a cleaning business. It pays $15.00 to $20.00 per hour in our area.

Sorry to say so much, it's just that after all we went through last year I try to encourage others to as much as possible try not to get any further in the hole than absolutely necessary. The bigger the hole, the harder it is to get out of it & the longer it takes. It was honestly one of the hardest times of my (our) lives. But if it helps we are seeing the end of the tunnel & we survived & not only did we learn from the experience, but so did our kids and other people as well. After talking to a couple of other people about how seriously they needed to look at starting their own business, they did their research & realized it was not a good time to do it or there wasn't a demand for what they were offering at that time.

thanks for sharing. IF i babysat, i would absolutely love love love the kids. or...i would want to. and this is why i'm not sure i'd be able to do it. i just don't want to/don't feel like i can be tied down to my house that much. <shutter> LOL. but anyway, i have lots of options and earning potential, and i am truly grateful for that. just wanting to try not to have to use them and continue to be at home full time...with just my kiddos.