Rachel here. So last week our AAL representatives stopped by the house to talk to Bryan and I about our life insurance status and "what would happen if"s. While I like these men very much, I was taken aback by their presentation. Being told NUMEROUS times that I don't contribute because I don't 'work' didn't sit well with me. I'm quite aware I don't have an income, but to say I don't contribute really hit me hard. After throwing a temper tantrum (after they left of course), I was determined to find ways that I can contribute FINANCIALLY. I'm a very educated driven woman... it's not like I'm free loading off of my husband here for goodness sakes! Going back to teaching is not an option for me right now. I'm lucky enough to have a great husband who agrees that me being home with my nugget and unborn child is important enough/doable to make some sacrifices. If we had WONDERFUL AFFORDABLE child care in our area, we may be dealing with a whole different scenario. I have friends who have great opportunities with child care that would be great for us, but we just don't have those options.
How can I contribute? We clip coupons, but find that a lot of the products we use (organic) aren't available at discount with a coupon. After doing multiple searches on-line for ways to better your finances, I found a really creative idea thanks to
a friend of a friend's blog. While she provides links to TONS of different deals... some of which are available to us, and some that are not... there was a great idea she found on another blog. It's more of a challenge than it is anything else. The idea is to eat only the food you already have in your home for an entire week. No going to the grocery store to buy new things. This is a huge money saving opportunity for us right now both with me being pregnant and never knowing what I want to eat and us consistently buying random things as opposed to actual meals. While the challenge is for one week only, we'll be extending it to two weeks because we'll be out of town for a few days with Bryan for work. We will be going to the store, however, to purchase milk, bread, and fresh fruit when we need it for nugget.
We began our challenge this evening with grilled cheese sandwiches and
minestrone soup. The grilled cheese were extra special because all we had was shredded cheese... SPECIAL. Anyway here are the before pictures of our food supply. Please disregard the messy fridge... hopefully this will also teach me to clean it out regularly and wipe up. :)
Please disregard the Nutty bars and Girl Scout cookies... those are my emergency pregnancy foods. :)
Oh and there is NO eating out, which is a serious problem because that's all I want these days... but I WILL CONTRIBUTE! :)
5 comments:
You are too funny! You know that your blog can ALWAYS make me laugh! You should get paid to blog!!
Here's another idea. This is what I do. I shop every 2 weeks- I always plan out a menu for dinners- and I write a store list of everything I need for each of those dinners, then of course for whatever else we need. This way I have everything I need for each meal- not like I go make turkey burgers, and have no feta cheese... anyway- I truly stick to my list. Same as you- we usually have to go to the store for fruits and milk, but it's much better this way. Plus, it's all planned out and I always know what we are eating, and that it's healthy... when I don't do that, I find myself eating Spaghetti O's and nuggets!! Hahaha. Give it a try....
Rachel,
you contribute soooo much to your family,and so does Bryan. Reese is getting the full time love of her mom and has a very involved dad. She is the luckiest little girl. If you and Brian agree that you can do it this way, then who cares what anybody else says. You make me so proud every day I read this blog at the kind of mother you have become. I am so proud of the both of you. YOU DO CONTRIBUTE
Love mom
Going back to work necessarily means daycare (for two children in your case), cost of gas to commute, dry-cleaning/professional clothing, lunch away from home, and time. When that sum stops equaling your take-home pay, maybe it'll be worth it to work [outside the home]. But if you're like most people, why work a 40 hour week to come out even in the end? Good post!
~ Carrie
Thanks for the link lovin!!! Awesome jo too by the way...keep it up!
Boy, do you ever contribute, momma! Don't ever let anybody make you feel like you don't. Reese is going to have had such happy, well-adjusted, fun early years where nearly all of her time was spent with family. That's worth more than gold!
By the way, I like to remind Dave that I actually make $131,000 a year (that's what stay-at-home moms would get paid for their time, at a measly rate of $10/hr.)
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