I haven’t written about our debt situation for quite a while. So, let’s get you all up to speed. It’s hard. The end.
Just kiddin’. No really, it’s hard and it may never, ever, ever end. Excuse me while I collapse into a heap of snot filled tissues for a moment.
And I’m back.
Thank you for coming along on my daily “Bouncing Back” adventure ride, please watch your step as you exit the gate, it needs repaired and I’ll be dipping into my DAMN RAMSEY emergency fund to fix it!
I have to agree with that Damn Ramsey guy when he talks about having an emergency fund in place. If you don’t, Murphy (as in Murphy’s Law) is going to come knocking on the door and when you let him in he is going to leave a devastating path of destruction that will suck every dime out of your pocket. We have had all the Murphy that we can stand this year. We’ve had to rebuild our emergency fund which is $1000 four times. FOUR TIMES!!! It’s painful, but I am so glad we have that chunk set aside for stupid things like the truck needing repairs, the furnace dying, the well pump breathing its last breath, the van needing all new rotars and break pads and the truck having sympathy for the van and deciding it needed new rotars and break pads too, bless it’s heart.
$1000, by the way is not enough for us. We are trying to bump it up to $1500 and then eventually to $2000, but we keep needing to use it, so who knows if that will ever happen. DAMN RAMSEY!
For the last four or six or eight months, really who’s counting? Anyway, the economy has not helped us one lick this last year and I’m sure there are many of you that have felt the sting a bit or a lot. The company profit shares that we had been hoping to take a chunk out of our debt were not coming through and we found ourselves stuck in the mud not sinking, but not able to get anywhere. Lots of dings to our emergency fund happened and we felt dehydrated and frustrated, but not completely hopeless. Which when your getting out of debt feeling hopeless is not going to enable you to put on your fightin’ gloves.
Time for Mamma to get a job!
I feel the need to explain that deep down, I’m a working girl. In August Clay and I will celebrate 18 years of marriage and I’ve only been unemployed for a little over two of those. Being a mom is my first priority, so my jobs have always been something I could either do from home or work around Clay’s schedule so that one of us could be with the children. I function at a much higher rate of insanity….I mean…sanity when I have something outside my home to keep me accountable for my time and energy. Does that sound weird? It’s okay, I’m weird, so it makes sense.
The “Mom” jobs that I’ve had in the past have strangely come to me by way of circumstance and mishap. I got into church finance because I was talking to the gentleman that was doing the job at my church and he took that as me being interested. Before I knew it he was training me to take over for him so he could retire. When we moved to St. Louis the church financial secretary stepped down from the church we had been attending for less than a year and wah-la I had another church finance job. I was able to do that work from home while I homeschooled and gave birth to two babies. It was a bit crazy at times, but it was a great job.
I’ve done a bit of catering and I’m by no means a caterer. I decided it would be fun to combine a wine tasting with some yummy appetizers for our school auction. So, I asked a local winery if they would host the tasting and I would provide the food. That led to the owner of the winery thinking I cook for a living and I’ve had two little jobs because of that. I don’t think I’ll ever promote myself in the cooking arena, but it’s fun to do every now and then and I’ll keep offering the wine tastings as an auction item.
What is my new job? Does it have to do with finances? Yes. Does it have to do with food? No, not really. But, it does have a lot to do with event planning. And I love to plan events and parties. Especially when the event is for a good cause.
I applied for the job of Development Director for my children’s small school. I had thought about the postition when it was first announced and had hoped and prayed that the school would be able to find someone that had a heart for building up the school. When nobody stepped forward I found out that the board had approached a woman that I had a brief working relationship with on another volunteer job earlier in the year. I was so impressed with this woman, she’s pretty much the exact opposite of me. Let’s just say she plays golf and runs marathons. You see the difference right? I really like her because she gets things done and she’s super sweet about it. I had heard that she didn’t want to take on the job full-time. That’s when a huge siren went off in my head and I picked up the phone and called her. I asked her if she would want to apply for the job together and we could share the responsibilities. I could focus on the big events that help raise funds for the school and she could do the marketing and together we would form one full time Development Director. Now of course there is a lot more to the job than the events and marketing, but I don’t want to bore you.
So I have a new job! I’m very excited about it. I’m able to do the bulk of it from home where I’m still needed…..to clean the bathrooms. And now we can get moving a bit on that debt thing. I’m doing something I enjoy. It will be stressful and demanding at times, but so are my kids and I still love them. Kids are the best job I’ve ever had, so I can compare them a little bit. Right? Really, the best thing is that I’m working on something that benefits my children and other people and GETTING PAID FOR IT!
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Congrats!!! That sounds like an awesome job! Good luck on getting that debt gone for good!! I’m still working on getting my first Damn Ramsey Emergency Fund.
That’s fabulous! I’m so happy for you. Congrats on your new job. I hope you love it!!
Your ‘get out of debt story’ is inspiring. My husband and I struggled with debt for a long time and managed to pay off incredible amounts of money and rebuild our credit. Honestly I’m not sure how. It seemed impossible, but by God’s grace it’s done and now we too are working on an emergency fund. We getting to a $1000 now, but hope to double it by year’s end.
-FringeGirl
Yay, April! You go, girl!
We aren’t as disciplined as you or following a program, but we are trying to get out of debt and somehow mostly stay that way as we send a kid off to college. I like hearing your Damn Ramsey stories because it gives me ideas and inspiration.
Congratulations on the job! It sounds like a perfect fit for you. I’m still trying to figure out something I can do close to or from home. Having work outside of home and other people I’m accountable to really helps me to be more organized and efficient with my time, too. The little bit I made doing census work really did ease things financially, too.
Sounds like the perfect job for you, April. I’m very happy for you.
Congratulations April! I’d been wondering what your job was! It sounds perfect for you. I work part time too, even though Damn Ramsey helped us be debt free. I’d planned on saving most of my income, but darn it, there is a garden center close by….lol…joking. I do pretty good about being frugal. Don’t give up April. YOU WILL BE DEBT FREE! Enjoy the journey. Easy for me to say huh?
Sometmes i think that I have a job so that I will actually get dressed and put on makeup. I’m not sure I would otherwise. I just roll out and start working in the garden.
Congrats again!
Now THAT’S some creative thinking! How perfect for you and your job partner. Dang, I’m impressed!
Congats April! I hear ya concerning the accountability….I’m just glad its not food service out side the home..I’d fear for your safety, ie..has any one seen April? ok, some one check the freezer! LOL Glad your back we missed ya!
Congrats on the job! It is great when you can find something that interests you AND works for the family too. That was my primary consideration when deciding what I wanted to do for paid employment after the kids came along. I stayed at home full time for a while but once my youngest started preschool I decided it was time for me to get out of the house and interact with adults that didn’t necessarily know me through my kids. What I did before kids (advertising) is not in the least family friendly so I had to come up with something new. Now I teach swimming, aqua aerobics and train lifeguards. It doesn’t pay as well as advertising but it is a lot more fun and a lot more flexible.
Sounds like a wonderful job!
I worked in daycare for years
had my boys along the way…
they started school and I looked
for work in the school system..
Kindergarten assistant for a while
now I the lunchlady…
I love to work for me..I have
the kids schedule day on/days off..
and I get to spend summer home with my
guys…the best of both worlds you could say..
Congratulations again….
Kudos to you! Sounds like the perfect opportunity for you. Have fun with it!
Good for you! (I had to correct that, it said Goof for you. Ha.) And a great idea. Hope you can knock a bigger dent in your debt.
I love event planning myself. Ask my children about their birthday parties when they were younger. My daughter’s wedding last month was a blast and so much fun to plan on a budget under $2000! Now if I could only get hired to do those type things…
good for you! I work fulltime but am lucky to be able to do most of it from a home office, so can supervise the kids as they eat a snack and do their homework. At 5pm then we’re all ready for whatever activities they’re involved in.
Can’t beat the commute, the income, and the flexibility.
Congratulations! Glad you found a job that fits what you want to be doing and you don’t come home every night smelling like hamburgers.
Congrats April!
God Bless,
June in KS
Good for you! I, too have found that working a little helps me stay better focused on home things and use my time more wisely. Right now I’m working 20 hours a week as a grad assistant. It pays a small stipend and for my classes, yee-haw! Yours sounds like a fun job, good luck!
As long as this job does not keep you from us…. Oh – I mean… Super Great, April! Way to go! I know Clay appreciates your efforts with DAMN Ramsey debt-be-gone! You are a great wife! Sounds like this job works into your desire to be at home and to bring in some income.
Good for you. It’s a wonderful thing to work and enjoy the work, it’s even better when you get paid for it.
April
I encourage you in your Ramsification. God will bless you beyond your blief for your detemination and hard work. I’ve been blessed by the effects of Ramsificationi and so have many of my friends.
GOOD LUCK AND GOD BLESS!
T
That is so great. Kudos. I struggle, struggle with the work at home/work freelance/get a job already! demons constantly. I think I function better when I have an out-of-home job, too, but not everyone I live with agrees. It’s been almost six years since my last job working for The Man, and, true confession, I miss it, as much as I love writing and being able to be with my kids all the darn time. I hope you’ll let us know how you handle the juggle once your job starts!
I’ve been doing a little job hunting, here, too. Can we discuss balancing homeschool and mom working. Ai yi yi…I used to skip those workshops at conventions discussing that. Oh, well….life is an interesting ride, huh?
I’m glad it’s all working out well for you!
That’s awesome! We’re reducing our debt too, not using Dave’s system, but we do use the envelope system! And just keep trucking, we now only have a couple students loans and a mortgage to pay off! haha
Good for you! You’ll be gaining some sanity and the blessing of being able to help your family in this financial situation. And think what a great example you are setting for your daughter — a strong, loving Mom working as partner with her Hubby to take care of the family! Awesome!
Congratulations on your new job! Very exciting!
I think it’s great that you are going to get paid to help your children’s school!!! I’m on our school’s PTO and it would be amazing to be compensated for the work and effort we expend, but that’s not an option and the fundraising still needs to happen. I hope you’ll share some of your creative ideas for your school so I can steal them and apply them for our students!! On a Kansas note, I hope you don’t have to dip into the emergency fund for a new air conditioner anytime soon…we had to do that this month, but the heat made it necessary!!! It’s hot!!!!!!!!!!!
Congratulations!!! That’s super cool. I hope it turns out to be everything you expect and more. And I hope it doesn’t cut too much into your blogging
Good for you. So you are serving wine to your school kids? At least that’s what i thought you said.
We’ve rebuilt our emergency fund, too. After the fan motor in our A/C went out last week. I don’t cherish living in Arkansas with 100 degree heat with no A/C, ya know! I think it was some minor thing on the truck, like tires, before that. It’s always something. No debt for such a long time and now we have a new oven, braces and $1,000 for a crown and fillings to pay off. Man, it’s hard being a grown-up, ya know?! I’m praying for a job to come up like the one you’ve started.
That sounds very cool…and fun! I recently got a little, tiny part-time job…one that’s barely worth wrking my schedule around…but it is what it is. We’ll see what God has in store with it and go from there. Congrats on your job…may you two work really well together!
If you need help…oh no. I forgot. I’m busy being a booking agent for my husband, a taxi for the kids, a cook for a harvest crew oh and an over paid blogger. Okay. I lied about the over paid part.Never mind.
Love your blog, though. Maybe you’ll go large (er) and not have to have another job.
Congrats on the new job! I love reading your blog. You’re so funny!
That’s awesome – jobsharing is an amazing opportunity!
We’re at that place we’re just gonna have to find a way to get some more income, too. It’s a long, boring, drawn out, tedious story – but suffice to to say – I gotta find a way to bring in some cash! But not too much – I got a kid heading to college in a year and if we do too well, she’ll never get the financial aid she needs! UGH!
So – congrats! I’m so happy for you!
What a creative way to approach the situation! Good luck with the job and all that it entails.
Congratulations! And well done you guys for job sharing! It’s a great idea.
Quite frankly, I never thought I would be a working mother (I got married in the 60′s). When our third and last child was 5 I started working. Fortunately, I got a job in the public arena and worked there for 29 years. I am now retired, and I am SO GLAD I went to work. I have a pension and social security (which I paid into) and we are fine. I don’t spend any money (except for when I go to Costco and I can’t help myself) anymore for clothes or lunches out or office birthdays, etc. I am thrilled that I went to work those many years ago. I wish you great jobs with benefits in the future. You will not regret it.
Okay, so do you homeschool or do all your kids go to school. I know I read something about homeschooling on your blog.
Angie,
I have been homeschooling for the past six years. Last year my two older kids were in school full times. This year I will send my oldest three full time and hang up my homeschooling hat for awhile. I’m not ready to say were done with homeschooling for good, we’ll see what the future holds.
That’s great. I homeschooled my only thru 1st grade. Then he started at a very small private school. He starts 4th grade this fall and so far we are pleased with the school. Wish we could have kept up the homeschooling though.
That’s awesome!!!
Good for you! I too have to work outside the home and do so for two reasons; 1) financial, obviously and 2) to maintain my sanity. I need the stimulation it gives me being outside the home. My husband and I are both nurses and we’ve worked our schedules as such that some one is always home with our kids…we are very lucky. Good luck with your job!
Sounds wonderful! You go, girl!!
This comment isn’t so much about the job as about the emergency fund. We had a time period when we went through the same thing – it seemed like every time we build up an emergency fund something happened and we needed the money. It was very frustrating. I felt like we weren’t ever going to get anywhere at one step forward, one step back. And then someone pointed out to me that God had provided just what we needed, just when we needed it. The emergency fund had fulfilled it’s role. It was there when we needed it. Don’t feel bad about having to spend your emergency fund – be glad that you have it to meet those needs. Those things happen. You can pay for them. All is well.
I swear I saw you in down town T-town today at lunchtime! I wondered if your job was for the state… but not. Must have been another tall, beautiful blonde. Hrmmmm.
Nope, that was my clone. I send her out and about to see the people now and then. She’s in much better shape than me and she always fixes her hair.
Har har. Well, sure looked like ya, but you weren’t holding a chicken, so I couldn’t be sure. I carpool with a parent from your school… I hope they are giving you free tuition since you work there!
Best of luck with everything.
Congrats on the new job! We’re just beginning our “d-word” Ramsey journey. Our stuff should be in the mail this week…. yippee. Seriously, thanks for sharing your journey.