Monday Medley: Juggling It All

For any new readers, Monday Medley posts serve as an update on our family.  One of the purposes of this blog is to document our journey out of debt and to financial semi-independence.  I like to post every few weeks about our new adventures, successes, and setbacks.  So, what have we been up to?

Work And Life

People seem so obsessed with their jobs.  I’m having a really hard time being just another hamster, blindly running on the wheel, motivated by the hope of jumping up to a more-prestigious wheel in the future.  It’s difficult to focus when there are so many things that I would rather be doing, like writing, crocheting, or playing with my kids.  How am I supposed to fit in with my co-workers, who trade their weekends for extra hours that they believe will impress management?  It may be surprising that I am trying to get a promotion in the next year or two, when you consider my plans for early semi-retirement.  However, it’s not about status for me, it’s motivated by money.  We need that extra income to pay off our debt and reach our goals.  I’m still trying to find a happy medium between doing enough work to earn a promotion, finding time to hustle on the side, and making family the top priority.   

Last week I snuck away from work to volunteer at Goofball’s school.  It was one of the best decisions that I have made in a long time.  He had hinted a couple of times about how other children’s parents had been helping out.  I had seen the sign-up sheet in his take home calendar.  It’s just so easy to keep telling yourself, “next month.”  I don’t think he really expected that I would ever be able to help out in his classroom, such was clear by his reaction when I entered the doorway to his classroom.  Goofball was so elated and proud.  He jumped up and shouted, “It’s my mommy, the parent is my mommy!”  Best Feeling Ever.  He smiled the whole time, while showing me his room and introducing me to his friends.  I’ve said before that work-life balance is a myth.  We’re doing the best that we can with the time that we have right now.

Fish Adventures

I know it’s not at all frugal or Mustachian, but we have a nice fish tank in our house.  There are costs involved with this tank, including food, filters, and electricity.  Mr. Smith always wanted one and the kids like it.  We bought the tank used, with accessories, off of Craigslist.  We picked cheaper fish.  An added bonus is that it works like a humidifier.  I try not to feel too bad about this expense.  It really hasn’t been that expensive or much work . . . well, until last week. 

The kids received a pet store gift certificate for their birthdays over the summer.  I was impressed with this practical gift (which our friend asked us about beforehand), in comparison to new toys that they really didn’t need.  We finally decided to go and get some new fish for our tank the other weekend.  There had been some deaths during Fall and Winter, so the population was getting pretty low.  We had a great time at the pet store – it was like a free trip to the zoo!  I definitely recommend the pet store as a fun, frugal winter activity for families (assuming, of course, that you can leave without any new friends).  The kids got to pet puppies and bunnies, check out birds, and even see an alligator and some giant snakes.  Then, we picked out our new fish and brought them home.  The tank looked great.  

Apparently, our cat also enjoyed the new activity in the tank.  She loved it so much, that she jumped up and clawed at the tank.  She didn’t get any fish, but she did manage to pull all of the plastic sealant from the corners of the tank (it had a hexagonal front).  We came home from work on Monday to a very wet carpet and a half-full fish tank.  Other people may have run out to store to purchase a new tank, but not us.  We still have too much debt to pay off.  Instead, we called around and found a friend with an empty tank that we could borrow.  The fish were successively transplanted and now we will have to work on resealing our tank . . . and having a talk with the kitty cat.

Side Hustles

I got a call to come back in for a follow-up exam in connection with my prior research study participation.  The pay is $100 and will take approximately three hours.  Sounds pretty good to me!

Housework

Mr. Smith does quite a bit of housework, due to the fact that he works part-time right now.  He has been getting stressed out by everything that needs to be done in order to keep our household running smoothly.  I’ve tried to help out more.  In addition, I realized that five-year-old Goofball is readily capable of performing some chores around the house.  We would have him do things like clean his room or pick up the toys in the living room in the past, but it was sporadic.  I made a chore chart for Goofball last week.  It’s on a dry erase board and has a number of relatively simple tasks.  We did not discuss an allowance.  Instead, I made a vague reference to being rewarded for doing a good job and emphasized that we all need to pitch in and help each other out.  I don’t know whether to give him an allowance, but do expect to add more chores to the list over time.  It’s just one more thing that was not mentioned in our “How To Be A Parent” instruction manual. 

Burger King

We finally gave in and picked up some fast food over the weekend.  Goofball brought home a really good report card and we had a coupon.  But here’s what makes it big news – it was the first time that we had bought any fast food in more than one month!  We used to eat out at least two times per week.  These lifestyle changes may seem insignificant, but the cumulative effect of saving money in many different ways adds up, and it allows us to pay off thousands in debt.

Vehicles

We were waiting to get another vehicle until it became absolutely necessary.  The three carseats do not fit in either my car or Mr. Smith’s pickup.  If all five of us go somewhere, we need to borrow my father-in-law’s big Grand Marquis (he lives three houses down the street).  Mr. Smith has been looking at vans.  The reason is that we were hoping to go on vacation this summer.  There is a family cabin on a lake that we can use for free, but it’s a ten-hour drive.  We didn’t go last summer because of the new baby and to save money.  The year before that we brought my brother-in-law, who split the cost of renting a van with us.  I think it was about $800 to rent the van for a week.  Mr. Smith rationalizes that our only option this summer would be to rent a van again, but that it would be better to put that money towards buying a new vehicle, because we’re going to buy one eventually anyways.  But if we really want to kill our debt and stay on track to meet our goals, we need to maintain the status quo for as long as possible – no extra expenses.  Well, we have some time to figure this one out . . . any thoughts or suggestions? 

Little Trey

I can’t believe that he is already 10 months old!  It is such a fun time, with new developments and a budding personality.  His newest achievement is clapping.  Trey is so proud of himself and excited.  He just claps and smiles and laughs.  It is beyond adorable.

What have you been up to?  Any big wins lately, or fishy frustrations?