This weekend Denis and I sat down and wrote out every single bill we pay each month. We each use a different bank account. They are both joint accounts, but he uses our Bank of America account and I use our Navy Federal account. In the past we’ve just kind of each paid whatever bills are in front of us. Sometimes I’ll pay all the credit card bills, or the mortgage, and other months he’ll pay them. Some months I’ll pay the phone and utilities, other months he’ll pay them – it literally just comes down to what bills need to be paid when one of us sits down to write the checks.
But Denis took a few minutes to write out all the bills we pay on a monthly basis. We’ve determined that we are just making it each month. Obviously my scraping for extra earnings is helping because we’re not in the red – we’re more like a greyish pink. But my paid posts, affiliates links, epinions reviews, hosting company referrals, and other things are keeping us from being red.
But the GREAT part? Once we had the numbers in front of us, I was able to show Denis that in two or three years time I should absolutely be able to become a work-at-home mom. The key will be paying off the two cars and my credit card debt. Once those are gone I can quit because those expenses AND the cost of daycare equal my take-home pay. He doubted me at first, until I showed him his own numbers.
Of course, I’m realistic – it may take me longer to pay off my credit cards – you never know what will pop up that will keep me from making big payments, whether it’s an unexpected medical emergency or something else. BUT, if all keeps going as it is now, then I should have no problem being credit-card debt free by June 2011 at the latest.
Which means by July 2011 I may be at home, and seeking at-home work such as online customer service that will allow me to continue bringing in an income, but only during the hours my kids are in school (in the fall of 2011 CootieGirl will be entering third grade and CootieBoy will be a bustling second grader).
