Trading Luxuries

Welcome to my blog! My name is Cassie. I'm 29 (and holding) and have been married nearly eight years to my husband, Jason. We have an 18 month old daughter who is very strong-willed, independant, picky, and the light of our lives! Her name is Kylie although she pronounces it "Dy-ee." Our first baby was furry -- of course, he's also adopted! Rascal Lee is an almost-eight-year-old border collie/beagle mix. He's overweight, very loving, and kind of jealous of the baby. Members of our family call him "PeeWee" or "Puppy" -- except Kylie, who calls him "Oof oof."

I never really had any doubts that once I had a child I would be a stay at home mom. Despite that, I went to college and obtained a B.A. in Professional Writing & Editing and a B.A. in Literature. I've always written -- everything from poetry, fiction, nonfiction, children's literature, newspaper articles, to blogs. I hope to still be writing when I'm old and gray, although by then I probably won't have to pick up a pen or touch a keyboard to put my thoughts on paper. I know that's possible right now through software that translates your spoken words to type on the computer, but did you miss that I'm a stay at home mom?

Given the current economy, it's hard to live as a one-income family. It isn't always fun and it's never glamorous, but it's worth it to know that I'm the one caring for and teaching my daughter. Not everyone is cut out for it, as a working friend of mine will tell you, but not everyone is cut out to be a working mom. The mornings that one of us have a doctor's appointment of some sort and I have to get myself and a cranky toddler ready and out the door, I am reminded that I am certainly not working mom material. I would live with a perpetual migraine, I'm certain.

We make sacrifices to afford the luxury of me staying home. In other words, we trade one luxury for some others. That's what making a living is all about, isn't it? Trading luxuries you can do without for ones you can't? It comes down to things as simple as: What do I want more? The luxury of having my husband stay home on his scheduled days off or the luxury of a little extra money he'd bring in if he worked one day of overtime? It's all about trading.

So, I've told you what the luxury that I can not live without is: staying home. So, what luxuries have I traded for this? Plenty!

We're careful with our money. We don't run out and purchase anything on a whim and we probably never will. Our home is kind of old, but sturdy. It's not the latest and greatest, but it's comfortable and gives us what it's supposed to give: shelter.

We're still driving the same vehicles that we were the day we were married: a 2001 Kia Rio and a 2002 Toyota Tacoma. They don't have any bells and whistles unless you count my car having air-conditioning. We don't have CD players in them. Heck, we don't even have power windows or power locks, but they get us from point A to point B and that's really all we need.

Most of our clothes come from yard/garage sales, consignment shops, or sale racks. We don't buy new clothes often. Thank the Lord for family that loves my little girl and finds awesome clothes for her from sale racks, yard sales, and Craig's List. I literally don't know what we'd do without them. I guess we'd make it, but her clothes wouldn't be nearly as adorable as they are now! (They also got most of her toys for her!)

I've given up the luxury of going to the grocery store without a list and buying whatever struck my fancy for the next week's meals and knowing that if I needed something else, I could stop again later. Now, I shop every two weeks and we're on a budget: $180 for that one shopping trip, less if we can. That includes diapers, wipes, diaper creams, as well as food, cleaning supplies, etc. It's a tight budget, but it's workable. I purchase two Sunday papers every week and clip coupons. Even my couponing has gotten cheaper as of late!

I used to have a coupon file like you buy at the store with the little folders and an elastic band around it. Well, when you clip as many coupons as I do -- not to mention the ones I print and send off for -- those just aren't big enough. My current coupon file is an old diaper wipe box with envelopes to hold the different categories of coupons. It may not be beautiful, but I don't coupon to be beautiful. I do it to stay home with my daughter.

We have pre-paid cell phones because we know that, as tight as our budget is, if Jason couldn't work for some reason, we would have to cancel our phones. With a contract, that means paying a huge fee. Without a contract, that's one less stress in what would be a very stressful period of our lives.

We have used hand-me-down furniture for years. In eight years, we've bought a mattress and box spring because my 6'2" tall husband was having a bit of trouble sleeping comfortably with his feet hanging out over the mattress. He slept like that for about two years, though! We finally bought a couch and recliner last year with our tax refund. Trust me, it wasn't the luxury version, either. I think the salesman was a bit snippy because his commission wasn't going to be very big, but that's okay too! Our one big splurge was buying a flat screen TV a couple months ago, and it's a splurge that I think 90% of people out there would make considering we'd been watching a television that had a picture so dark that you couldn't see anything but movement in night scenes -- and that was with the brightness turned all the way up!

Now, I'm not writing this for anyone to feel sorry for me. Heck, no! I don't feel sorry for me. I am blessed beyond belief. I get to be here when my little girl gets up in the morning and yells for "mama!" I get to pick her up out of her crib, carry her in the living room, and snuggle her until she gets awake enough to want down. I get to fix her meals for her so I don't have to worry about what's being offered to her. I know what she's being given to eat because I'm the one giving it to her. (That doesn't necessarily mean she'll eat it, but at least I know what she's turning away!) I get to take her outside on pretty days and have her present me with flowers that she picks. They never have stems, but they're more precious than a dozen roses in a crystal vase! I get to read her books every day before her nap and before bedtime. I get to be home with my precious daughter, and that luxury far outweighs all the luxuries we've given up, combined.

My goal with this blog is to help anyone reading it who wants to do the same types of things -- be a stay at home parent, tighten their budget, coupon, or just get better deals at the grocery stores! I'll pass on deals, coupons, and freebies to you as I find out about them. I'll give you ideas that work for me and pray that they will work for you too. Maybe you can help me out with ideas, too!