Monday morning moments

ahhhhhhhhhhhh hot coffee and a few moments alone before the rise and shine of the little men.

This past 2 years have been a bit of a struggle for us adjusting to a new lifestyle.  I have been through many lifestyles in my lifetime so far, but I have to say I am feeling most comfortable in the one I am in now.

I have gone through the know-it-all teen/young adult one, the young parent one, the parent of teenagers (ack), the empty nest and going to college for the first time, the decent double income no kids at home one, and now the stay at home mom and one income in tough economic times one.

At first staying at home with the boys didn't seem to make a huge impact other than I was on a different type of schedule opposed to a working womans schedule.  And I should have known better, should have planned for it but I didn't.  In my mind all the vacations, dinner out almost every night and the ton of scrubs I used to buy seemed like they would offset any new costs and income reduction.  Boy was I wrong.  Our regular fixed bills remained the same, however our income went down by about 75-80 grand a year and then we had new expenses - diapers, formula, toys, clothes and lawyer bills.

Soon our head-buried-in-the-sand approach caught up to us, and just for being so neglectful of it, reality smacked hard.  We had it coming.  Time to let go of the house we had for 30 years and find something else.  Luckily we did have the cash in a 401K that we could pull and buy our new home with cash.  We weighed this decision heavily (about time we acted mature huh?) and decided that having a home with land paid in full, free and clear of any type of mortgage would serve us better than watching the 401K investment whittle away to nothing as it was.  We didn't empty the 401, but we really think knowing that if the economy continues to worsen it would likely empty itself and we wouldn't have a home, so we are happy and feel we made the best choice for us.

We love our new home, we love the yard (garden time for me - big smile here) and we especially love the payment, but having to walk away from your home of 30 yrs is also a giant wake up call.

So I have decided that I am going to be a better steward of our resources and rein in our lifestyle to a comfortable level.  I will admit, even after the wake up call and moving into the new house, my attitude didn't change immediately, heck I thought - no house payment, we are back on easy street- well the house payment was only ONE of those nasty bills each month, the others did not go away, nor did the needs of two growing boys.

So that gives you a small background on what this blog is going to be about.  Changes you can make to simplify and enhance your life and not go broke in the process.

I feel like I am sometimes stepping back into bygone eras but I am also loving the feeling of growth and self-sufficiency that I am gaining along the way.

I hope to inspire you to find a spot in your life that brings you contentment and joy and is good for the whole family.  There will be some cooking tips, cleaning tips, cost cutting measures and even some prepping for the future and unseen (I would not call myself a "doomsday prepper" but the last two years personal experiences have taught me that anything can happen, that coupled with the economy and changing weather conditions well I just want to be prepared)