Here I Am

Posted by: Emily @ A Fine Collection of Lint and Fuzz on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

Who am I? I am a new contributor to Frugal Hacks. Here's my story:

In the fall of 2008, two days after the delivery of our second son, our family moved two hours away from the place we called home so that my husband could finish college. (He's going to school to be a pastor.) Two days after the official move, classes began.

We decided to wait two weeks before we started the job hunt, you know, to give ourselves time to adjust to the change. My husband applied everywhere. He went with the first employer that would hire him: Walmart.

First, he told me the hourly wage, which was less than I had calculated that we needed. Then, we discovered that full time didn't necessarily mean 40 hours. He generally gets around 32, which means under $1000 per month. That's good so that he has time to study, but not so good for our budget.

I panicked! I thought there was no way we could make it on that income. So, I found some work that I could do with kids in tow. We had a few months of a hectic lifestyle where I felt like even though I was always with my kids, I wasn't parenting well. I stopped working, determined to make it on my husband's income.

Living on a low income forces you to think everything through before you depart with your pennies. I have been forced to get creative with everything I do and am thankful for all I have learned, some of which I will be sharing as a contributor here on Frugal Hacks. I now think of having little resources as a great gift. We know we can make it and have practiced many skills that we would otherwise never have had to. We are prepared.

Even though we now earn more than the $1000 per month thanks to my blog, we are determined to continue living on less. Living on less gives us more than peace of mind, it gives us the freedom to follow God wherever he may lead.

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Topics: misc.

3 Responses to “Here I Am”

Mike Says:
February 3rd, 2010 at 1:52 pm

I’m glad that you’ve found peace in your situation! I also believe that financial peace comes from two places simultaneously:
1. Spending less than you earn definitely helps you create a buffer and build up savings for the inevitable surprise expenses.
2. Trusting God with your finances and your future is also essential; it takes pressure off when you know that God is ultimately in control.

PerryC Says:
February 3rd, 2010 at 2:05 pm

Emily,

Let me be the first to welcome you to Frugal Hacks. KimC. has been after me for a good while to look at your blog and when I finally did I was startled to see how close our two families perspectives are on a number of issues.

Your writing is interesting and engaging, and you guys aren’t afraid to be a little “weird” to main stream Americana. That takes guts.

So welcome and I’m sure I speak for a bunch of folks when I say I’m looking forward to your posts.
Pc3

Forest Says:
February 4th, 2010 at 8:03 am

Hey welcome, I look forward to reading your posts and admire your frugalness :)

 

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