I can’t say I’m a fan of either of those things, though at least the Type-A side of me gets a creepy sense of satisfaction from the columns and rows of the budget spreadsheets.
The realization yesterday that I have only four weeks of work left brought about the holy shit we’d better get budgeting side of me. The jobs I’ve been working all summer were great and allowed me to get off of federal emergency unemployment benefits, but the frustrating part is that I knew all along that they were both just seasonal jobs (May15-Oct15), and now I have no clue what comes next. As of mid-October when both of my current serving jobs will end, I still have 10 weeks PRE-baby to go, not to mention the time I’d like to spend home with the child post-delivery if possible. I live in a tiny-ass town with very few job opportunities though, so I’m kind of stuck about what to do next. My whole life I’ve worked full-time, and never have I worked for a company big enough to offer maternity benefits, etc. I can’t even imagine having that option.
The up-side to this is that I definitely didn’t get pregnant under the assumption that we’d have a normal income coming in around delivery time.
The down-side to this past crazy year of going from full-time employment to unemployment to seasonal employment is that it hasn’t really hit me until now that we have a lot of weeks/months that we’re going to need to survive on one income if something doesn’t change asap (and b/c of where we live and the cost of our mortgage, we are definitely incapable of surviving on one income long term).
Gulp.
While I went through our finances today and worked on the budget, I also realized that some hack had charged $200 to our Capital One card yesterday at a Wal-Mart in Texas. UGH. It’s easy enough to call and cancel the card and get the charges reimbursed, but the part that makes me want to rip my hair out is having to go through everything and re-setup all of my auto-pay accounts. I know I’ll forget something, and it’s a pain in the ass. What kind of person makes a living as a hacker anyway? Asshole.
So yeah, days like this stress me out. I know that things will work out somehow, but FUCK, I hate having to worry about money. The IFer side of me feels like we spent so much to GET pregnant that somehow from now on, money shouldn’t be an issue because we’ve paid our dues. Right? Right?!
Ha. Ya right.
I kind of know what you're going through, my husband lost his job right after we found out I was pregnant and didn't get a new one until I was 8 months along. My whole pregnancy was spent on a tight budget and even after he got a job we were so busy playing catch up that we still don't have a ton of money to go around. It's frustrating but you can make it work. We sat down and really chopped everything that could go. DH agreed to stop smoking (whooo HOOO – one upside to budget cutting), I agreed to attempt to color my hair at home vs the salon…oh geez! Call your credit card companies up and ask for them to lower your interest. I've found the only company who has said no is Sears. Look at refinancing your mortgage. Lower your cable/internet/cell phone package if possible. Call competitors of your current utility companies and see if they can beat what you're paying now – cause them to get in a bidding war over you. You CAN do this – I promise. We're doing it, it sucks sometimes but sometimes it is awesome to realize I can save money here & there.
My husband is getting a new job and taking a BIG pay cut (the price of sanity) and I'm starting to freak out too! I'm not pregnant right now but we have two kids and they expect to eat…like every day! (So inconsiderate!) We are just getting by now and having less income starting next month is going to cause a lot of problems. Plus, his new job is a desk job…something he's never had before. We have to buy him a whole new wardrobe. I don't really know how that's going to work. Sorry, I didn't mean to add to your anxiety. Just know you are not alone! I'll be praying for you!
Ugh – good luck, lady. At least it says a lot about your personality that you are looking for employment and are willing to work hard (serving is tiresome, I know!) to help your family. There are so many people in our country who try to leech off our system.I will be thinking of you and hoping something good comes your way!
I know the stress you're under.. And, it's no fun.. I do currently have a job, but am on disability due to my high risk pregnancy.. I would love nothing more than to be able to stay home with our baby after he's born.. It's not looking promising tho.. And it makes me sad.. Why can't we all just have a money tree in our backyard?! Life would be so much easier.. People are so shady.. Who does that?? Someone got ahold of our debit card info and charged hundreds at an electronics store.. Such and invasion of privacy and pain in the ass.. I hope you guys figure out something soon, and you have a little bit of peace 🙂
Holy crap, I hate HACKERS!!!! We had the same thing happen recently, but to the tune of around $3000.Maybe you can find some online work to do of some sort, something that you could do through maternity leave. I hate to mention it, but can't telemarketer's work from home?
Tarah is right. You CAN do this. You went through too much to get here for it not to work out. I believe in my heart that everything will work out wonderfully. You are such a good hearted person that you will be taken care of. HUGS!
I hear ya – I met with a girl who is going to watch Chloe once I go back to work. Just looking into daycare and everything that goes into having a baby, not to mention the time needed off work and whether or not it's paid for is a lot to deal with. Especially when you are trying to prepare for THE most important day/time in your life! It will all work out though hun!
i was going to suggest something similar to Michele – some of the work from home things, like medical transcriptionist? i have no idea if that kind of thing is a scam, but I've certainly seen ads for it…? Even if it's not a huge amount of money, still better than nothing. i hope you figure something out!!!