Friday, April 8, 2011

This post brought to you by the letters...

"Plan" and "ning"

So... I've been out of work, coming up on 6 months now (technically 5 1/2 but who's counting).And, in the course of that time, I've had exactly... one interview. Now, granted, I haven't been trying as hard as I normally do because there's been so much else going on, but there is coming a time when I'm going to need to make a decision. Keep plodding away at my attempts... or decide what else I want to do with my life.

Any and all of these things require a lot of planning. For example, if this whole incredible process actually results in a miracle, then I have to contend with interviewing while pregnant and/or convincing someone to hire me knowing I'll need to go on maternity leave eventually. Not a huge deal the first few months, but eventually someone's gonna figure it out. Not to mention if this DOESN'T work (a real possibility as far as I'm concerned at this point),  then  we have a lot of decisions ahead on how to proceed.

At any rate, aside from a "normal" job, I have two other options potentially available to me: 1) stay home and not work (ideal if the miracle occurs; less so if it doesn't, but also easier if we keep trying) or 2) consider other alternatives to "normal" jobs. Like getting my writing off the ground (unlikely... I just don't have the confidence in it or the prolific ideas to make a Living out of it) or starting my own business.

Both of these choices however, mean a lot of planning. And a lot of need for changing the way I run my household currently. It becomes slightly easier with Wes' job change, but still not exactly our "current standard of living" (which, admittedly is probably beyond what we need, hence the below list).

So... here's a list, in no particular order:
1. Quit nickle and diming ourselves. I'm notorious for this. Lunch here, breakfasts there, order out... these are the three top offenders. But also little things that we don't need or "perks" (like wanting to have my BBC channel despite the fact that it adds a stupid amount to our cable bill).

2. This Old House. Literally. This house isn't exactly a "money pit" but it's not remotely financially efficient either. New heater, new windows, new water heater... little odds and ends. And the mortgage and taxes aren't pretty either. The location makes Wes' commute suck; and the price of gas making living here significantly LESS than ideal. But with the market as bad as it is, I just cannot fathom unloading it. And I can't do so at a loss either. Last thing I need is to find MORE money just to pay off the stupid mortgage. And, doing that, will make getting a new house closer to his job that much harder... and that much more expensive.

3. Groceries. I plan my grocery and meals poorly. All this time on my hands (and don't say it... blogging is a way to sort out my head to make such things easier, so this IS productive to the matter at hand) and I can't even plan a proper meal. Which leads to running out for little things, spending more than I need or WORST *gasp!* having to order out. Inexcusable and costly. Plus, I can no longer stand shopping in this area, which means driving to DE... more gas; more wear and tear on an already busted up Jeep; etc., etc., etc.

I need to resolve these three things. The first and third are relatively easy, I just need to buckle down and do it. The middle one is the most expensive and the hardest to resolve. But I need to do it. Once I can get a handle on our expenses, I can figure out how to make those proverbial "dreams come true." Whatever those dreams may turn out to be...

3 comments:

  1. Remind me to pass you some of the really good meal/grocery planning sites I rely on. I have them all bookmarked at home.

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  2. That would be fantastic if you could do that.
    I know that's a large part of my problem, at least for dinners. Lunches and "feeling blue" days are the other (how interesting that I get depressed about money woes... and spend money to make me "happy". I create my own vicious cycle...).

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  3. http://www.simpleanddelicious.com/meal-planning/index.jsp
    http://download.totalrecipesearch.com/index.jhtml?spu=true&sul=true&partner=YKxdm004
    http://www.momsbudget.com/printables/groceryprintables.html
    http://www.mealbank.net/

    Some of the good sites have gone subscription :(

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