Being frugal, being green, buying local, reducing waste and consuming less.... over the last thirteen years of marriage Jason and I have travelled the spectrum of all of these, focusing on one more than another at different times. Sometimes they conflict, but more often than not, they work in conjunction with each other. One thing I have determined is that having both of us on board has made it much easier. If you cook beans and rice instead of steak, and your partner isn't ready to make those kinds of changes... forget it. It will be an uphill battle from day one. Luckily Jason has been my biggest cheerleader and teammate. But how did we get here?
Almost nine years ago we had one child and I worked. Noah was in daycare, but with two incomes we were doing ok. We owned a home, drove two cars, had a gas grill with a pool in the backyard. When we decided we would try for a second child, we ran the numbers and realized it would be a break even proposition if I continued to work. If I stayed home full time, we would need to change our ways a bit, but it could work. I started researching frugality and budgeting and soon discovered The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyzyn. This massive book really opened my eyes to the possibilities. Not only could I stay home with my kids, we could actually save money and become debt free. We started small, cutting back on eating out, cooking from scratch more, reducing energy usage. We were off to a good start. I got pregnant, just like we planned. But then a month later Jason got laid off. Now our situation had taken on a whole new level of urgency. Luckily we were both willing to work together to make it work.
All these years later, our immediate motivations may be different than a new baby and a lost job, but we both still work hard at this "job" I have which is being home.
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