Wow! It's already the day after Christmas! We survived it! And I didn't go nuts with the spending and I'm so proud! Of course there were a few gifts I received from family that I hadn't reciprocated and I still feel bad about it, but that's not the "reason for the season". I'm sure by this time next year, I'll forget about it. Actually, this time next year, I won't even remember what I bought anyone or what I received. Now it's time to clean the house, put away the decorations, the tree, the wrapping paper, etc and get ready for 2013. Bring.it.on.
Actually, 2013 scares me. Alot. You see, my husband has a temporary job. And he was told he'll only be needed until the end of January 2013. We (I) was really hoping they'd hire him full time, but the business isn't doing so good and I guess they can't afford anymore full time employees. They told him they'd put him on the "call" list, if they needed him, but that doesn't pay the bills. The only prospect we have for him right now is getting a position at our city jail. He was told to call back the first week in January and they'd schedule a time and day for him to take their written test. This will the 3rd or 4th time he's taken that test and well, he just doesn't test well. Yeah. I'm hoping for a Christmas miracle, or New Years miracle.....
Our main issue is that we're "tuition poor". Our youngest son is a junior at an all boys Catholic high school. The tuition is only $100 less than our monthly mortgage. It's a huge sacrifice, but we wouldn't have it any other way. You see, our son has dyslexia and CAPD (central auditory processing disorder...look it up). He'd be lost in public school. He's been in schools for kids with learning differences since 4th grade. By now, we've spent $78K on his tuition and we have a year and a half to go. His graduation party is actually for us, but we won't tell him that. SHH....
We have been bad over the past few years and have amassed some credit card debt ($12K! GASP). But most of it was to be able to get by or get cars fixed, etc. I'm sure everyone has their reasons. We're not behind on anything and actually just refinanced our mortgage and lowered our monthly payment by $163! Go us! Granted, in this process we learned that the 5 years we've been here and have invested almost $10K have gone unnoticed since our appraisal came back for the same amount we bought our house in 2007. That sucked. So we're paying PMI of approx. $60. So we really should be saving over $200 every month but because of this awesome recession we're in, our house has lost some value.
So let me explain the reason behind the title of this blog. I like to call it being frugal, others call it being cheap. Ok, I'm cheap and I'm not sorry about it. I shop at Aldi for most of my family's groceries, I don't go to the mall (except for very special occasions and only when I have coupons for gift cards), I recycle gift bags, I make my husbands lunch and mine everyday to take to work, I share a 1997 Camry with my son, I color my own hair, I've had 2 pedicures in my whole life and both were this year, I don't own any designer purses, wallets, jeans, or shoes. I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything in life.
I have a bachelor degree in Management and Marketing. I've worked full time since I was graduated from high school and it took me 12 years to earn my college degree. I make great money.
I'm not missing out on anything and I'm so thankful for everything I have. I try not to be jealous of people who have nice things, alot of money in the bank, nice cars, etc. Because you never know what people are going thru. Money isn't everything. Those people who look like they have it all, could be struggling with something else. I'm blessed we have our health and each other. It's all you can ask for.
