Week 3, Question 2
Poor Matt. No more bought lunches.
Now I do feel a bit sorry for him (truly!) so in solidarity I’ve decided to cancel my gym membership as well.
So together we’ll have shaved about $280 a month off our budget. And no doubt we’ll find some other ways to save thanks to all your great suggestions.
The last message from Martin Hawes really got us thinking though – that budgeting isn’t just about cutting spending but also looking at opportunities for increasing income.
So we’ve also come up with a couple of ways we can earn a bit extra to get us out of the red.
Matt thinks he can pick up the odd bit of freelance graphic design work to do on the weekends. Maybe 5 hours a week (around $200 after tax) – but the downside is he’d have less time to spend with Caleb (and me of course!)
The other option is me doing some locum physio work for one day a week.
Working 8 hours I’d probably earn about the same as Matt’s freelancing – and we’d have to pay for child care - but it would be regular income we could bank on.
What does everyone think?
Steph
posted by sortme @ 9:31 AM
8 comments
8 Comments:
I think you should go back to work 1 day a week. Being at home 24/7 does your head in, especially with a screaming baby. You need a break from the mundane too. Also it keeps you in the work force which is important. Some may deny that it will affect your ability for reemployment but in all seriousness it is a disadvantage to be out of the work force for extended periods of time. Matt could also pick up some freelance work but perhaps schedule it for every second weekend so that you all get at least one weekend together. I can't think of anything worse than being stuck at home with a screaming baby 7 days a week. Do yourself a favour. :o)
Hello again, go for the locum option as Matt will need his weekends. It will give you time out and will give you some openings when you decide to go back to work full-time.
I agree that you should go back to work one day a week. As a previous poster said it keeps your skills current and gives you some time out from being "mum" 24/7. Perhaps Matt could look at doing freelance work too though (maybe every second or third weekend) and with both lots of extra income coming in you'll be out of the red quicker.
definetly go for the part time work. It will keep your skills current and you wont end like me who was a SAHM for 7 years then had to entirely retrain because I had lost all the knowledge by being at home.
i agree that working one day a week will be good for you & help you, by maintaining proffesional contacts & skills. howevver, is there any way you could be seeing patients from home? maybe by setting up a spare room ( or even rearranging the home environment, slightly) to provide a consulting room. you could then investigate the option of hiring a varsity student to look after baby, cheaper than a child care centre.
I too think you should go back to work for 1 day a week. Keep your weekends free for family time. Do you have a friend or relative that might be happy to care for Caleb? That could save you a little money because paying them would be cheaper than other childcare options - even if they could take him once a month.
Yes YOU could go back to work part-time.
But FIRST find out the cost of childcare for one day a week.. it will be VERY expensive for that one day. Plus it may be very hard to find a child care place that will take a child one day a week.
So work out the cost of your wages to what you would be paying out for a child care centre. Will it be worth it for a few dollars a week?
I assume that the part-time job will be 9am to 5pm. So that will give you time to get him there and then pick him up again at night.
Now some places charge more cos they give the kiddies a hot meal at lunch time.
Unless you can call on a friend or family member to look after him all day at maybe a cheaper rate. But they must be reliable.
Working part-time will get you back into the work force and it will keep you also up to date on the latest things happening in physio-therapy techniques.
If Matt wants to work a few extra hours in the weekend then thats his choice... he could work in the evenings for a couple of hours, so that he spend time with you all during the day to have quality family time together.
All of these posters worrying about your virtual skills in the future and getting out of the house and this and that, probbably have no idea how to budget either. Logic seems lost aswell. The point of this is to reduce debt and get back to positive territory when your there - thats when you start worrying about other things. Why in the world would you want to send the mother out to work incuring further cost (tax, transport, childcare etc etc) She can only earn $200 a day (8 hours which would mean giving away half to costs meanwhile the father can earn more in a shorter time (5 hours) with less costs. Every choice so far they really should have bit the bullet and done both but since they are not commited enough to have bought from home lunches, no gym and no sky and you can only pick one (not that its particulary real life) in this case the choice should be where the $$ are.
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