And what wouldn’t you sacrifice?
My husband and I have recently had to make some hard choices in order for me to continue to stay home with our daughter.
Looking for affordable housing was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Mostly things in our price range were in very poor condition or in a bad neighborhood. Those were things we didn’t feel we could sacrifice.
On the other hand, we let go of things we were accustomed to – a spacious house/garage/washer&dryer/internet etc. And we are going to be on a tight budget – and we already thought we were tight!
What have you given up, and what are the ways you scrimp to make it?
candy favors
10 Comments Received
March 15th, 2010 @2:41 am
I am very lucky that my husband has a good job and that, financially, I am able to stay home with our son. This means I have had to put my career on hold, but my son is totally worth it!
March 17th, 2010 @4:54 am
The sacrifice we made was to work different shifts. That way we both got to take care of her. She and we were better for it.
March 19th, 2010 @5:27 am
What wouldn’t I give up in order to give my son the best possible start in life? The answer is nothing. Unless we were going to live in complete squalor and we were going to have to sacrifice things that essential to health and well being. For this reason it was a priority for me to not have kids until we could live comfortably without me going to work. I wanted to know I’d be the one raising him in these vital years. It took until my thirties for that to happen, but I wouldn’t change a thing.
March 20th, 2010 @5:18 am
I work at home while staying at home with my two kids (3.5 yr and 9 wks). We live in Southern California and live in an apartment because we can’t afford a house. I’m so used to the way we live that I’m sure there are things I regularly sacrifice but sort of forget, for example, I need to buy some new clothes but I’ll wait for a sale or shop at Loehman’s, TJ Maxx, Ross, or the sales rack at certain stores. My kids wear clothes from the consignment stores but they have a wonderful, huge wardrobe with all name brands so I don’t consider that a sacrifice. I only buy foods that are on sale (like 2 boxes of cereal for $4) and don’t pay full price even when I really want something. We try to budget as much as possible.
March 21st, 2010 @4:42 pm
Even if we sacrificed….I make more money. I am the breadwinner which is a common happening in the states according to news sources. I MUST work. Thankfully, I have the summers off.
Our sacrifice has been family time. He works nights and me days so that ours don’t go to daycare. It’s hard though- so often I wish he was home with me and miss him. Most days it is an exchange of keys as I come in and he leaves. Our weekends are all about family…and it works for us.
To make it easier on ourselves, we don’t use credit cards, go out to eat once a month, get fast food *maybe* once a year- not kidding, our daughter is 22 months old and just had her first fast food meal yesterday (unfortunately, she loved it. Hmmmpphhhh!). We are also setting up good values for our children by doing so. Money doesn’t grow on trees. How cool would it be if they did??? Oh, in a perfect world.
March 23rd, 2010 @7:00 am
I’ve given up schooling, for now, although I’ll be going back, soon; partly online, then an internship, once baby is born… Part-time… I homeschool our 9 and 10 year old, while also taking care of our 15-month-old, and I’m 5 months pregnant with our last.
We moved into this house, a year and a half ago, and we need to move, again; hopefully next summer, but—in order to do that—I’ll need to have a part-time job, and start saving up, or we’ll be in the same boat as you: looking at poor housing/bad neighborhood… Right now, we’re in a decent, though not great, neighborhood, and want to move somewhere nicer. (We need more room.) I’ll either be doing medical transcription, from home, or else working late nights at a hospital, so I can still be here with the kids, while hubby works during the day.
March 23rd, 2010 @11:03 am
Well, we were going to both have new cars and build a two story, five bedroom house. Now we are selling my car to get rid of the payment and building a three bedroom on story house. I shop at yard sales for Emma and myself. We buy cheap stuff, I make all her babyfood and my own household cleaners.
I would not let her do without though. If I had to work to cloth and feed her properly then I would just suck it up and do it. Fortunatley we are able to (just) get by.
March 25th, 2010 @8:31 am
i know that people sacrifice much more — tangibly, that is — than i have had to, and i respect and appreciate that. i have given up the extra little luxuries, like pedicures and expensive clothes, as well as regular sushi dinners and buying lots of groceries at whole foods. but beyond these rather insignificant sacrifices, i feel i have given up the freedom that comes with generating one’s own income. no matter how supportive my husband — and he is very supportive — i feel a little weird and guilty when i go to get a haircut, or buy shoes, or whatever. even if i spend a lot on groceries, i feel sort of…like i am spending someone else’s money. this is my problem, it comes from my head, but as someone who always worked, well, it is what it is. in addition, i feel i have given up a certain portion of my adult life — you know, just having adult conversations. it is all well worth it. i am so lucky i CAN stay home with ruby and i would never ever ever have it any other way.
March 25th, 2010 @2:09 pm
We are living in a 1/1 apartment, so sacrificing on having a home (even a small one). We also do not subscribe to cabel/direct TV/DISH, etc. though we do budget for internet connection. Pretty much all of our furnishings are either second-hand or old. The vast majority of the baby’s clothes, toys and furnishings are also hand-me-downs or from a garage sale. I use cloth diapers to save on diapering costs. Even though I recently completed a 2nd degree for to become a Registered Nurse, I have basically no experience in the field and am putting that on hold to raise my son at home at least for the first year or so (I will probably go back to work at one point to maintain the license I worked hard for–but my son comes first!). We try to limit eating out and look for free or low cost activities to do with the baby (so no Gymboree classes or things like that…but playgroups are free, and the city often has free events here and there that we attend).
I wouldn’t sacrifice/do: not living in a safe area, purchasing a used carseat, not purchasing fresh fruits/vegetables/whole grains (preferably organic as the budget allows, though often not) to maintain a healthy diet.
We are also going to start Dave Ramsey’s “Total Money Makeover” to reduce debt and save even further. Those are some of the things I can think of off the top of my head.
March 26th, 2010 @4:04 pm
My wife has given up a career, he is now 14 and she is starting all over again, we have also given up a nice big house, living off my salary all the time. Now she is off to work things should get better, but i might have also given up success at work as i am not a person who works 50 hours a week, i am too keen to get home and be with my son and wife. So i have a good job, get paid okay and qwork very hard when here.
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