Layout:
Home > Big Changes

Big Changes

September 26th, 2006 at 03:17 am

I mentioned in my About Me blog that my life has changed a lot in the past year. I knew having a child would change everything, but I really had no idea.
I took a 12 week leave from work when DS was born last year, 8 weeks which was partially paid. I had just paid off my 2002 Chevy Camaro Z28 so there was some extra money, which I thought would be put toward a daycare expense.
During my leave I realized that there was no way I could be a SAHM...financially DH and I could not swing it....we weren't always careful with our money.
The first example of this is our Camaro Z28. How practical is this car in New England? (But it was soooo cool!!!) So....we had to buy a 'winter car'. Fortunately DH's grandparents had a 1992 Oldsmobile that they were ready to part ways with. Although we got it relatively cheap (paid cash), it was always in need of repairs, not to mention the extra expense of having another car on the road. We thought about trading in the Z28 when DS was born, but neither of us were ready to give it up.
Second, DH had a pickup truck without an extended cab. So after being without a car payment for 3 months, so we traded it in...enter a new car payment....there goes the extra money for daycare.
Luckily a friend offered to watch DS free of charge. We 'paid' her by bringing small gifts and buying dinner once a week. But, when things started to go bad 2 months later I had to get him out of there fast! Without the luxury of time to find a suitable daycare, I asked my boss If I could work the second shift temporarily until I could make other arrangements.
So here it is, 7 months later and I am still working nights. It hasn't always been perfect, but I figure this is saving us about $9500/year...with the added bonus of getting to spend all this time with DS!
In July, when DS outgrew his 'baby' carseat, I realized that I could not fit his new carseat in our beloved Z28..well it would fit but it was extremely difficult getting him in and out. We were hoping to trade down, and have a very small car payment or none at all.
My dad offered to trade his 2003 Impala for my 2002 Z28 and give me $1000 cash...WOW!
So this enabled us to donate the oldsmobile (DH and I did not feel comfortable selling it...it needed some work). All totalled this saved us almost $800/year with insurance, taxes, registration and inspection fees.
These are my 2 big money savers this year....but we still have a long way to go.

3 Responses to “Big Changes”

  1. Ima saver Says:
    1159278348

    It is hard, but hang in there, you can do it!

  2. fern Says:
    1159285196

    ok, now i've lost track....so how many vehicles do you own now? Owning more than 1 vehicile is a really big drain on your finances. It's not just the cost of the car, gas and repairs, but also insurance and registration fees.

  3. frugalmomof1 Says:
    1159300783

    We now own 2 vehicles. There is no way we could get by with only one.

Leave a Reply

(Note: If you were logged in, we could automatically fill in these fields for you.)
*
Will not be published.
   

* Please spell out the number 4.  [ Why? ]

vB Code: You can use these tags: [b] [i] [u] [url] [email]