I escaped the poor house!
I'm so excited and relieved! My Nana used to tell us, "You kids are going to send me to the poor house" when we asked her to buy us things. I never knew what she meant until I got older. I just envisioned a house full of poor people like a halfway house or something.
Now I'll give you a brief backstory on why this is such a big deal to me. As a little girl, I assumed when my Prince Charming came along I would be able to be a SAHM like my mom was. My hopes and dreams came crashing down around me on August 25, 2008 when at not quite 20 yrs old I found out I was going to have to provide for more than just myself.
This led to the launch of Running with Scissors, my mobile hair business. Working for yourself is scary and uncertain but God always provided for my little family of 2. Shortly before my little one turned 2 my dad said it was time we found our own home. I'll spare you the details of how we got to this place but I rented my first home with my best friend. That didn't end up working out but in the process I met Tim and both my baby boy and I fell for this guy.
Things moved pretty quickly, Tim changed jobs to be able to move in with me and help me with the bills when the roommate situation didn't work out. Money was always tight but in the spirit of a new relationship I didn't think twice about maxing out my credit cards so we could do fun things together. Work was pretty good for us both, Tim went about 3 stressful weeks between jobs but by the time we got married in June 2012 the income was decent and we were able to pay for our wedding. We assumed after the wedding expenses were taken care of we would be good to go. Well not so, my business dwindled and the raise we were certain Tim would get upon getting his plumbers license wasn't as good as we had thought. Really since that point we were living paycheck to paycheck.
When I was about 35 weeks pregnant with Laila Tim lost his job, I knew I would be out of work for a few weeks when the baby was born and we started to panic. Somehow God provided and we were able to survive, there were a lot of late payments and credit cards that went to collections but we made it.
A few short term jobs came and went for Tim, we were devastated and he was beginning to lose his self confidence. It wasn't until at a moment of desperation I said, "let's just run away!" and we found ourselves living in Raleigh, NC like we had been talking about for years did things turn around.
This job in Raleigh was so very promising. Tim is an excellent plumber and customers love him. We had no doubt he would do wonderful. This job was supposed to be between $80k-$200k a year depending on his sales. We thought FINALLY we can live comfortably.
That didn't happen, the employer didn't give him any work and soon he was looking for a new job AGAIN. I was so disappointed and stressed. We moved here thinking I could finally stay at home with our kids like I had always wanted. When this job didn't work out I went back to doing hair.
In July Tim started yet another new job, this one was different, MUCH different. This one had him traveling Monday-Friday. At first I was happy to see him go, now it's sad to say goodbye. I thought this was just another job he would stay at for 3-9 months and either be laid off or quit. I didn't get my hopes up that this was "The Job" for him. Things are turning out much different this time, family and our church has helped us financially, my Juice Plus business is doing well, and Tim is working incredibly hard to get as many hours as he can!
All this to say, I feel as though a weight has been lifted and we are FREE. I feel like we have been "surviving" my whole life and especially our whole married life. I have learned sooo much and vowed never to make the same mistakes again. I can look at money in a whole new way, I can consider buying a new pair of jeans for my husband because he's down to 1 pair. I can be looking to buy new clothes for my kids instead of asking their grandparents if they can help. I can consider having someone clean my carpet because Laila squeezed a fruit pouch out on it. I can order those contacts I so desperately need. I can finally buy essential oils I've been coveting for so long. I can surprise my kids with a special treat every now and then.
I used to buy myself new clothes every season. That's how my Kohls card got maxed out. In the last two years I bought a handful of maternity clothes from a consignment store and a gift card my MIL gave me for Christmas.
I used to go to Starbucks at least once a week. I haven't been in 6 months besides the freebie they sent me on my birthday.
We have been surviving. Now we can live! I CAN stay home with my babies and start thinking about the possibility of more! I CAN spoil my family, and do it for less with all the money saving tips I have learned. I CAN start paying off that mountain of debt we accrued so my family can own a home!
Tim works so incredibly hard for us and "thank you" will never be enough, however the real credit goes to God. He sustained us and provided in each and every moment that we needed it. I am confident I can go from here without making the same mistakes I did before, to bring glory to God! I am so excited to see what He has for us now!!!
Now I'll give you a brief backstory on why this is such a big deal to me. As a little girl, I assumed when my Prince Charming came along I would be able to be a SAHM like my mom was. My hopes and dreams came crashing down around me on August 25, 2008 when at not quite 20 yrs old I found out I was going to have to provide for more than just myself.
This led to the launch of Running with Scissors, my mobile hair business. Working for yourself is scary and uncertain but God always provided for my little family of 2. Shortly before my little one turned 2 my dad said it was time we found our own home. I'll spare you the details of how we got to this place but I rented my first home with my best friend. That didn't end up working out but in the process I met Tim and both my baby boy and I fell for this guy.
Things moved pretty quickly, Tim changed jobs to be able to move in with me and help me with the bills when the roommate situation didn't work out. Money was always tight but in the spirit of a new relationship I didn't think twice about maxing out my credit cards so we could do fun things together. Work was pretty good for us both, Tim went about 3 stressful weeks between jobs but by the time we got married in June 2012 the income was decent and we were able to pay for our wedding. We assumed after the wedding expenses were taken care of we would be good to go. Well not so, my business dwindled and the raise we were certain Tim would get upon getting his plumbers license wasn't as good as we had thought. Really since that point we were living paycheck to paycheck.
When I was about 35 weeks pregnant with Laila Tim lost his job, I knew I would be out of work for a few weeks when the baby was born and we started to panic. Somehow God provided and we were able to survive, there were a lot of late payments and credit cards that went to collections but we made it.
A few short term jobs came and went for Tim, we were devastated and he was beginning to lose his self confidence. It wasn't until at a moment of desperation I said, "let's just run away!" and we found ourselves living in Raleigh, NC like we had been talking about for years did things turn around.
This job in Raleigh was so very promising. Tim is an excellent plumber and customers love him. We had no doubt he would do wonderful. This job was supposed to be between $80k-$200k a year depending on his sales. We thought FINALLY we can live comfortably.
That didn't happen, the employer didn't give him any work and soon he was looking for a new job AGAIN. I was so disappointed and stressed. We moved here thinking I could finally stay at home with our kids like I had always wanted. When this job didn't work out I went back to doing hair.
In July Tim started yet another new job, this one was different, MUCH different. This one had him traveling Monday-Friday. At first I was happy to see him go, now it's sad to say goodbye. I thought this was just another job he would stay at for 3-9 months and either be laid off or quit. I didn't get my hopes up that this was "The Job" for him. Things are turning out much different this time, family and our church has helped us financially, my Juice Plus business is doing well, and Tim is working incredibly hard to get as many hours as he can!
All this to say, I feel as though a weight has been lifted and we are FREE. I feel like we have been "surviving" my whole life and especially our whole married life. I have learned sooo much and vowed never to make the same mistakes again. I can look at money in a whole new way, I can consider buying a new pair of jeans for my husband because he's down to 1 pair. I can be looking to buy new clothes for my kids instead of asking their grandparents if they can help. I can consider having someone clean my carpet because Laila squeezed a fruit pouch out on it. I can order those contacts I so desperately need. I can finally buy essential oils I've been coveting for so long. I can surprise my kids with a special treat every now and then.
I used to buy myself new clothes every season. That's how my Kohls card got maxed out. In the last two years I bought a handful of maternity clothes from a consignment store and a gift card my MIL gave me for Christmas.
I used to go to Starbucks at least once a week. I haven't been in 6 months besides the freebie they sent me on my birthday.
We have been surviving. Now we can live! I CAN stay home with my babies and start thinking about the possibility of more! I CAN spoil my family, and do it for less with all the money saving tips I have learned. I CAN start paying off that mountain of debt we accrued so my family can own a home!
Tim works so incredibly hard for us and "thank you" will never be enough, however the real credit goes to God. He sustained us and provided in each and every moment that we needed it. I am confident I can go from here without making the same mistakes I did before, to bring glory to God! I am so excited to see what He has for us now!!!
Comments
Post a Comment