Financial Lessons

Join us for a re-run post of an oldie but goodie: Melinda's take on juggling one income, twins and SAHM life.

So, just to clarify at the start, this is not going to be a hard sell on giving up on a full time job to stay home with your children, nor is it a dissertation on how becoming a stay at home mom (SAHM) is easy (because it's not!) and better for children. This is just simply some opinions on the subject matter of a former two income household making it in today's world with one income.

Realizing the Need for Change

Emotional baggage seems to come with the territory of relationships. Many people define their newest life and love by their past, and this can often reach into the financial realm of budding romance. This was the case recently for one of my friends.

My Friend's Baggage

Recently, my friend invited my husband and me to dinner. We all sat around the table sharing laughs and generally having a blast. Then her boyfriend left the room, and things turned instantly sober.

When I was in college, I lived so frugally that I became pseudo-vegetarian by necessity. Meat was often too expensive for my part-time, minimum wage existence, and I ate as simply as possible. Ramen noodles, beans, and cereal made up the bulk of my diet, but boy did I crave a hamburger sometimes!

From the time I decided to become an attorney, my brain was always wrapped around the future.  Everything in life was set to mesh well with getting into and succeeding at law school.  That included finances.

Always careful to only take the exact amount of student aide to cover what my scholarships did not, I knew I didn’t like the idea of all that interest accruing.  I didn’t move out, I chose to stay living at home, where I could study, work, and not have to pay rent (plus I like my parents a lot, and staying wasn’t nearly the drag for me as others seemed to think it was).

Recently, I shared my 401(k) investment knowledge journey, pointing out my mistakes and regrets in not asking for clarification. Talking to a financial advisor about my 401(k) choices could have put me on track to understanding investments much sooner, but a feeling that I should have known kept me from seeking help. My stock journey was somewhat similar, yet different. My story may help you in your own journey to stock ownership, so let’s take a look at my life in the market.

Fear of the Market

Stop for a minute and think about a typical day in the life of you.  What happens during the course of your day?  Who do you come into contact with?  Do you interact with anyone?  What kind of experiences do you have through your day?  Life, it seems, is made up of many an ordinary, normal day filled with, well, everyday stuff. So how are we supposed to use that as inspiration for saving the world?

At some point in my elementary school career, my mom took me to our small town's local bank and helped me open a savings account.  I had earned money off and on through my earlier years helping her out with her home-based wedding cake business, and it was time to move from keeping loose change and dollar bills in the piggy bank to depositing that money into a real bank.  It was a pretty neat experience.  I got the little brown book with my life's savings totaled in it, and every so often I would bring in a bit more to add to that total.  I kept at it, saving some here, taking a bit out here an

I recently had a conversation with a friend nearing retirement about her financial status after the market crash. She presented some of her finance concerns, and I would like to share her story -- and some advice -- about getting back on track after flailing in the financial crisis.

Anna’s Story

As I mentioned in previous posts (See “Sweat Equity” and “The Modern Oregon Trail”), my husband and I moved back to Iowa from Seattle in 2005 and set ourselves up in a farmhouse. The house needed a lot of work: The Pepto Bismol pink and neon green walls matched by ugly linoleum were really icing on a crumbling cake. The electrical was knob and tube, and the plumbing was antique. The kitchen was non-existent. Seriously.

So, just to clarify at the start, this is not going to be a hard sell on giving up on a full time job to stay home with your children, nor is it a dissertation on how becoming a stay at home mom (SAHM) is easy (because it's not!) and better for children.  This is just simply some opinions on the subject matter of a former two income household making it in today's world with one income. 

Realizing the Need for Change