Getting on a Budget

I absolutely love being a stay-at-home mom, and really want to continue in this amazing role for as long as possible. But lately I have been slowly becoming aware that for me to continue to stay home and help guide my children while they live and learn about their world, that I need to get my family on a budget and fast! How we have been spending is really threatening my desires to be a stay-at-home mom and if we don't make changes now I will not be able to continue staying home with my boys for much longer.

What brought about this realization? The other day I was looking at our calendar to see what we have been doing all month. I noticed that the boys and I have been indulging a little too much and too often at resteraunts. Everytime I turn around I am having to refill my car, because we have been driving here there and everywhere. I have signed us up for a lot of workshops and other events that are relatively low cost but when added together start to add up. We have been shopping like money is growing on trees. I consider myself a pretty intelligent person and able to reason but apparently I have not been paying enough attention to how much we are spending and how often. I have been letting myself and my family down by not paying attention.

So last night and most of today I have been getting serious about budgeting! I feel both spent and enlightened. I feel like I have a better grasp now on where we are at and where we need to go. I have some plans and ideas about how to make my goals a reality. But of course it will also mean that my family will have to be on board with this game plan or it will not work. They have to want me to be able to continue to stay home too!

Sometimes we are cruising along in life and don't realize that we got off on the wrong track at some point because we were not paying enough attention. We need to work on creating the reality we desire, but if we don't pay attention we will have a reality that we do not desire. If I want to be a stay-at-home mom than I can do that, but I need to sometime's reevaluate and need a good reminder of exactly the kind of life I am trying to create with my family.

I know that my family is not trying to keep up with the Jones'. We are frugal and happy living a simple country life. We are not trying to do what everyone else is doing and we don't really care what everyone else is doing. We prefer to make our own informed descisions free of someone else's control. We want to be free to pursue our passions and to learn about what is important to us. We want to raise our children to be independent free thinkers and to be happy.

This realization as it relates to my awakening means that I can be a stay-at-home mom because that is where I want and need to be right now. I have what it takes to get my family's finances back on track so that we can all continue to live this amazing life! We want our children to have the freedom to live and learn in a happy and stress-free home. I feel that my presence in their little corner of the world is the way for us all to live a good life. So if a budget is needed than bring it on!