Living on Less

The past two years have brought a lot of financial trouble for us. I hated the job that I was in and just walked away. It was a stupid move financially, but a smart move as far as my mental health goes.

Sometimes you have to choose what is best for yourself. I chose my health over earning good money. I angered my husband, but he has finally come to understand how stressful my job had become. I went on unemployment, but that was only a fraction of what I was making. We had to make some serious decisions about what to give up in order to make ends meet.

I hated losing my van. I had a 2005 Honda Odyssey. I loved it so much. All leather, four captain chairs, dvd player, fold down back bench, sunroof - it had it all. But it came with a high monthly payment of $580. I fought for as long as I could to keep it, but in the end, I just couldn't. That was a devastating blow to me.

We went to one of those car lots that doesn't do a credit check in order to get another car. We put $1,000 down and we pay $250 a month for a 2000 Mazda 626. The car itself is okay, but just very basic. I think the thing I hate the most about it is the rough idle. But, you get what you pay for. Right now, the low payment is great. But, I look forward to the day when I can go to a reputable car lot and buy a nicer car.

I also watch very closely our electric bill. If we aren't in a room then I don't have the lights on. I make sure that we conserve as much as possible. We were able to use our air conditioner during the summer, but just on a higher setting. In combination with the ceiling fans, we stayed nice and cool.

Our problem right now is the fact that our furnace doesn't work well. So, we keep it turned off and use ceramic heaters for the bedrooms and the fireplace for the rest of the house. The fireplace has an insert on it with a blower, so the heat travels throughout most of the house. It is a hassle dealing with the wood all of the time, though. Just another loss of convenience.

Probably the biggest change I made is in my grocery and necessity shopping. I look for bargains all of the time. I will not pay full price for a name brand, either. If I see a name brand on sale, then I might get it, but only if it is less than the store brand. I do notice some differences in quality, but overall it hasn't hurt us any.

Entertainment took the largest cut. We very seldom go out to see a movie. We even hardly rent movies anymore. We kept our cable TV, so we just use it to get our money's worth. I miss being able to go rent movies or go to the theater when I want, but it is just one of those sacrifices that we can deal with.

What bothers me the most is not being able to afford the best pet care for our dogs and cats. They are behind on their shots and check ups. It can't be helped, though. They are never around other animals, so I'm hoping they'll be okay. If one gets sick, we do take them in, but we hold our breath when we pay the bill.

Our house has been a huge worry for us as well. We kept up the payments as long as we could. But once we started falling behind, we just couldn't catch up. Our mortgage company worked with us for a few months on lower payments, but then put us into a workout program. Now another mortgage company is working with us to help us save our house.

They have been very good to us and very patient, but I worry in the end that they won't be able to let us keep the house. We should know soon, though.

I have a job now, but it only pays a fraction of what I was making before. It's not even as much as my unemployment was. But, I'm hoping that soon I will be back making good money again. It's all just a matter of time.

I have learned humility from all of this. If I could do it all over again, I probably would not have quit my job. I realize now that I have hurt my family more than I should have. If a van is all I lose because of this, then I'll be lucky.

The good lesson I've learned, though, is to either make do with what you have or learn to live without. Christmas will be slim this year, but that's okay. Our children are old enough to understand that one gift will suffice. They know that we do what we can with what we have. They also understand that it's important that we are all still together and healthy.