Reality Check

As you all know, we are currently a one income family. This is because I can't stand the thought of Diablo going to daycare. The only thing that is scarier than putting him in daycare would be if I chose to stay at home with him. I have lots and lots of mental health issues and staying at home with someone who is actually NEEDIER than I am is not a very good choice for me. I am a much happier, healthier individual when I can be with people who understand sarcasm and a threatening tone of voice. I have also noticed that adults tend to be less sticky than my offspring, which is another factor that makes working out of the home attractive. My husband likes to work, but knows that it would be terrible to come home to me and Diablo if I stayed home. I tend to spiral into depression pretty darn face and let's face it, it's not pretty when I get into those phases. I have only been suicidal once but it got kind of scary and I don't want Diablo to see that. One of my best friends in the world (you know who you are) gently pointed out to me recently that when I huddle on the couch, sobbing for days on end, I "am teaching Diablo how to deal with grief and sadness." Ouch! I said, thanks, Girl with no Codename, for making me feel worse than I already do.
She did have a point though and her comment has lingered in my mind ever since. So, I have committed myself to providing the income for our litte family, and my husband has agreed to stay home and raise Diablo. What this meant, however, was that we needed to take a hard look at our spending and debt. I made a list of all our current bills.
Monthly Bills
House payment=$745
Sprint Cells: $70
Qwest phone & Internet: $78.69
Energy=$105.00
Trash=$21.00
Hospital bill=$121.00
Student loan=$100.00
Water=$90.00
Auto insurance=$81.00
Credit card=$42.00/mos. (The total is about $500.It never actually goes down because I always use the credit card to pay for gas.)
My medication=$20
Total=$1,452.69

My income? Well, I make $14.05 per hour, so I bring home $757.83 every two weeks. I have health, vision and dental taken out, as well as 4% of my pay to 401K. In addition, I have 10% of my pay going directly into our saving account. Thus the $757 of remaining cash to play with.
Basically, I bring home $1,515.66 every month (every four weeks.)
That leaves us under $50 to pay for groceries, diapers and baby food.
Ouch.
So how will we do this? Stay tuned to find out!

your chiquita