by Hope
You are right. I am overwhelmed, I am stressed out and I don’t trust my own judgment right now. So currently, my financial life is just trying to stay afloat, not make any big decisions and get a little ahead. But I have this week decided to gift myself two things….
- We will be going out for Thanksgiving. Despite the hardships of the last few months, we have much to be thankful for and I do not take it for granted. What I did take for granted was lots of counter space and a kitchen that more than one person could stand in. So we are going out…I’m not cooking. I’ve decided on Golden Corral. We will all be able to eat our fill at about $66 for the 5 of us.
- I am going to pay $50 for the younger two to go to a “school’s out” camp at our martial arts studio. I just need a break So Wednesday I will have a whole work day with no interruptions…I’m already compiling lists of the things I will get done.
I know that’s $116 I could put toward debt, but right now I just need the mental break.
Hope is a creative, solutions-focused business manager helping clients grow their business and work more efficiently by leveraging expertise in project management, digital marketing, & tech solutions. She’s recently become an empty nester as her 5 foster/adoptive kids have spread their wings. She lives with her 5 dogs in a small town in NE Georgia and prefers the mountains to the beaches any day. She struggles with the travel bug and is doing her best to help each of her kids as their finish schooling and become independent (but it’s hard!) She has run her own consulting company for almost twenty years! Hope began sharing her journey with the BAD community in the Spring of 2015 and feels like she has finally in a place to really focus on making wise financial decisions.
Hope, in my opinion you are fine. My husband was laid off for 18 months. We cut back on everything except we kept cable. Everyone questioned why I kept it. I explained it was kinda like dieting. I had to keep something that we could enjoy, while missing out on everything else. If I had cut back and not had any pleasure, I was more likely to fail and do thing we couldn’t afford.
Don’t be so hard on yourself. You got this. I hope you have a wonderful thanksgiving.
Heather,
I totally get that…without some relief the temptation is there, well moreso, to maybe make a bad financial decision.
Thank you for your support and kind words, have a great Thanksgiving yourself!
yea I’ve said it before too. I think you just need to have a strong plan you can rely on when things are hard. It’s there so your brain can go on auto-pilot.
Also, you don’t speak much of friends. Do you have adult folks you can lean on? It’s hard as a single mom and you have way more than one kid! What about the folks in your home-schooling community? I seem to remember you said you guys come together for certain classes?
A burden shared is a burden lightened.
Hang in there hope. And keep blogging. Here is at least one person who doesn’t mind if all your posts are not financially focused. I will just keep reminding you that you need a solid plan you can stick to and it will get you through all these times.
Happy thanksgiving!
Unfortunately, my two “bestest” friends who I am comfortable just sharing EVERYTHING with moved away from here in the last couple of years…
Thankfully, one will be coming back for Thanksgiving. And one I talk to ALL the time on the phone.
It is trying as a single parent, especially these types of BIG financial decisions as there is really no one else with an “skin in the game” per se. Thus my time off from “planning” and just catching my breathe before I evaluate next steps.
Thank you so much for your kind words! Have a great Thanksgiving!
It’s a race to the finish, but everyone runs their own race. I would probably do the same things if I was in your shoes. Cut yourself some slack for the time being and then when life settles down, you can go hard at it then. Until then, just try not to add to debt.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Definitely agree, Steph…no NEW debt. And no big decisions for me…not til I get my head back on straight.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Bravo! You could barely cook a Thanksgiving for 5 for that price (ok, you could but the extras do add up!) And $25 a head for all-day babysitting is a bargain.
Is there something festive and free to do with the kids over the weekend? A parade or a Christmas tree lighting?
That was my thought as well when I started thinking of going out, AT! The kids are so excited…Little Gymnast has been asking to go to Golden Corral since July so I’m essentially killing two birds with one stone…fulfilling a desire of my children and giving myself a break.
Not to mention, even my 16 year olds can fill up there without breaking the bank which is really hard to do with a meal out.
Well, it isn’t completely free since you’d have to buy the popcorn, but a festive tradition you could start is watching holiday movies/specials while eating popcorn 🙂 There’s also the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in the morning you could watch as a family.
It sounds like the meal plan is a good value, and you’re saving yourself the stress of cooking and shopping!!
Great idea!
Take it easy, enjoy the holiday, sleep, laugh, eat well, count your blessings, and rest…..life will be waiting after the holiday for you to tackle it!
Oooh, sleep! Now that sounds great. In fact, one of the first lessons we are doing after this week is to make a sleepy time lotion…fun. I look forward to testing it out.
When I saw this post, my thought was “you can’t buy the ingredients for a Thanksgiving dinner for $66”. As a double-bonus, you won’t be cooking for 6+ hours either. Enjoy the restaurant meal and Happy Thanksgiving!!
The other thing is, given your other post today about the house sale … you really need this mental break until you can finally close the door on everything to do with the house. I won’t speculate about your Dad letting you know when he visits “what, if anything you will get from the house sale” …. sounds like you are still a bit bound up with all of that. Until you know what is happening there, you cannot move forward.
SO. Enjoy your holiday. Enjoy your Wednesday doing nothing but work without having to worry about your younger children. Don’t rush around Thursday morning! Take as long as you want at dinner (and with two bottomless pit teenagers, I bet you could spend a good while at the restaurant). Our Golden Corral gives complimentary after-dinner coffee. Get a cup and sit back and relax and have dessert. Relax some more and have something else. Take a long walk with your dogs. Watch movies and maybe take a nap.
Just go day by day until your parents’ visit and even then, take each day as it comes and don’t borrow worry or trouble. I hope the visit is pleasant, but I am reading between the lines and it seems it might be a bit nerve wracking.
You are really working hard and I know that you know that the best things come after you really work for them. Good luck to you and Happy Thanksgiving.