Before I started working at

Before I started working at the drs office in December Dean & I decided we would start to have separate checking accts. I’ve always been in charge of the checkbook and paying bills for us, for 4 years I’ve done so. But I never had it right on the dot when it came to matching my balance with the real balance, but who does? So Dean would have his to use and I mine. Dean is much better at these things, or much better at anything, if it involves the use of a computer, so instead of keeping a handwritten ledger he starting downloading the acct info into quicken. This made it hard for me since I am so used to using the check book. Not that I am opposed to change, but people have different learning styles, and money is hard enough to deal with let alone changing how you do your accounting majorly. So my acct was always w/in 10 cents of the acct balance, but our joint acct which Dean is in charge of, has been falling to shambles. Right now our quicken balance is negative yet we have money in our real acct. Today I printed out 4 months of statements from the internet and the statements from quicken to figure out what was wrong with it. I found 2 different dates of groceries in quicken but that never went through the bank. Now how often does the supermarket not take your money when they swipe your card? So only thing we can think is that maybe we used one of our other bank accts or charge accts for those transactions yet somehow it got recorded and taken out of the acct in quicken. Who knows. Point is, it’s annoying. We think we have money, I mean there’s not any checks uncashed out there and no pending credits/debits to the acct so the money they say is there must be, right? All I have to say is that we should have stuck with one acct and the paper ledger. I had no problem sorting it out today but then again I did print it all out and used a good old pencil to mark things off, there is something to be said for good old fashioned accounting.

The last few weeks, as I have been enjoying my stay at home mom status I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on things and especially things about our home and family. We didnt know if we’d be able to afford my not working, but it’s just now we are having money problems and they are mostly just problems figuring out what acct is being used when. When we lived in Ohio, we paid a measly $525 rent for a 2 bedroom townhouse and it was just Dean & I. Now we have Caleb, and a 6 bedroom house that we pay $800/ month for it( but once the paperwork goes through to buy the house it should be less). So the new expenses of a house, a baby, and a cost of living increase would have been enough to put us way behind on things but then cut it down to one paycheck and things should get scarcer right? Meanwhile we still manage to make it through, week after week. Blessing after blessing. If you visited our house you’d never know we weren’t doing well financially. The house is big to begin with then we have very nice furniture that was all given to us, but it’s so nice. Very expensive and it matches up to the standard of how well we’ve remodeled the house. So if you just saw our lives from the outside you’d think, for their age they sure have it together. But do we? Sure do. We get by. Caleb has toys, clothes, food, bed and many unnecessary items. We have what we need and we even splurged on a dvd player a month ago. Can’t help but wonder how we got this far. About five years ago I up and moved with just a few suitcases of clothes and little money if any at all to Ohio with Dean. Neither of us were holding jobs or had a place to live. I look around at our home and see our adorable son in his cute outfits, playing with tons of toys, amidst a newly decorated house with expensive furniture and can only be grateful for every blessing we have. I am starting to get mad at myself for buying Pepsi because we could just as easily enjoy a no name soda and save some money, but do we, no. We buy the best of the best, usually only on sale, but still. There are so many people so less fortunate than us. Day after day I am able to sit at home and play with my son while single moms struggle with 2 or 3 jobs and finding daycare. We’re not financially set in any way, like I said, we get by week after week, sometimes day by day, but we still have everything we need. For once we’ve established a savings acct, not much in it, but it’s enough for a week of groceries if need be. I hate to think we’ve been married so long and still have no savings or even a checking acct with enough money to spare, but why do we need it? Sure it would be nice to have more money and not have to worry about it, but then wouldnt we just spend it? I think it’s much easier to appreciate what you have when you dont have much to begin with.

I am doing so much better emotionally lately, probably due to the shift in weather. Who can be down when its a bright sunny day and you dont need a coat!? That and I think I’m beginning to accept this mom thing as my true calling, God gave us a son and who better to meet his needs than his mom. Caleb’s starting to get fussy with strangers, but not always. It comes and goes. But he’s also been very clingy with Dean & I. If I leave the room he starts getting fussy. Almost to the point I cant get much done, but then other times he’s content to play with his toys and doesnt even worry about where we are. Speaking of my angel, nap times over and so is mommy’s free time.