I haven't gotten far enough to have a real plan yet. I'd like to propose a plan to him, but I just don't have one. Right now I am still just consumed by the need to put out all of these debt fires that are burning around us.
We just chatted for about an hour on the phone and I feel like we're sort of stuck. We both want the same thing, ultimately, which is to be together more.
Here's the thing. For the past two years, he's grossed $100,000 annually. We have a good benefits package through his union, and he's paying into a great pension. He has a company vehicle, so we have no commuting expenses. He's a foreman, which means that he works before the labourers, so even when things are slow he gets work.
In comparison, the most he's ever made outside of this job is $18/hour and for grunt work and unreliable hours. More often, he made between $12-$14. Neither of us finished our post secondary, and if we had it wouldn't have been particularly helpful anyway, so finding work that pays well has been an issue. I'm only qualified to make minimum wage, really.
The idea of giving up the job, frankly, is scary. Because there is a very real possibility that we would fall back to the poverty line that we struggled to get above.
We discussed moving closer to his work, except that his work bounces around. Plus, housing expenses skyrocket as you move east, and the kids are settled here with school and their friends. Still, we are floating that as an option. The other option is to just look for another job and accept the pay cut.
Or, keep slugging on until we have leveraged ourselves into a better position and can live on less? Do we tough it out until our debts are basically cleared out?
We keep talking about buying property in Northern Ontario and building a tiny home. He would like to make a rally track and buy shitty cars to race around on it. I would like a small house with hardly anything in it. Someday. But I just don't know how to get there yet. It's scary to think of making big changes when we're finally making some progress towards financial stability and we have four little ones relying on us.