Wow, I'm indeed impressed with all the feedback and suggestions! This group is amazing! I feel like someday I will truly join the ranks....
Now that we have had more time to digest the info, look at our habits, goals, and shortcomings, I feel much better.
@galliver- you made a significant point. I as now know, our state a very strict laws on providing daycare. It involves home studies, background checks, licensing, waiting periods, etc. Those are all GREAT things, but they do make me feel less ready to tackle that route. I introduced the idea of cutting cable out totally, and hubby seemed onboard with it, or at least with the IDEA of it... My plan is to test the waters of Hulu and Netflix to see if we should go cold turkey, or use those as alternatives to cable.
@Peony- thank you for clarifying. Its a sensitive subject for me. I have to be mindful of that.
@ Avonlea- yes, that $650 is monthly. I feel torn sometimes that the $650 is "their" money and it should go to a separate savings account or something like that. On the other hand, our FI will have a great impact on their lives, and how we use the money that our family unit has, shouldn't be based on the income source. I felt really positive reading your comment. It was encouraging and uplifting. We are in a good spot overall, and things could be much worse. You mentioned something important also, the needs of the kids. My boy is a low needs child for certain! His sister however, is an extremely high needs child, both emotionally and medically. I wasn't going to bring her medical/developmental issues up on here, but those things do certainly play a role in our choice to have me stay home. I find myself busy keeping up with her needs, and she's only 5! I also hadn't considered that our home loan is only 2x his salary! Thanks for the kudos on the grocery bill! I love to cook and bake, and I think that helps keep that bill low-ish. I've seen similar sized families say they spend double this, and I wonder what on earth they are eating!!
@ zarfus- I'm cancelling the YMCA tomorrow. While my exercise of choice is power lifting, I know that I can make do for now. Perhaps if I really miss it, I could piece together a home gym from craigslist.... Our gas bill is high( car gas, not house natural gas) but I'm still not sure why. I feel like my driving is almost all kid based, and hubby goes to work most days(20 mins each way) on his motorcycle. I'd prefer to bike the kids around, but my daughters disability prevents that from being an option. This month we are tracking the fuel purchases so we can identify the problem(s).
@Mom to 5 - good point!
@ happy - I'm relishing my new role as Queen of the Dollars. I have a little notebook now and a special pen. I'm on a mission to make this be tight ship! For us, the student loan debt FEELS like hair on fire debt. It keeps me up at night, and stands in the way of us saying we have nothing but mortgage debt. I don't like it one bit. Its currently enemy #1!
@startingfromthestart - Verizon and Comcast are my next victims, after YMCA gets the proverbial ax. They have always felt icky to me, even if I didn't understand why. I realized when I told friends and family about our high cell bills, they all agreed that it was normal. RED FLAG! I don't want that life! I was thinking our utilities were pretty good. The natural gas/electric/water/trash total less than $150. Is that still too high? We don't use paper products other than tp, wash in cold and have mostly CFL bulbs (even if they are ugly!) I'd love even more suggestions if you have them! Our fuel for cars is insane however. I'm working on finding the source right away.
Thanks everyone again! I plan on posting soon with our new 2 year plan. Its exciting and scary!