Here is the old thread:
http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ask-a-mustachian/case-study-here-we-go/msg867237/#msg867237Notes on the new job. The new job is a lot better than the old, unfortunately it just doesn't pay very well and I am now driving fifty miles round-trip each day.
We no longer have daycare expenses like we did last November. My mother in law came out of work and keeps our youngest daughter now. We pay her $100 a week, so that works out to $5200 a year. Still a cost, but not as much as it was.
One of our kids no longer does gymnastics. That was costing us a pretty good bit, but we don't have that expense anymore.
In the previous thread you probably saw the mention of the motorhome included with my vehicles. We finally got to the point where we were so tight that we had no choice but to sell it. I have still not told my grandfather about this and I am not looking forward to the conversation when he does call and ask how it's doing.
We still have the same other two vehicles. We got fortunate and a family member had a small fuel efficient vehicle that they let me borrow to drive back and forth to my new job until I could save up to buy myself something -which isn't going too well.
The vehicle issues start there.
The first is that my wife's car just passed 200k miles. It is falling apart. The second problem is that since I am not making enough money to actually save any money, I have not been able to save anything towards buying my own vehicle for my work commute. I have driven the vehicle loaned to me for almost six months now. I ended up buying tires for it about a week ago.
I went ahead and bought tires for my wife's car as well. Both vehicles tires have been pushed to the limit. I actually drove the loaned vehicle until I had two blowouts in the same trip, so I had no choice but to buy tires for it.
This was the last purchase made with my credit card, which was over $600 for both sets.
I'm a little irritated with myself because I cannot seem to get a working budget and we are pretty much in the same place that we were 10 months ago when I started the original case study.
The pay situation is stupid, but there is not much I can do about it. Moving to another state is not an option for us. That would mean uprooting everything. My side business requires a work space, which I built for the second time in a detached garage / work shop when we moved into our current home. If I moved, I'd have to do that all over again.
With the one hour work commute, I am back in that 10 - 11 hours a day thing. I do get my weekends off but I still don't have much time for the side business. It is a balancing act that I have struggled with since I started the business. I don't want to miss my kid's childhoods and the way it's been for the past decade or so. I have to pick between either doing the side business or spending time with my family, and that is very difficult as you can probably imagine.
I kind of thought that the new job would change my life. It did to an extent, but I am still very unhappy and just generally tired of working for someone else. While the new job is better, since I am new I have no vacation time and I have no respect because I am the new guy. This is something that I will have to get over. It is just tough going from being respected and trusted at work to having to go through the years it takes to earn it again.
My wife's position was also discussed in great detail in the original case study thread. She did end up taking a position in her institution and was given a pretty significant raise. She is expecting another raise before Christmas that should give her another decent jump. We are not sure how much though. I know it is the "counting chickens before they hatch" thing, but hopefully it will come along.
The bottom line is that I know cutting our expenses will help a little, but the way I see it, the only thing that will truly change our lives is a significant pay increase. I'm not sure how to do that other than changing jobs again or going back to school for some degree..both of which I am neither financially prepared for or have much interest in doing.
My side business would make some money, but I don't know how much. I don't know if it would be enough to support us. My wife could carry health insurance through her employer bit it will cost double what my rates are..at which point it would be pointless for her to work. Where mine will be roughly $100 weekly, hers at her employer would cost $200 weekly.
I do know one thing for sure. I will never be able to put the dedication and effort I want into my side business while working a normal job. It is pretty much the same as working two jobs, and I would never see my family.
At this point I could quit and try to go full steam ahead with the side business, but I don't know if it will be successful or if it will be enough to pay our bills. Since I am basically the "bread winner," losing my income without being able to replace it could be catastrophic for us. I have to have health insurance and I'm 99% sure I'd never be able to afford it on my own buying from "the marketplace." I have several friends that do run their own businesses in that situation that do not have insurance because they can't afford it. I don't really have that option with two children at home.