Earn, Save, and Live Joyfully.
The sticker price of nursery furniture at baby stores left my husband and I shaking our heads. As we stumbled around the isles of Babies-R-Us we found a set of dressers we really liked. The problem: they cost over $500 each. We added them to our registry, but then quickly decided there was no way … Read more
A few weeks ago I received a rather large box in the mail from extended members of my husband’s family that live a few states away. It contained a plethora of gifts all wrapped in distinctive baby paper with beautiful ribbons and bows. (I had to take the ribbons off, because my cat seems to … Read more
As the weeks until my inevitable layoff dwindle I’ve begun hard core preparations for my soon-to-be life without a job. I’m a planner by nature so it certainly helped for me to put a plan in place and start checking off the list of things to do. First, I logged on to all of our … Read more
I received an email this afternoon asking me how long I intend to stay home after the baby is born. The honest answer is that I’m not quite sure. My employer will provide me with a severance package that is set to begin right around the time the baby is born. (That’s one nice thing … Read more
I realize that I’ve been writing a lot about baby stuff these days, but what can I say with our first little one on the way it’s hard to think about much else! I was wondering if anyone had thoughts on the value of baby care and/or birthing classes. Everyone I know seems to say … Read more
I would absolutely love to hear from any of my readers who temporarily or permanently left their careers behind to stay home with a child. While I am thrilled beyond belief to stay home with our little one this fall I can’t remember a time in my life when I did not have a job. … Read more
My husband and I are expecting our first child this fall. Ever since I found out I was pregnant I’ve been torn about returning to work after only 10 to 12 weeks of maternity leave. I just can’t imagine leaving the little one after such a short period of time and while I know women … Read more
My to-do list is perpetually growing. Somehow I keep looking at the list but making little to no progress with it. It’s not that I don’t try to get things done, it’s just that the universe is not cooperating. I called a bunch of places for baby related things like child care, but nothing could … Read more
You should’ve seen me yesterday. I must have opened ten different browser tabs, gnucash (our financial tracking software) and three different spreadsheets. My goal: to figure out just how much money we have and how much money I would like us to have before the baby makes his or her appearance. Our retirement accounts look … Read more
So friends and family have already started asking me if I’m registered. Seriously? I thought I could hold off until a few weeks before the little one is due, but new mothers tell me it takes a lot of time to research the safety aspects of the items I might want to receive. I have … Read more