In fact, Derek and I have been talking about it over the last few days - the choices we have made - and continue to make, to ensure that we are able to 'stay home' with our child - and how people approach - or think about - this issue. He found a VERY thought provoking article about daycare Should You Send Your Child To Day Care - it said EXACTLY what we think about the subject and why we would NEVER have made that choice. PLEASE read it if you are contemplating putting your child in daycare or pass on to someone that you know.
It is such an important issue!
A picture from last summer of Cassia - then just past 2 years old and Roofous sitting on the golf cart. The three of us go to work in the mornings - Cassia usually brings some toys with her to play with in the truck or she walks around in the forest and even helps to pull tags or weeds.
Anyway......
What I want to accomplish with this post is to offer a few resources in case a parent stumbles upon our blog who is at the point of wanting - or needing - to make a change in their lives -
to live simple,
to live frugal,
to stay at home with their child (ren).
Perhaps someone somewhere will inadvertently find this post and think -
YES - they did it - I can to!
A Life Made Simple - Hey! That's us! We are choosing to live a frugal and simple life so that we can be with our daughter - she is our first motivation, the second is have freedom in our lives and to quiet worrying about money. Our lifestyle is probably a bit too far out there for most as we do not have a home, or rent a home, and must find another place for 7 months when we are not working here at the parks. We live on about $22,000/year. Thankfully we can go to the USA or Mexico during the winter months where prices are lower than they are in Canada.
Here are a few of my favourite blogs from families whose lives are more traditional but still able to find away so that the mom's can be home with the children. Working towards a frugal lifestyle seems to be the key to making this happen for most.
The Peaceful Mom - I'm still a bit new to Kimberlee's blog but I think it has a lot to offer. Most of the frugal mom blogs I read are based on small children, I appreciate that Kimberlee and her husband's children are in their teens - or close to - who are homeschooled. Make sure to check out Kimberlee's series about living on less than $28,000 a year for a family of 6! So - if you are wondering how you can live on one income - The Peaceful Mom - just may have the answer for you. LOVE this site!
Frugally Sustainable - Andrea speaks openly about her CHOICE to stay home with her children and how her and her husband made it happen. Her Story will inspire you! There is a WEALTH of information on how to lower your expenses and to really make changes - and see changes - in your life. Her 23 Day Frugal Living Challenge series is a MUST read. This is one of my main go to blogs.
Homemade Mothering - Boy, do I love this blog - as much for the great design as the topics that Maureen covers. As you can read on her About page, Maureen is a stay at home mom living a simple life with her husband, and now 3 children, in a big city. Check out her New Frugality Page for lots of great links to worthwhile topics - such as Less Really is More. Really.
Penniless Parenting - The best way to start on the Penniless Parenting blog is the About page - Penny doesn't mince any words about her families situation and what her blog is about. The next place to head is to the Frugality page - a store house of many many useful tips.
The Prudent Homemaker - This blog is filled with good information about frugal living there is a long list of topics under the Frugal Living page. The one thing missing for me is the personal touch - who is the Homemaker! Here is a link to a very good list on how to Save Money.
I could go on and on about this topic! But I thought I would jut leave it at that tonight. In the weeks ahead I want to touch on a few other issues surrounding living the frugal life. I have so many blog post ideas in mind I don't know WHERE I will find the time to get them all in.
The camping season is really starting to set in - we have a long weekend coming up and all signs show it will be a busy few days. It's Wednesday night here at the parks and we are already getting busy!
Cheers,
Teresa
Today's Interesting Link: Here's one last frugal living site called The Frugal Girls. I haven't spent a ton of time on this site yet but hope to one day. It looks to have all sorts of resources and frugal living tips. They even have a FREE section - LOVE free!
I was going to pipe up the other day and say, "piffle" since that was the first thought that popped into my mind when I saw that figure of $234,900.
ReplyDeleteGimme a break!
If it's that much money, why would anyone have kids?
Anyway, I'm getting side tracked here, and that's not what I was going to say.
It's all about "choices". The folks who quote the day care figures as if it were some sort of "absolute" haven't come to grips with the notion that there are choices that can be made.
There's some sort of selfishness going on there when a career somehow takes precedence over child rearing. Which is not to say all Moms are good Moms. I'm sure there are some kids who benefit more from being in day care, but that's a whole other argument.
Sometimes the choices are limited. My wife's first husband was "less than ideal" shall we say? So she had to work. Case closed. Not long after we met etc., (they had parted company, and not amicably) and it became clear that she wanted to continue her education, that was the choice we made. Our resources were meagre to say the least.
It would have been wonderful to have had some parental help at that time, financially speaking or otherwise, but there was none. We managed.
If you were to ask our children today (35 and 40 respectively) they would tell you that that was a good choice since, in spite of sacrifices earlier on, they've been able to go places and do things that very few of their peers have ever been able to do.
Now, having said that, was there any other "outside help"? Yes, and fortunately it was a Mom whose kids were friends with our kids and so it was just a "home away from home" for them. We made monetary contributions when we could. We're friends to this day.
Daycare *shudder* would have been the absolute last resort, and I'm just glad we didn't have to go that route.
Is there an answer for everyone? No. But I don't think there are any absolutes either.
Everyone's mileage will vary.
You're doing it.
Best of luck to you.
Hey Bob! Sorry for the delay getting back to you - I've been thinking about your comment for days as I have been raking sites - I just haven't been able to get fingers to keyboard. Thanks for taking the time to let me know how it worked for you guys. I was thinking about the kids that are better in daycare then at home. I'm still not sure about that though.....for a child being with parents is probably still the best option for them from an emotional point of view. That is a tough one for sure!
DeleteAccording to our society - Derek would be considered 'less then ideal' also - he cannot work on his own in a job and therefore I am our bread winner. Case closed. That didn't work so well when I had Cassia and then wasn't able to leave her with Derek full time. That is why I suppose I am qualified to speak on this topic. I have a Masters of Architecture, and according to most I should be out working somewhere. But nope - I'm not going to do it. As I mentioned in response to another comment - I traded that for cleaning toilets and emptying garbages (among many other tasks) in order to be home with Cassia. The good thing about this job of course is that we work together and are allowed to figure out who does what, when. Our bosses are pretty hands off as long as the work gets done.
In the end you're right - it is all about choice - I just wish that more people these days would choose for time with their children then luxuries. No absolutes - nope.
Take care, T