The Reality of It

I was talking to my close friend yesterday who has two sons. She has always thought she was going to have a third child but now she says she is on the fence. There were reasons that she told me and then unfortunately, I brought up the one that none of us likes to admit is kind of a legitimate reason to stop expanding the family.

Money.

It is a family's choice how children will be raised. Going to daycare. At home with mom. At home with a baby-sitter. At home with some other family member. There are obviously  multiple ways to choose how your family brings in money and who spends the days with the kids.

For many families, the choice is for the wife to stay home and the husband to go to work. For my friend and I, this is what our families have chosen. However, it makes things a little tight around the spending area. Not saying that two-income families have things easy by any means but this is the subject that we got on. With the way our economy is these days, it is hard to fathom having a big family and being able to live on one income.

It then brings me to the question of: Why do we want a lot of kids or a bigger family?


I grew up with one sibling and Ben grew up with two. I think I always liked the idea of maybe having another sibling or two. I don't know why I just did. So growing up, I thought I would have four kids. I think Ben always liked that idea too. After having our first child, we have realized many challenges with a baby that I think we didn't expect but all that aside, the reality of one income and the cost of raising children has reared it's ugly head.

This realization makes me sad. I don't think a reason for not having as many children as you like should be money. I do think there are ways to make it work but it takes sacrifice somewhere. If we want Ben to be in a position of many long work hours I think we know ways and where he can fit in to make a hefty salary to support us. However, we want a dad that is present for our family and not one that we see every once and awhile. We have always been very clear about that.

My friend and I were just commiserating on the fact that we don't want money to be a reason to stop having babies, but in reality, I think that is a reason. It is sad and scary how much life costs these days. But it is what it is and we all get by somehow. We are so fortunate for what we do have and thankful to be stay at home moms with husbands willing to support us and our family choices. Whether she has one more and whether I have one, two or three more, is obviously up in the air and will work itself out but it doesn't hurt to look into the future a bit and try to see what lies ahead.

But, hey, anytime this economic downturn wants to upturn would be just dandy!

The Best Deal

Does anyone else out there get overwhelmed by getting the best price possible on items? I mean, don't get me wrong, I love a good deal just as much as the next person however, sometimes it is a little exhausting to research, research and research. There are so many websites these days with coupons, still the trusty ol' newspaper comes out with coupons, there are manufacturer's coupons, rebates, etc. I get daily emails from Groupon, Rue La La {not really that interesting to me anymore. In fact, I've never even purchased anything from there.} and look forward weekly to the grocery store ads that come my way. I am actually fortunate of the fact that I have three grocery stores within three miles of our house and one more within about ten miles. Getting the best deal from a grocery store is actually kind of a game for me. I enjoy perusing the ads and then jetting to the proper store to receive the best deal. I have even taken a look at The Krazy Coupon Lady in hopes that someday I could be even a quarter of the discount shopper these pros are.

It can almost get to the point sometimes of talking myself out of buying things because I think there will be a better deal at certain times. Sometimes-yes, sometimes-no. When I see others getting these great deals on things it makes me envious that I didn't get it or find it. I know it all takes time and a little effort but hey, I think it pays off when I am sitting with satisfaction in the fact that I got what I think to be a "good deal."

In the next few months, we are in the market for a new camera, carpet, and various home improvement purchases and you can bet we will be searching and searching and....searching some more to get those "deals."

What ideas do you have for seeking out deals? Any special websites you prefer to print coupons from?