Our lovely daughter is 16 months old. When she was nought but a line on the pregnancy test (and some lovely feelings of constant nausea), My Man was worried about money. I didn't understand his worries, I mean - we both had pretty good incomes, and his sister manages to raise two kids on dramatically less. I was sure we would be fine.
Now I understand his worries. We have bought a flat, moving in a week before she was born, and filled it with stuff. Lots of the stuff we owned prior to moving here, but lots of it we didn't. We have managed to gain lots of credit card debt as well. I went back to work, for a few months, but it was only sustainable because I had accrued so much annual leave whilst I was on Maternity leave. When I was facing down bringing home less than £2/hour because of the ridiculous childcare costs, I decided to quit. Work was killing my mood and making me enjoy being a mother less. I didnt like being away from my lovely little girl. The company was misbehaving with regards to me expressing milk anyway - I was forced to express milk in the loo once. All in all it just generally became a situation I wanted to be out of.
Anyway, back to the issue at hand. Through the podcast called "Slow Your Home" I have discovered A Better Way. Simple Living & Minimalism. Adopting a lifestyle which rejects consumerism. Sounds Amazing, they way they describe it. Having time to spend with your family, instead of spending time trying to corral objects in to spaces again and again? Spending time with your family, instead of having to do loads of overtime to pay for a life that you aren't even enjoying because all you do is work? We need this in our lives.
But how?
Our current biggest stressor is Finances, so that is what I am working on now. I am reading a ebook called Unautomate Your Finances, from the guy who started the Man Vs. Debt community. Seems good so far - I'm looking forward to getting to the practical advice and getting stuck in.
After we feel like we have a bit of a handle on the Finances, I will tackle the Stuff.
