Centsable Saving Stories (and Struggles): For the Mommas

Fast forward to 2007. My son was beginning kindergarten, and I wanted to be able to take him to school and pick him up from the bus. It wasn’t going to be possible with my current work schedule. I worked from 8am until 7pm, sometimes later. We had just purchased a large home and had a brand new, expensive car. It was then I realized nothing was going to change unless I reevaluated our life. I reasoned and rationalized with myself and went back and forth. I struggled with the fact that I worked so hard to get my MBA, and I wanted to use it. I felt entitled to the finer things!

As my son got a little further into the school year, I knew this wasn’t right. He would never remember that he had Mini Boden instead of Target pants on when he was five years old. However, he would remember Mommy was never around.

I scaled back my hours and took a pay cut. I was able to be home by 3:45, but still found myself ignoring him while I wrapped up business until 6-7pm. By the end of his kindergarten year, I knew it had to change. I decided to quit my job.

How was I going to do this on just my husband’s salary? Well, the key was we weren’t going to be able to keep doing what we were doing. I started clipping coupons, reading frugal blogs, shopping sales, going to the Goodwill and requesting freebies. I decided that I needed to figure out how to feed my family on $40.00 a week. I started finding free things for my family to do instead of expensive outings. I learned to be a better steward of God’s blessings, something I had taken for granted for so long.

I became a whole new person. My frugality has not only changed what brand clothes I wear, the car I drive and how much I spend on groceries, it has changed me as a person. I am no longer defined by things, I am defined as who I am as a person. I may shop at the Goodwill and hunt down a good grocery bargain, but beyond that being frugal has allowed me to be a be at home with my child and, therefore, a better Mommy.

I started blogging at For The Mommas because I wanted to give other Moms who might be in our situation an opportunity to see that it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. You don’t have to starve to stay home with your kids. You don’t have to give up everything. More importantly, you can still enjoy living while sticking to a budget!

Each week I feature a different shopper’s story. Centsable Savings Stories are the stories of people just like you who are working toward reducing their budgets, bargain hunting, living a more frugal lifestyle and constantly learning along the way. If you are interested in sharing your family’s successes and struggles, please contact me at centsable.katherine[at]gmail [dot]com. Bloggers and non-bloggers are both welcome to participate. Click here to read the stories of shoppers featured in the past.