Hey mamas and papas...
In the "Introduce yourself" topic, I noticed that the conversation turned to the topic of how we make a living to support our families. I think this is a great topic, so I thought I'd start a new thread so we could share our stories/ideas/rants, etc...
So, I'll start...
I''m a graphic artist, and have been since 1991. I've freelanced for most of those years, but I've taken "permanent" jobs a couple of times, that lasted for a year each time before getting laid off. Craig has been in the restaurant biz since he moved here in 1999--he started as a busboy and is now a manager. He makes $42K a year, and I make $36K a year, working part time for 9 months, and full time for 3 months. And believe it or not, we're just making ends meet.
In 2001, when we had only one child, we worked almost opposite schedules, so we only needed child care for 2 mornings a week, and we both worked locally, so we managed with one car. We made a combined income of $75K/year--just like now--but our expenses were so much less! Now we have 2 kids in daycare/school, our rent is $1520 for a 2-bdrm, plus 2 car payments. Our regular monthly expenses are about $4000 a month, not including "extras". Yikes!
I'm getting laid off in March, so I'll be on unemployment... but I'm starting up my own business... www.thistlegraphics.com/... so, I will have until September (when unemployment runs out) to get a decent client base! But at least with me working from home, we'll be able to reduce our childcare expenses.
In 2002 when I got laid off from my last job, I started massage school (at IPSB)... I thought that doing massage would enable me to make enough money part-time, and have a schedule that worked for my family. But it ended up being more trouble than that, for not enough $$, and then when I got pregnant with Aislinn, I didn't have the energy to massage people anymore. So, I went back to graphics.
What are your brilliant ways of supporting your family?
And feel free to rant, if that's what you need to do!
In the "Introduce yourself" topic, I noticed that the conversation turned to the topic of how we make a living to support our families. I think this is a great topic, so I thought I'd start a new thread so we could share our stories/ideas/rants, etc...
So, I'll start...
I''m a graphic artist, and have been since 1991. I've freelanced for most of those years, but I've taken "permanent" jobs a couple of times, that lasted for a year each time before getting laid off. Craig has been in the restaurant biz since he moved here in 1999--he started as a busboy and is now a manager. He makes $42K a year, and I make $36K a year, working part time for 9 months, and full time for 3 months. And believe it or not, we're just making ends meet.
In 2001, when we had only one child, we worked almost opposite schedules, so we only needed child care for 2 mornings a week, and we both worked locally, so we managed with one car. We made a combined income of $75K/year--just like now--but our expenses were so much less! Now we have 2 kids in daycare/school, our rent is $1520 for a 2-bdrm, plus 2 car payments. Our regular monthly expenses are about $4000 a month, not including "extras". Yikes!
I'm getting laid off in March, so I'll be on unemployment... but I'm starting up my own business... www.thistlegraphics.com/... so, I will have until September (when unemployment runs out) to get a decent client base! But at least with me working from home, we'll be able to reduce our childcare expenses.
In 2002 when I got laid off from my last job, I started massage school (at IPSB)... I thought that doing massage would enable me to make enough money part-time, and have a schedule that worked for my family. But it ended up being more trouble than that, for not enough $$, and then when I got pregnant with Aislinn, I didn't have the energy to massage people anymore. So, I went back to graphics.
What are your brilliant ways of supporting your family?
And feel free to rant, if that's what you need to do!
posted by:
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Los Angeles
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Re: Making a living
Thu, February 16, 2006 - 11:41 AMYep, I'll be ranting!....I'm a single mom, I was married for 6 (of the worst ever) years. I put myself through undergrad and grad school as a single mother. I have a bachelor's in Mathematics (graduated with honors) and a master's in education. I began teaching and eventually my ex and I moved here to LA, where I taught HS mathematics.
In the middle of the second year here, I left him (abuse) and moved myself and my daughter to a 2 bedroom in west LA. I quickly discovered that my salary would NOT cover our expenses (plus the credit card debt that all went to me b/c they were all in MY name, yet most of the purchases on them were HIS....He was from India, "it was just easier to have them in my name!"!), and I started having to skip meals so that my daughter could eat!
I picked up a second job, working as a coctail watress, Thursday and Friday nights and Saturday days. Thus, I was working as a teacher from about 7:00am until 3:30 (approximately, sometimes longer, but rarely were there days when I worked FEWER hours than that) 5 days a week. Then on TH and Fs I would work 6hr shift from 6pm to midnight. ANd on Saturdays, get up to be to work by 11:30, working a 7 hour shift.
PLUS....on any downtime, I had to do my grading (for 170 students), my lesson planning, my prep work for my classes.......And this schedule does NOT include if I had to stay late to meet with a parent, tutor any of my students, attend any of the sporting events/plays/musical performances that many of my students would ask me to attend.
Within 8 months of working THAT schedule, and still only scraping by, I utilized my math degree and got a job with an aerospace company doing engineering. This was sufficient to pay the bills and only work 40hrs a week....until this past year.
Since just over a year ago, my daughter has been through 2 in-patient dual-diagnosis treatment centers and 1 out-patient. The $$$$ that I have had to spend over this past year for supplementing these things (insurance has paid the actual fee for her stays, but things like having to eat dinners out 3 times a week for 3 months, and putting an average of 50 extra miles on my car per day for 3 months,....then there was the required visits to Reno for the weekend a few times, including hotel stay, and NO playing or gambling by the way!) has completely broken me again....my CCs are almost maxed out, my car broke down at the beginning of Jan, costing me MORE $$$$$! I am at the point again now trying to decide which bills to pay each month. My credit has gone to complete sh*t and, by the way....I have not had anything in a savings acct for almost 10 years now. I find myself seriously considering going back to that old coctail waitressing thing again...but OMG! HOW on earth is this even okay?!.....
Oh, and within the timeframe that I left my ex and now, I was dating this guy for about 2 years, we lived together (and actually still do, but now as roommates, b/c we both refuse to be the one to move out....me b/c well...I CAN"T AFFORD IT! and my daughter NEEDS stability....him...not a clue, just being stubborn I suppose).
Anyway, so this ex-bf whom I still live with as roommates, was abnormally pretrified that he would lose me (ironic, I know) to the point of being overtly terrified that I would die on him. So the time came for me to get a new car, b/c the one I was driving completely broke down on me. My ex strongly "encouraged" me to buy this damn used Volvo, which I DID NOT WANT, b/c volvos are the safest cars.....So I agreed to buy it contingent on the agreement that he would help me make my payments b/c I wasn't buying it for ME, I was buying it for him.
Of course, I have 6 more years of paying it off, no more warrentee and since I left him, he doens't help with the payments anymore. So I am stuck with a car I DON'T want paying WAY TOO MUCH a month payment! Wow, seems to be a re-occuring pattern that I get the financial burdens of my ex's plate on me!
The good news....I haven' t had to resort to skipping meals yet.....
And in the end, as I have struggled to scrape by and pay the bills for the last 5 years....my daughter has been the one who has had to suffer the most, b/c not only did she lose a "father", not only did she lose more financial stability, but she also has lost her mother in some ways.....And I think I have said this before.....I'd sell my soul today, to be able to stay at home with her and put my energies into raising her...and not into how I plan to put food on the table today!
