The Pinch

Some days I hate being an adult. My parents were the kind of parents who never talked about money in front of the kids. I'm sure they had their troubles and tight-spots, but we never knew. My mom was a stay-at-home mom for many years, and I know that had to take a bite out of their choices and options. But as far as I knew? Everything was ok. Stable. Oh, sure, there were things I wanted to do or buy that got answers like "that's too expensive" or "money doesn't grow on trees, you know!" But for the most part my childhood was a blissfully ignorant and secure environment where finances were handled and dispatched by the adults only.

Now I'm the adult. I suppose that means I am the one who is supposed to "handle and dispatch the finances." Blah! Thhhhhpppppp! That's what I say.

John and I both have good jobs. Our jobs are about as stable and secure as anyone's these days. We have a house, own one car and pay for another. We have good health insurance that has literally kept us from going bankrupt over the last two years, but the medical bills still add up. I have mountainous student loans that the government would like me to repay some day. Oh, and then there's that cute kid I write so much about. She likes to eat. And wear clothes that fit. And diapers....

There are CERTAINLY people who are in much tighter spots than us. But lately John and I have been feeling that pinch. That niggling uncertainty that we would be able to handle it if, god forbid, something calamitous happened. So, we've been going over the budget looking for areas to cut a little. Cable? Could we live without Noggin On Demand? Can we trim the cell phone bill? And we have been talking about ways to bring just a little more income into the house. Something to store away for a rainy day or pay off some of that debt hanging over our heads. Something to make the thought of bringing another hungry mouth into the family a little less financially overwhelming. But what to do??

Neither of us fancy the idea of getting a part-time job out of the home a few nights a week. We already feel like we rush through the evenings with so little of that precious time with Giuliana. Work at home seems like a good option, but everyone wants in on that, right? John has been looking at some free-lance writing sites. I've considered doing something like Pampered Chef. It has also been suggested that I make my blog work a little harder for me. I don't know how I feel about that, yet. I have much more research to do on monetizing. Is it a sell-out? What do you think? What about compensated reviews (if I could get them)? Damn! And I just missed BlogHer!!

What have you been doing to keep from flying off this roller coaster?