HE GOT ONE!!!! - A Job!

..... and breathe out!    I am so relieved and thankful for blessings.   Hubby has been out of work since before Christmas.  Its been a challenging time ratcheting down our lifestyle but i/we have learned some valuable lessons.   I have learnt to shop better (by actually looking at prices and changing to Aldi and fresh food markets) and to be more frugal.  We have enjoyed more home cooked meals and none of us lost weight so there must have been enough food.  I have grown as a person during this time, learning to reach out and not be so independent.  I have learnt to accept help gladly without feeling burdened by guilt or shame.   These are all skills i can now take forward into the future and without having to struggle these lessons would not have been learnt.

First job is to lock this second income away.    We have a little catchup to do on the mortgage and school fees but i am proud to say that we did not add one cent to the credit card balance and all the bills were/are paid.  To have made it through the silly season where most people double their credit card debt, to have got through preparation for senior school and several birthdays (including a 16th) I believe is an achievement.  So, if we can do it for 4 months then we can keep on doing it. 

I could not have been done this however unless we had pulled together as a family.   Thanks to my two men for keeping a tight reign on expenditure and not making life difficult when we had to do without.  As an accountant, i wear the financial pants, but it takes a team effort to make it work.

We will go back to our $50/week personal allowance each as history has shown that we both need to be able to purchase something without feeling like we a taking from the family income.  I have a coffee habit to feed and Hubby has a thing for electronic thingys.  Neither of us drink or smoke so our needs are pretty low key.

One last thank you and its a big one.  Thank you Hubby.  He was mortified to be put off work.   He places a lot of importance on his role as a provider but also as a skilled tradesman his self esteem took a big hit.  During this last 4 months he has applied for over 40 jobs.  Several times he was short listed and down to the last few but did not get the job.  This was exhausting emotionally and is like a roller coaster for everyone.  I want to thank him for not giving up, even when he wanted to.  When he got too bad, he went to counselling to get help.  That was brave. 

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