The Dreaded Lay Off

Hubby Laid Off

We have always known the dreaded pink slip could be coming but this week will be my hubby's last on the job for who knows how long. We have enough saved to live on for quite a while and with unemployment and a quick lifestyle adjustment we will won't have to touch much of the savings. Not that I want to live on unemployment for a long time but it will allow us a few weeks to get some things done together and give us some quality time to spend together.

I am looking forward to the quality time I will get to spend with Ryan. He works 6-7 days a week most of the time and lives on a third shift schedule. I only get to see him in the evenings for a few hours each night. Hopefully he will go on a day shift schedule until he gets called back or finds a better job. That way we can spend a lot more time together.

What Does the Future Hold

The other great thing about this lay off is that my hubby can explore other career options. I have always known that he is not excited to go to work each day so I plan to encourage him to think about what he would like to do. We can make a plan to make it happen even if he really does want to be a goat or ostrich farmer.

I hope it looks like my dreams of having a small farm that produces much of our own food but also generates other types of income. If it doesn't I just have to try to think outside the box and see how we can meld our dreams together. Now that he has time to think I want to give him that freedom.

I had a big segment typed on a few other things I wanted to vent about but I think I will save that for another post. Right now things are okay but there are some issues we need to pan out. I am thinking we might have the time now to really discuss these issues before I write about them. As I was writing I realized that we are polar opposites on these issues because of our spending/selling styles.

I realized that because of our lack of quality time together we don't really want to spend what time we do have hashing out the issues we don't agree on. It would not be fair to write a long public post complaining about them until we both understand where the other is coming from.

Other Money Saving Ideas
Well I am hoping to learn to make a few things at home that will save money but I am not sure it works that way anymore. I was thinking with my bread maker it would be cheaper to make my own bread but I can't really tell. So if any one has frugal bread recipes please send them my way. I am going to make some freezer jam this evening and start having eggs and toast for breakfast. It is more filling and it is cheaper that the kinds of cereal I eat.

As long as we are on food I also plan to make meals with the things I already have in the house in mind. This will only cut the grocery bill until my cupboards, fridge and freezer are empty but it is always a good thing for me to try to use what I have.

I have not had the heat on much even though it gets cold at night, I just don't want to pay the high gas bill anymore. I have it turned down to like 40 so it does kick on if it gets below freezing but that and the use of natural light instead of turning lights on when it is sunny should save me a few dollars a month. We also don't plan to turn the A/C on this year unless it just gets down right nasty. Since we can barley hit 60 right now I doubt that will be any time soon.

As you might already know I have chickens and right now they are costing me a little money but eventually they will help lower my grocery bill. When they are producing eggs regularly they provide eggs for me and I will be able to sell the surplus to family and friends to cover the cost of keeping the chickens. While I am not going to get rich with six hens I will be able to cover my costs and eat fresh yummy eggs.

Please if you have some easy money saving tips for me sent them my way. You can always email me at sundcarrie@gmail.com.