Well a few days have passed and we are kicking home based business into high gear. My husband registered as a Pampered Chef consultant and already has 6 parties committed! Five are booked in March! I'm really excited about that.
Then it was my turn. I've decided to go ahead with piano lessons. SO, we had to start cleaning out the new "piano room". Last night, we started moving the toys out of that room and suddenly it looked like a tornado had blown through the house. It was one of those you have to make a bigger mess before you can clean it up type things. We got the piano room cleared out and moved a desk and a piano in there. I will post pictures as soon as I take some.
Our old office has now become the toy room and half of it will eventually be turned into the school room. As we finished what we were going to last night, my husband and I sat down to watch a movie and I had one of those "this is really happening" moments. You know those moments you have when your life is going through a major transition... I've had a few over the years, like graduating from high school, starting my first "office" job, getting married, having a child, having TWINS, and now this. Like many of those other situations, this is an all-in full blown commitment. There is no half way otherwise we won't make it. So here's to the next steps!!!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Less than 150 days
I finished reading Women Leaving the Workplace. It was such an awesome read the second time around. Instead of just reading and wishing I could stay home, I was able to glean good advice and tips for making our transition work.
Yesterday I went to a Home school group. I had to leave early, but it was fun to have a glimpse into what the future could hold. And a big thanks to a good friend for hooking me up with some free curriculum. The kids were excited too. My oldest is now asking me "Is homeschooling definite yet?" Since I don't want him to go to school and announce to his class and teachers that he will be home schooled next year, I've been holding them off on how close we are.
My husband is considering selling Pampered Chef. Yes, I'm serious. The initial investment is WAY lower than other home based businesses. If he can get 4 people to commit to hosting a party before signing up, he's going to go for it. We figure it's worth a shot. If it doesn't do well, nothing was lost.
I've been struggling with the piano lesson concept. One, I'm not sure where students would come from, two, if I'd be any good at it, and three, if I'd make any decent money from it because of 1 and 2. The clock is ticking though. Less than 150 days!! And we have a considerable amount of income to find before then. Okay Lord, open up the windows of heaven.... we're ready.....
I think!
Seriously though, I have learned so many times that His timing is perfect.
Yesterday I went to a Home school group. I had to leave early, but it was fun to have a glimpse into what the future could hold. And a big thanks to a good friend for hooking me up with some free curriculum. The kids were excited too. My oldest is now asking me "Is homeschooling definite yet?" Since I don't want him to go to school and announce to his class and teachers that he will be home schooled next year, I've been holding them off on how close we are.
My husband is considering selling Pampered Chef. Yes, I'm serious. The initial investment is WAY lower than other home based businesses. If he can get 4 people to commit to hosting a party before signing up, he's going to go for it. We figure it's worth a shot. If it doesn't do well, nothing was lost.
I've been struggling with the piano lesson concept. One, I'm not sure where students would come from, two, if I'd be any good at it, and three, if I'd make any decent money from it because of 1 and 2. The clock is ticking though. Less than 150 days!! And we have a considerable amount of income to find before then. Okay Lord, open up the windows of heaven.... we're ready.....
I think!
Seriously though, I have learned so many times that His timing is perfect.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Just keep pressing on...
In the Larry Burkett book, Women Leaving the Workplace, one of the Transition Planning steps is to "Set a realistic but definite date to quit." In that same section of the book, Larry writes:
"Once you and your spouse have determined that this decision is God's plan for you, allow nothing to deter you from that path"
It's amazing, now that I've come to the realization that this IS God's plan for us. Satan has been working hard to deter us. First it was frustration with the kids. If you read back through my posts, you'll know exactly when that hit :-)
Second was a focus on materialistic things. I started thinking "I will never get a new couch", "we will never go on vacation again", "I am never going to have nice things again". Would you believe within a few days of those thoughts coming, Chip Ingram did a series on Materialism on his broadcast through Living On The Edge ministries. I quickly realized that was an attack of Satan's.
Then the disappointment with the taxes. I had all these plans of how it could come together and where the money would go.
Then the latest thing.... things have been breaking like crazy around the house. Oh and not the small stuff... things like my laptop is dead in the water. The replacement part is about $70. Because of where my husband works, we could probably buy a new laptop for around $300. The part that broke has to do with where the plug goes and because of normal wear and tear (and children) it became loose and would not charge the battery any more. The problem is that it is pretty likely we may have this issue again. Then my two year old twins got their hands on our DVD player and broke the drive that holds the DVD. It will open but won't close AND won't play. This is definitely the second DVD player and maybe even the third they have broke in the past year. At this point, I just had to laugh.
We are continuing to press on...
"Once you and your spouse have determined that this decision is God's plan for you, allow nothing to deter you from that path"
It's amazing, now that I've come to the realization that this IS God's plan for us. Satan has been working hard to deter us. First it was frustration with the kids. If you read back through my posts, you'll know exactly when that hit :-)
Second was a focus on materialistic things. I started thinking "I will never get a new couch", "we will never go on vacation again", "I am never going to have nice things again". Would you believe within a few days of those thoughts coming, Chip Ingram did a series on Materialism on his broadcast through Living On The Edge ministries. I quickly realized that was an attack of Satan's.
Then the disappointment with the taxes. I had all these plans of how it could come together and where the money would go.
Then the latest thing.... things have been breaking like crazy around the house. Oh and not the small stuff... things like my laptop is dead in the water. The replacement part is about $70. Because of where my husband works, we could probably buy a new laptop for around $300. The part that broke has to do with where the plug goes and because of normal wear and tear (and children) it became loose and would not charge the battery any more. The problem is that it is pretty likely we may have this issue again. Then my two year old twins got their hands on our DVD player and broke the drive that holds the DVD. It will open but won't close AND won't play. This is definitely the second DVD player and maybe even the third they have broke in the past year. At this point, I just had to laugh.
We are continuing to press on...
Friday, February 11, 2011
The Silver Lining
So last post, I mentioned our taxes. I wasn't as bummed as I thought I would be.... at this point, I just know I have to trust God and it has to be Him anyway! I knew there were a few ways we were going to save up money. So I finally took the time to add up what we anticipated we would be saving over the next 6 months. Praise the Lord it added up to about $3750. It requires us to be diligent and not take that money for other things, but it is very doable. On every dark cloud there is a silver lining if you look for it.
I fear though with the taxes being lower than we thought, that some of our "plans" will have to be substituted. The first thing I thought of was to do an online public school instead of traditional homeschooling. That would save me the cost of curriculum. Some have suggested, however, that that is not a good idea.
My parents are celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary this year and my sister and I were hoping to throw them a surprise celebration. We were each going to contribute $1000 towards a catered party. Now, I'm not sure what we'll be able to do if anything. (I type this anticipating my parents will not read this blog, they're not the computing type)
We purchased a car early in the summer of 2010 and currently owe more on it than it's worth. We are anticipating that we will need to sell it come June/July and need to put some money down on it to get it to a sellable price.
So many decisions.... so little time.... good thing I don't need to worry about it. God is in control. I will put my trust in Him.
I fear though with the taxes being lower than we thought, that some of our "plans" will have to be substituted. The first thing I thought of was to do an online public school instead of traditional homeschooling. That would save me the cost of curriculum. Some have suggested, however, that that is not a good idea.
My parents are celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary this year and my sister and I were hoping to throw them a surprise celebration. We were each going to contribute $1000 towards a catered party. Now, I'm not sure what we'll be able to do if anything. (I type this anticipating my parents will not read this blog, they're not the computing type)
We purchased a car early in the summer of 2010 and currently owe more on it than it's worth. We are anticipating that we will need to sell it come June/July and need to put some money down on it to get it to a sellable price.
So many decisions.... so little time.... good thing I don't need to worry about it. God is in control. I will put my trust in Him.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Swiper, no swiping
My kids love to watch Dora. Every episode, Dora and her friend, Boots go on a journey to find something or deliver something. And in every episode, somewhere in the middle, Swiper, the fox, tried to steal what they are delivering. Sometimes he succeeds and sometimes he is conquered by yelling "Swiper, no swiping. Swiper, no swiping. Swiper, no swiping." When Swiper succeeds in getting the "goods", Dora and Boots pursue him and reclaim what is rightfully theirs.
I am having a Dora moment in my life. God has given me a journey; laid out enough instructions in front of me to head in the right direction. And that stinkin fox, Satan, tries to rob me of what God has given me. He continues to try and bring discouragement in a number of ways.
A huge dependency in my head was our tax return. I was hoping to get around $6000 back which would cover many of the things we need to pay off and still leave a buffer to quit on. (All of you who are thinking why do you loan the government that much money, I know, I know - but this is how we do it here. I like getting the chunk of money) I started inputting the information. We started out at $6700... cool not bad. Then I started putting in my husbands info. Apparently the amount of taxes they take out on his paycheck is enough based only on his income. As soon as you put the two together, we're bumped up into another tax bracket and it wasn't even close to enough. Down, down, down went the tax return. I think we'll end up around the $2000 mark. What do we do now?
We stand and yell "Swiper, no swiping" and believe in faith that if this is God's will, HE WILL PROVIDE.
I am having a Dora moment in my life. God has given me a journey; laid out enough instructions in front of me to head in the right direction. And that stinkin fox, Satan, tries to rob me of what God has given me. He continues to try and bring discouragement in a number of ways.
A huge dependency in my head was our tax return. I was hoping to get around $6000 back which would cover many of the things we need to pay off and still leave a buffer to quit on. (All of you who are thinking why do you loan the government that much money, I know, I know - but this is how we do it here. I like getting the chunk of money) I started inputting the information. We started out at $6700... cool not bad. Then I started putting in my husbands info. Apparently the amount of taxes they take out on his paycheck is enough based only on his income. As soon as you put the two together, we're bumped up into another tax bracket and it wasn't even close to enough. Down, down, down went the tax return. I think we'll end up around the $2000 mark. What do we do now?
We stand and yell "Swiper, no swiping" and believe in faith that if this is God's will, HE WILL PROVIDE.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Play me a song...
I've been thinking a lot lately about how to supplement the income after I quit and the possibilities I laid out in my last post. I received an email from a good friend with her thoughts. I ran the ideas past my mom as well. The advice I received was pretty much the same from both of them, 1 - consider start up costs, and 2 - do something you love. I started reading Women Leaving the Workplace by Larry Burkett again. He offers the same advice, you need to do something you are passionate about for it to work over the long haul.
So the options...
1. Systems consultant - This is probably the most time consuming and currently a conflict of interest with my current job to do this for anyone else. I would be hard pressed to do this type of work in the evenings and weekends. Therefore, for right now, this one is on hold.
2. Video Editing - My husband and I have done video editing in the past. We have a lot of equipment to do weddings and other special events. However, technology has changed a lot since we bought our equipment. Since our cameras are not equipped to video in HD (high definition), we would be behind the 8-ball in booking events. It would be a significant investment to purchase new HD cameras and editing software. Additionally, because we were working full time, this was a skill that we did not have time to grow and enhance. Therefore, our work was pretty mediocre. I would love to pursue this further and maybe once I quit I'll have a little more time to invest in learning more.
3. Piano lessons - this appears to me to be the most viable option at this point. I have been playing piano for 26 years and currently play for our church worship team. The start-up cost would be minimal as I would teach the lessons out of my home and I already own a piano. Secondly, I have a room right off of our foyer for the kids toys that could be converted into a piano studio and used to teach out of. This is also something I could start soon. I am prayerfully considering moving in this direction. Hence the title of this post... :-)
4. Lastly the jewelery. My mom thought I was crazy for even considering it. There is a start up cost associated although it would be doable with our tax return. The main struggle here is that I don't even currently wear jewelery. I think if I wanted to sell something, I should sell something I have an interest in.
So, that is the story. We'll see where the path leads.
On a praise report note, I received my annual salary review at my current job and got a raise that should net us another $140 a month. That money will go right into savings to help as a buffer for the transition period. Thank you Lord!
I feel as though we are heading into the home stretch leading up to July. There seems to be a fixed amount of money that we can bring in before that date arrives and many things to take care of. I'm praying that our tax return which should be sizable this year will cover many of the needed items.
Our pastor's wife advised us to try and live on my husbands income from now until then to help with the transition. There are so many costs that we won't have after I quit that it hard for me to separate them. For example, we currently pay ~ $150/month for our cell phone bill. After I quit, my husband will still carry a cell phone, but I won't. We're expecting the bill to be down around the $40 mark. It's hard to separate that out and pay the bill accordingly. However, we've decided that we're going to open another account and do our best. I'm hoping that some additional dollars will be able to be put into savings by doing this as well.
So the options...
1. Systems consultant - This is probably the most time consuming and currently a conflict of interest with my current job to do this for anyone else. I would be hard pressed to do this type of work in the evenings and weekends. Therefore, for right now, this one is on hold.
2. Video Editing - My husband and I have done video editing in the past. We have a lot of equipment to do weddings and other special events. However, technology has changed a lot since we bought our equipment. Since our cameras are not equipped to video in HD (high definition), we would be behind the 8-ball in booking events. It would be a significant investment to purchase new HD cameras and editing software. Additionally, because we were working full time, this was a skill that we did not have time to grow and enhance. Therefore, our work was pretty mediocre. I would love to pursue this further and maybe once I quit I'll have a little more time to invest in learning more.
3. Piano lessons - this appears to me to be the most viable option at this point. I have been playing piano for 26 years and currently play for our church worship team. The start-up cost would be minimal as I would teach the lessons out of my home and I already own a piano. Secondly, I have a room right off of our foyer for the kids toys that could be converted into a piano studio and used to teach out of. This is also something I could start soon. I am prayerfully considering moving in this direction. Hence the title of this post... :-)
4. Lastly the jewelery. My mom thought I was crazy for even considering it. There is a start up cost associated although it would be doable with our tax return. The main struggle here is that I don't even currently wear jewelery. I think if I wanted to sell something, I should sell something I have an interest in.
So, that is the story. We'll see where the path leads.
On a praise report note, I received my annual salary review at my current job and got a raise that should net us another $140 a month. That money will go right into savings to help as a buffer for the transition period. Thank you Lord!
I feel as though we are heading into the home stretch leading up to July. There seems to be a fixed amount of money that we can bring in before that date arrives and many things to take care of. I'm praying that our tax return which should be sizable this year will cover many of the needed items.
Our pastor's wife advised us to try and live on my husbands income from now until then to help with the transition. There are so many costs that we won't have after I quit that it hard for me to separate them. For example, we currently pay ~ $150/month for our cell phone bill. After I quit, my husband will still carry a cell phone, but I won't. We're expecting the bill to be down around the $40 mark. It's hard to separate that out and pay the bill accordingly. However, we've decided that we're going to open another account and do our best. I'm hoping that some additional dollars will be able to be put into savings by doing this as well.
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