latenightleader:

I pay $50 a month, it's $300 now

I know you are eager to be rid of this payment altogether, but might you consider dropping the amount of the payment a bit to get through this lean time?

latenightleader:

we will look at expanding that to have someone bring some of the napkins, cups, other expenses I've paid in the past. 

It's more work to clean up, but would suggest using regular plates, silverware, cloth napkins.  If you don't have enough for all, suggest everyone bring their own service from home?  It's a good way to get everyone thinking about reducing their environmental footprint AND you might get some neat stories about how people picked out their patterns.  Clean-up time is always talk time with our family. 

 I actually have 40 white plates from my grandma, I use these and my Fiestaware, and my mom and I combined have enough silverware. (stainless steel, I guess)  Anyway, I always buy napkins that are Christmas-y and one pack of those hot/cold paper cups to serve 50.  I would use our cups, but we don't have anything nice, some coffeee mugs and a variety of plastic cups from places, a ten year collection. We have kid cups from Rainforest, Culvers, etc.  Not exactly Christmas-y.  We have people coming from several states this year, I think, at least three, NY, Wisconsin, and I hope Washington!  I use cloth tableclothes, and we usually make some kind of favor for by the plates.  Choc dipped spoons, chocolate dipped pretzels, elves made of Hershey's kisses, I guess usually chocoloate!  

latenightleader:

does the homemade detergent work on dh's work clothes?  

I have not had success with homemade detergent in years. I do however make a detergent booster with baking soda and Borax and use less of the commercial detergent than recommended. The amounts of detergent and booster vary by the soilage. For example, I use a lesser amount of Purex with no booster on the gently worn items, Same amount of Purex with booster on more soiled laundry and go for Tide and a booster on the very heavily soiled items like work clothes.

I do like to water down the dish liquid and use baking soda, vinegar or Borax for routine cleaning,

Tracy,

If you can repay the mount taken from the 401K within 60 days there is no penalty or taxes. Otherwise you will have a penalty and taxes...either you can have the 401K administrator take the taxes out for you and give you the rest as a direct deposit to a bank account, or you can take the amount needed out, and pay taxes at tax time. That's what I opted for. We get about $5000 back in taxes every year, so that should take a bite out of the tax liability.

You can also take the amount out as a loan and not a cash out, then you will set up monthly payments back into the 401K fund.

Tracy, I think you said you'd applied as an aide at hospitals; what about nursing homes/skilled nursing facilities? 

Perhaps you could come up with a class you could teach at a local school -- vegetarian cooking comes to mind, also $$$ stretching! 

Perhaps baking at home for some specialty shop?  I have heard that some places contract work out. 

Party/event planning?  Pet sitting or dog walking?

We always go back to paper routes but not sure how that would dovetail with mornings at the Benson household!

Your Christmas event sounds not only elegant but also like you've got things under great control, environmentally!  I was at SA last night and saw a STACK of silvery chargers, but didn't even count.  I love mixing and matching pattern with plain, china with glass, etc.  Hope you will share some pix!

Lynnea Berr:

Tracy, I think you said you'd applied as an aide at hospitals; what about nursing homes/skilled nursing facilities? 

I'm going to wait and see what they say at my dislocated worker mtg on Tues- I am hoping to get a grant somehow for nursing school, for tuition and childcare- I think it would only take two years to do clinicals, will have to see.  Otherwise dh works anytime, so to pay for childcare for two I wouldn't make money as an aide unless I was total night shift, and then it might be tight getting home to get kids out the door.  The one that was perfect was 20 hours a pay period, could have worked around those hours.

Will keep applying.  

If you work for the Riverside System, you can get the money for healthcare classes and school. Riverside operates hospitals and nursing homes plus fitness centers in Virginia. Riverside has two different nursing schools plus other health care schools. They also guarantee you a job when you graduate. I've known aides who financed nursing school that way. I used to know an L.P.N. who was getting her R.N. that way. One of the R.N.s I used to be friends with had Riverside pay for her education to convert her diploma in nursing to a B.S.N. I believe that she teaches other nursing staff members who work for the Riverside system these days.

How do I know so much about Riverside? Well, I used to volunteer at the local hospital. I worked in the gift shop and in Central Sterile Supply. Mom's nursing home is operated by Riverside.  The nursing home works with the different aides who are trying to attend nursing school.

Have you considered working as a private duty aide for someone in a nursing home or at their home? Usually those hours can be more flexible.

I did my October budget and IF (yeah big IF) I can get DH to keep his pocket spending in line we'll come up with 500 extra - and that's including paying the $900 in property taxes I owe the town (behind on that).  He will get 3 paychecks this month and I will get 5 unemployment checks.

He stresses on money, works a lot of OT and then spends it stupidly.  I haven't shown him in black and white what he spends (ATM withdrawals) so that's my plan for October - I have everything detailed - non confrontational - just going to tell him I'm trying to get a better handle on our expenses and simply show him the spreadsheet without pointing out anything specific unless he asks.   He's having a hard time adjusting to the fact that I don't have a job anymore.  But honestly with the cost of our daycare, commuting and other 'working' related expenses we were having a hard time even then - harder than we should have based on our income.

We can live fine with what he makes if we take a harder look at some things and cut back on some of the frivolous spending.

With my husband, unless I have it on paper where he can see it and understand what it means to our monthly spending, it goes in one ear and out the other. At the end of the month I have an expense/Income report for him to see where the money went, and a projected budget for the new month so he can see where the money will go.