But...Some Good News!

Here is hopefully the first sign that 2009 may be a better year. We received word that our house in Charlotte is under application to be rented. Assuming the renter checks out and is okay with paying our pet deposit, we will soon be able to recoup some of the monthly expenses for that property. The rent is not enough to cover the management fees, mortgage, taxes, insurance, etc., but it will help a lot with defraying those costs.

With the house presumably rented, the laid off half of this partnership is considering staying home with the children instead of finding another job. We'll have to see what the terms are of the layoff and how the job search ends up progressing. We've run the numbers- we could do it, though it may be tighter than we would like. Still, we'd be paying more attention to expenses, daycare would cost nothing, we'd be cooking almost every meal at home, etc. It's not likely that we would be able to put away the same amount for savings, but we may not feel the same lifestyle hit as we would expect.

I should clarify that we don't live extravagantly. I know some family members who think we have a "big city lifestyle" but the truth is that we drive two paid for cars. We have no debt besides student loans and our mortgage. Our two TVs are both 5 years old or more (no flat screens or big screens), and we really don't spend a lot on clothes for ourselves or the baby, electronics, jewelry, toys for the kid, etc. Our mortgage was modest as compared to our income when we bought the house. We put a lot away each month for retirement, the kids' college, and just general savings. Where we tended to spend money is on food, as we eat out a lot or have delivery. And we spend a frightening amount for the nanny's salary.

I think where the pinch would be felt is in our thoughts and attitudes about money. Right now we don't really think about it on a day to day basis. We can go to a bookstore and spend $150 at one time without really giving it a lot of thought. We can order takeout if we want it and don't feel like cooking, without really worrying about it. It's in the little things like that- a Starbucks in the morning, a breakfast out on the weekend, Caetlin's Kindermusik classes and the zoo membership and Children's Museum membership- that we would feel the pinch. Not to say that we couldn't still do those things, but only that they would require thought. And we certainly don't shop for bargains habitually. I'm sure that will change as well.

It could definitely be a good thing for us. It will certainly make us more mindful of our finances, which can only be a good thing. I'm trying to maintain the optimism that presumably renting the house has brought. It's a new year! It's a new life for us, a new reality. I have no idea what that's going to look like, but I'm trying so hard to believe that it will be a better one than we have now.