Starting out the year...different!

I have spent the last few days reading tons and tons of blogs and websites dedicated to making the most out of life, many of which include paying off debt, saving money, living more simply, making things by hand, both food and gifts, etc... I want in on this kind of life! Actually, I NEED in on this kind of life.

About us...there are 4 humans and 3 cats (one of which truly truly believes himself to be a human). The people in our house include myself (the mom, the mom teacher, the mom that works from home, the housewife mom, the mom with her own set of debts), my husband who works outside the home in the banking industry which as we all know isn't stable and that has his own set of debts, my teenage daughter who classifies herself as lazy but is brilliant, and my son who is the sports fanatic to rival all sports fanatics (he could give ESPN analysts a run for their money).

You may be wondering why I have classified our debts as mine and his and I honestly do not have an answer for you. I have asked my husband about it as well and his only answer was that he could add mine to his, but for some reason we didn't pursue this. That is fine with me...for now. For a long time we have done many financial things separately and this no doubt is one of the major reasons we find ourselves with more debt than we care to look at collectively. It's a shocking number and one that is frankly depressing. I'll get into specifics in another post.

The changes we and yes, this is a we thing, are going to be difficult for us. For others, it may have been a more simple transition, for us though, it's going to be difficult. I think the hardest thing will be explaining to our kids that we need to be serious about it this year and it's going to take all of us, that it's not a bad thing even if it might seem to them that it is. In the long run, the sacrifices will all be worth it, but in the short run, it's going to suck. Big time. Not just for them, but for my husband and myself as well. It will take positive attitudes and creativity, the latter of which we all have plenty. It will all take patience and I am not the most patient person in the world. This is most evident in my profession as an author. I wait for weeks sometimes months to hear back from a publisher or editor on a book. This drives me nuts. This makes me crazy. This drives me to whine, wallow, and eat more than I should.

My hope with this blog is that it will serve as a motivator for me to keep going and if by some miracle other people read it, hopefully it will serve as motivation for them as well. It may only offer a laugh or a groan or a 'glad I'm not her' thought, but it may offer more. I am learning and that is one thing I have going for me...I love to learn.

Here's to starting on the path of a new kind of life...

lisa