Jena’s Life

I am one of the Babyboomers who couldnt find a job in their small town, so I created one. I have a website and do transcription out of my home office. It does have some advantages. I love the commute (none) and the dress code (PJs or whatever I want to wear, matching or not). Theres no listening to the banter of coworkers, putting up with moody bosses and no deadlines unless I personally accept them. Im in charge of my work environment and all who enter it, whether it be kids, cats, relatives or friends. I also have access to the coffee machine 24/7 and the refrigerator, and I dont have to share either.

Those are the perks. There are also some negatives too. Getting my taxes together every year takes me forever, because I have to itemize everything to do with my business for my CPA. Also, relatives and friends think because Im home working, that its a good time to interrupt my workday for a 1-2 hour chat, even though Im trying to meet a deadline for the rush Im working on. My parents are retired and my mom feels that because Im home and shes home at the same time, that Im open to her lengthy conversations about life, politics, my dad, my relatives, TV shows, and Did you see what Oprah was wearing today?

I have been doing this for over 10 years now. I have great months where the money is exceptional, and then months that are not so good. Its a hard to balance the two at times. Also the self-employed pay more taxes than regular employees do (because we have no employer to pay our Social Security and Medicare taxes), and we have no health, life insurance or retirement plan. So we do give up a lot to be self-employed.

Sometimes I think its the best place to be, working for myself. Other times, I think back to how much easier life was when I worked for someone else and could turn off work after 5:00 on weekdays and only work weekends if I wanted to for time and a half. Now I work seven days a week, days nights and sometimes all-nighters. If the work is there, you do it. If not, you dont. It also makes it harder to have a social life, when you have to always put your work first. I guess we all do what we have to do. Ive only got nine more years till retirement. I amaze myself sometimes, that Ive been able to make a go of it, and Im thankful I have a skill I can sell.

Remember being a newlywed? Your hair was always clean, nails nicely manicured, perfect makeup, jewelry and clothes were always color coordinated. You always smelled great and looked wonderful. Remember those days?

Then you got married. It was fun and games in the beginning. That was B.C. (Before Children). Then you had 3 or 4 kids. Your husband goes to work, comes home, grabs the newspaper, goes off to watch a little TV so he can unwind before dinner.

You, the wife, go to work every day too. After work, you come home (after picking up the kids, the dry cleaning and stopping at the grocery store). You rush in, put away the groceries, give orders to set the table and you fix dinner while helping with homework. Dinner is done. Dad puts down the paper and comes to the table to eat. The family eats together. Dad finishes, picks up his newspaper and goes back to the TV. Hes had a long day.

Mom clears the table, does the dishes, starts more laundry. Puts two kids in the tub and one in the shower while instructing them to put their dirty school clothes in the hamper. She helps with school lunches and then cleans up the kitchen. She inspects their rooms, reads and writes notes to teachers and tucks everyone into bed, and reads the bedtime stories. She goes back to the kitchen, pours a cup of coffee and writes a few bills before bed.

Shes exhausted. Dad has already showered and rested and is feeling frisky. Mom is exhausted and just wants to sleep. He doesnt understand why shes not in the mood.

The story never changes. If men would just learn that since both parents work, both parents should parent the kids and both parents should do the chores. Why is it that Dad is always resting while mom runs the house?

After years and years of doing this, the wives are mad all the time because they have no time to themselves. Theyre frazzled. They no longer have time to get their hair and nails done. Theyve gained weight from having kids. Theyve stopped looking in the mirror. Theyve become bitter and jealous of their husbands carefree life, which theyve never had. After years of this inner rage building up, they turn bitchy and he doesnt understand who this woman is. He wants a divorce.

We wonder why divorce is so common? He goes out and finds a younger woman who looks great, and the cycle starts all over again. He just doesnt understand. Its not as if hes done anything wrong. Right?

Times are really rough right now, with people losing their jobs, and the cost of a dollar not going as far as it used to. Here are some ways that our family cuts back to stretch our money farther.

Instead of buying a case of water every week, buy yourself a water purification filter pitcher that you keep in your refrigerator and one case of water. As the bottles are emptied, we boil them out with hot water and refill them with fresh filtered water, put the lids on and refrigerate to be used again. (No one cares if the bottle was brand new or already opened.) We reuse them for 23months and then recycle or return the bottles and buy another case. You still always have clean, fresh purified water bottles on hand to drink daily!

Make your regular dinner the night before, but make enough so that you have leftovers. Take the leftovers for your lunch at work the next day. You just saved $5-$10 you would have spent eating out.

Dont go to the local coffee bar, or even your favorite fast-food restaurant for your morning coffee. Spend $20-$30 for an automatic coffee maker with a time clock in it. Buy your own coffee, set the time clock on it before bed. Youll wake up to the smell of fresh coffee brewing. Just pour, and go. You will save $23.00 a day.

When Im at my local dollar store, I stock up on my dishwashing soap and laundry dryer sheets. When your liquid soap dispensers in the bathrooms are running low, fill them with dishwashing liquid. Its all liquid soap.

Because my electric bill was too high, I changed every light bulb in my house to 40 watts (now they come in 38watts). The light fixtures in the ceiling that take 23bulbs, I only put 1bulb in. If you have a row of lights in your bathroom, youre using 6-8 light bulbs at a time per bathroom. Leave all the bulbs in it, but unscrew every other one, or every other two. Go around your house and count how many light bulbs you WERE using and the wattage you were using. Then subtract for all the bulbs you just reduced and the ones you have idle to use later. Again, big savings on your electric bill.

The electric clothes driver is the most expensive appliance you have. Instead of waiting for the buzzer and the load to finish, I check it 1015minutes early. Most times, the clothes are dry. Add those 15minutes I saved every time, more money saved on my electric bill.