For three months, the kids’ dad and I took turns staying in our family home looking after our children for a week, followed by a week out of the house while the other parent did an in-home stint. Experts call this ‘nesting’ and it is apparently great for the kids. The only problem is it’s a nightmare for the parents, and during the off-week I was on my own to find a place to stay.
Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t have to sleep on the street or even in my car (though I did have to contemplate this as a serious option more than once), but I went from friend to friend, staying on couches and in spare rooms. During those three months I counted 16 different places that I was fortunate enough to lay my head at night, until eventually through a friend of a friend I found a bed at a disused conference centre where the owners generously allowed me to set up camp without charge.
From my laptop in that empty conference centre, I worked and I worked at repairing my life. I applied for more than two dozen jobs before I got an interview. I applied for more than 50 rental properties before I got an inspection. But persistence pays off: by March I had a job, and by April I had secured a rental. A rental with my name on the lease, with enough bedrooms and a yard for the kids. A rental I could afford.
Sort of.
My new job paid the bills and kept up my half of the kids' school fees and extra-curriculars. But I couldn’t save enough to get ahead and prepare for the future. I knew I had to take serious financial action if I was going to build a new life for myself and my kids that was more than just scraping by and hoping to make ends meet at the end of every pay cycle.
And that’s how “The Plan” was born. I’ve always been a planner, and this time my plan was simple. Over the course of a year, I would attempt 50 ways to make or save $500, and at the end of it, I’d be $25,000 richer. Sounds simple, right? Well at the four-month mark, I can report that not every idea has been a winner! But progress is progress, and I am taking enough wins along the way to make it worth my while. If you think about it, even if only 10 of these ideas work, that’s still $5000 in my pocket — or better yet, in my investment portfolio (yeah, right).
I know I’m not alone in facing the financial pressures of raising a family amid the rising cost of living, housing pressures and interest rate hikes. The good news is that whatever your starting position, you can make adjustments now to make sure you get through.
This column is my story, in instalments, of how budgeting, hustling and saving money wherever I can is keeping the lights on for me and my family. Don’t worry, we’re having fun along the way — and you can do it, too!
The author of The Plan has requested to remain anonymous in order to shine a brighter light on some of the more challenging aspects of their recent financial hardship.
