One Life Becoming Two - Tomorrow!

Tomorrow we celebrate the birth of our 2nd daughter!

We're scheduled to check in to the hospital at 7am...then efface the cervix...then begin pitocin. Hopefully we'll see a baby before we see a c-section!

My blog is new to the blogging world (as in--I started it today!). We've had a family blog for 4 years, but I've decided to venture out anonymously in order to speak more freely about our finances and the different ideas that work for us. (Can you believe that family members and friends have actually asked us to edit these subjects from our blog?!)

But I digress to the original post: Gratituesday!

I'm grateful for our doctor letting us try a VBAC. Our first child ended up as a c-section, and I can't imagine enduring another one AND caring for a toddler! Most VBAC patients don't go past 40 weeks, but our doctor is letting us go 41 weeks with the hope of labor starting on its own.

And if the VBAC doesn't work out, I'm grateful to be delievering in a clean hospital with competent doctors and nurses.

Covet Thy Neighbor's...Decorating?

Ok, the secret is out that we're trying to get out of debt.

But it's summer.

And flowers are blooming and they look so beautiful.

But beautiful flower baskets cost up to $40 per basket.

But my neighbor has 10 baskets scattered around her house.

And this neighbor is in financial straits. A few months ago she mentioned to me that she and her hubby might have to give up their house.

What's a stay-at-home mom to do when she gazes out the window and sees this beautiful sight? Baskets of pink, purple, green and yellow?

I look at the muddy waters of my daughters' eyes and remember why we're getting out of debt--to "live like no one else so later...we can really live (and give) like no one else."

How We Got Started: The Lure of the Student Loan

I think many college students are lured into the student loan idea because of short-sightedness. While I was lucky to have my frugal teacher-mother pay for my private schooling, countless other friends turned to debt.

Some observations that I made while in college: Financial "Advisors" at the college talked of loans as casually as one would request ice cream on top of their apple crisp. "Oh, you'll find a good job after college and be able to repay the loan," was always the rationale given.

But no one ever talked about the true cost of the loan over 10, 15 and (gasp!) 30 years. No one ever talked about the student working an extraordinary number of hours to pay for college while in college.

My husband experienced the same thing at his optometry school, except on a larger scale. Not only were students encouraged to borrow money for tuition, but many borrowed to live in that higher rent neighborhood. After all, they were going to be "doctors."

No one told us that an average starting salary for private-practice optometrists was a mere $65K. No one told us that the higher paid, $130K positions were working 50-60 hour weeks at super-chains (think Wal-Mart).

We scrimpted. We rented cheaply at $445 per month, while my huband's friends paid up to $1000/month. We carpooled to each of our schools. We ate on about $200/month. And after our respective graduations, we faced a $130,000 mountain.