Expecting a baby when your family is already drowning in debt can tear a family apart. Any family will agree that while babies are a blessing, they are also incredibly expensive.
Adding a child to a two-working-parent family can cost thousands of dollars a month in daycare alone and that kind of expense can seem overwhelming when you are already living paycheck to paycheck. So, what is a family to do?
In this episode are Amos and Deedra. When they realized the extent of their debt, they were a military family of four and a half. With her due date approaching, Deedra was shocked to learn that daycare costs for her soon-to-be four children would be close to $1600.
She sat down with her husband and they decided that the best plan for their family would be for Deedra to give up her long military career and stay home with the kids, who had been in daycare from 5:00 AM to 5:00 PM their entire lives.
But that isn’t where the story ends. The family was already $80,000 in debt and struggling with the couple both working, how could they manage to pay it off in 24 months; while losing half of their income? They got creative.
By paying off their most expensive monthly bill first and with Amos taking on some part-time security gigs, they were able to knock out a big enough chunk of their debt to keep them focused on their goal. The end result was that they became debt free after losing half their income.
Deedra approached her new stay at home position as enthusiastically and proficiently as she had her military career and this self-proclaimed Home Economist threw herself completely into managing the household finances with her husband. Before long, Deedra and Amos were not clawing their way out of debt, they were running.
Saving money and keeping to the budget became the new family pastime and it influenced everything from how they shopped to where they lived. Their new lifestyle was a particular challenge in their Military community.
There are debt traps aimed at servicemembers around every corner. But with the help of a few good books and our Facebook community, the couple has managed to leave their overspending behind for good.
What You Will Learn
- How the Boodram’s became debt free after losing half their income.
- Ways to make budgeting fun for children
- Practical solutions for reducing monthly bills
- Coping mechanisms for the days when keeping the budget gets tough
- How staying home can make more sense for a family than going back to work post-baby
Resources Mentioned
- Deedra’s YouTube Channel – https://goo.gl/5hajZG
- The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach – https://amzn.to/2JHATy1
- 7 Mantras of Money by Michelle Singletary – https://amzn.to/2qthb0X
- The Millionaire Mind by Thomas J. Stanley – https://amzn.to/2quTgh3
- Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki – https://amzn.to/2qvnX5v
- The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey – https://amzn.to/2IR6EUc
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Today’s show was sponsored by Teach Me How To Budget. If you are ready to gain freedom in your finances once and for all then enroll in our brand new personal finance course Teach Me How To Budget.
