Purchases and Debt

So unfortunately by being unemployed still...I'm financially dependent on my husband. This is a concept that at first was very difficult for me to accept, although he's been a good sport about it all and about having to think more about spending. After being a grad student for so long, I have the tendency to get a little cranky about money, but he also grew up having to pinch his pennies so we actually do alright. There doesn't tend to be much, if any, left over at the end of each month, but the current bills get paid and we have what we need plus a few fun things each month. I'm used to always having some sort of a cushion in my account, but I guess knowing the military will provide our housing needs and health care regardless makes me a little less leery about how close to empty we come most months. However, the husband knows how important it is to me to get out debt, so we're both trying to pay off what we have now (1 loan apiece) and plan for how to pay off what will be coming up due (my two student loans). Yet, as always is the case, there are some unintended expenses too--such as having to replace our car battery last weekend and the vet bill we accrued after first getting our dog.

The original plan was that my paycheck would automatically go toward paying off all of my debts; however with no job in sight my husband has had to pick up part of my burden. Yet we also unfortunately accrued some credit card debt with move expenses, setting up the home, acquiring the pets, and some recent trips (his for work which will eventually be reimbursed and my recent mental health break). Luckily, I had anticipated our use of a credit card and so I had closed out my previous $0 balance card and opened a new one that would grant us 0% interest for the first six months. Luckily, we should just be paying it off or near paying it off in the next month, which will be great as we won't get charged interest (especially as it would have been our highest interest rate) on most or any of it. Then I can increase the amount on my loan payment again until my other payments begin. Debt is a war I don't like to engage in, but I also feel that almost all of our recent financial choices have been worthwhile in the long run. Truthfully though, not a day goes by that I'm not hoping and praying that a job is actually going to open up soon, so I'll be able to contribute toward lifting the load that consistently weighs on my mind.

While some of our purchases could have been made more frugally or held off on, all of what we've purchased has been well worth it and most have been investments in other ways. Some that come to mind are the following:

--We bought a $50 bottom line vacuum that has consistently sucked up a ton of dust and animal hair during the 1-2x a week that I use it. I make sure to clean out it's HEPA filter each time I use it to keep it in optimum working order, and I'm hopeful that between the HEPA vacuum and the air filter for the house we can keep a lot of dust and potential allergies at bay. For the price we paid for the vacuum, I definitely am impressed with how well it does and hope it continues to work for quite a chunk of time.

--We've talked about the pets previously. While they cost via general upkeep and food, the initial "donation" we made for both of them was much, much cheaper than covering the fixing and shots for an animal that we could have found as a stray. We price compare their food and I've been making treats for Anna from scratch. We also invested in hardier toys for the dog, and the cat is a bit more easily entertained (and the dog would eat his toys) so we've only bought one toy for the cat. However, we get enormous amounts of entertainment, exercise, and love out of the creatures, and thus it feels they are worth the costs we do put into them and more.

--We ordered a box of products from Burt's Bees, as we use their shampoos and soaps primarily for health precaution reasons. Each item that we use, I have investigated in the Skin Deep data base in order to determine its safety rating and how it compares to other products. While it's a bit more to use these products, the long term health benefits are worth it. I also made sure to order enough to qualify for free shipping and so that we have enough on hand for several months. Plus that cuts down on the amount of times we have to order, further decreasing the environmental effects of shipping.

--I also have put my foot down about buying organic, free range eggs and organic yogurt. I started eating dairy before moving down here as it makes it easier for us to make meals together. It also makes it cheaper over all since we don't have to buy multiple products, and most soy products cost more anymore. I do still drink soy milk, and we buy the yogurt in bulk to reduce the cost and packaging also. I'd like us to get to the point where we're only using organic dairy for both of us and free range meats for the hubby, but at this point cost is too much of an issue to over-ride the health benefits and the treatment of the animals. I can't believe I'm writing that....sigh.

As much as I've accepted my current unemployment situation, I still can't help but hope that someday soon one of these job applications is going to pan out into a job that I can enjoy and that will help get us a little closer to the financial path I'd like for us to be on. I've definitely been applying for things outside my main interests and comfort zone--just hoping that something soon will develop into employment! Here's to keeping my fingers crossed and my prayers lifted!