It’s been two weeks since my husband quit his job, which also means we no longer have a steady paycheck coming in to the Fearon household.
I’m not going to lie. It’s a little freaky that we are now back to living the life of irregular income.
We lived this life for years but honestly, it was nice knowing that a for sure, steady paycheck in a set amount was going to hit our bank account every Thursday at midnight.
It was kind of like magic.
However, that magic and seemingly “easy” life is over and now we venture back into the 100% self-employed world. Where we actually have to go out and make money – where we have to hustle. And we’re into that whole debt-free living thing so there’s no option to reach for a credit card or personal loan if we run out of cash.
It’s a little scary but thankfully I married an insanely amazing man.
So in order to get us through these next few months of figuring out our new “normal”, we’re contemplating a few things and I think they’re things that may help you so I wanted to share them with you.
No Spend Month
We’re considering starting another “No Spend Month” where basically the only money we spend is on our mortgage, utilities, gas for our cars, and groceries but nothing else.
Now, this will be a real challenge so we haven’t 100% committed to doing this yet, but I’m hoping with the help of Ruth Soukup’s book, 31 Days of Living Well and Spending Zero I can convince my hubs to give it a go.
Health Insurance
Now that we don’t have health insurance we’re digging deep and considering our options. We will more than likely go with a Healthcare Sharing Ministry, but we haven’t 100% decided that yet.
Because, if we do go with a Healthcare Sharing Ministry, my husband would have to completely stop smoking….which will be a huge challenge for him. But I’ll be happy to no longer have to keep cigarettes as a line item in our budget – so prayers are greatly welcomed and appreciated for my hubs. 🙂
For more info on Healthcare Sharing Ministries and to see if they’re right for you, head here to read this post.
Digit
Since my husband’s cell phone has been paid for by the company he works for, we will no longer have the amazing option of not paying for his cell phone anymore. So he had to go get another phone.
And even though he chose a cheaper smartphone it still wasn’t free. So we had to conjurer up the money to pay for it. And that’s why I love our Digit savings account.
It saves money without me thinking about it and honestly, I never check my Digit balance. To my surprise we had saved over $500 so I simply did a transfer for the amount my husband needed for his new Republic Wireless phone plan (this is who I’ve been using for the past year and LOVE).
When it comes to budgeting for Digit, I just base our budget off of the settings that I have set up within Digit. I know that the most Digit will ever take in a week is $20 so I just budget as if Digit was taking the full $20.
Then at the end of the month we can decide what to do with any extra left that Digit didn’t transfer out. To find out more about Digit, head here.
Swagbucks
I know, you’ve heard me speak of Swagbucks a zillion and one times by now, but it’s always been my go-to for everything, especially Christmas.
And this year, I set the bar really high for how much I wanted saved for Christmas because truthfully, my plan was to use the money earned towards a ridiculously expensive swing set for my kids.
And so, as you can see below, I’ve racked up a lot of SBs over the course of this year…
So, there’s our plan for our 4th debt-free Christmas in a nutshell. Even though I was planning to pull the majority of our SBs for that fancy swing set, I’ll probably just buy a much cheaper and less of my “dream swing set” on Craigslist for Christmas so we can stretch these SBs even further. (I mean really, my kids would be happy with a rope and a tire tied to a tree so this is really all about the vision in my head a not reality.)
For more on how I earn so much Swagbucks, head here.
Okay, so there are just a few of the things that we’re working on while my husband gets his new business up and running. If you have any prayers that you’d like to offer up for my hubs, we’d much appreciate them! 🙂
Have you transitioned to life of self-employeedom? If so, what are some ways that you’ve made it work with your budget?
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Have you talked to any healthcare sharing ministries yet? When I talked to Medishare, you had to be a nonsmoker for a year before you qualified… :/
If you know one that doesn’t have that requirement, please let me know!!
Yes so we’re hoping that my husband can quit because right now we don’t have insurance at all.
All the little things really can and do add up! We could benefit from a no spend month ourselves, but I haven’t been able to fully convince my husband of the merit yet. Maybe soon! 🙂
I’m still working on convincing Pat so we’ll see… :-/
Ditto the comment on sharing health insurance plans and smoking. Perhaps an incentive to quit smoking in addition to freeing up some money in your budget? Also, what are you doing for a second vehicle or are your sharing one? I think I remember your husband having a company vehicle. On a side note, we have an irregular income and it makes budgeting more important than ever and can be a little tricky at first. The trade-offs of being your own boss are definitely worth it though.
My husband didn’t have a company vehicle he just drove his truck, but the gas was paid for by the company he worked for so that’s been a fun (#sarcasm lol) to budget for now. Basically, the only way my husband will stop is if he decides to stop so please pray that he can muster the strength to do it. 🙂
Have you considered looking for a job? It would probably be fairly easy for you to find a job in an accounting firm, since you do have an accounting degree; and if you work part-time, you’ll have a guaranteed income while still giving your husband plenty of time to get his business successfully launched.
This can be a really scary and challenging time! I’m very impressed with your positive attitude and creative solutions. My husband is also currently without a job as he is finishing up his dissertation. We still have my income as a teacher, but it still takes a lot of maneuvering and thriftiness! Best of luck!
Prayers for your family as you make these decisions and get his business up and going! Exciting stuff is on the horizon I think. 🙂 I’m quitting my full time job as of next week and will be staying home so we have changes coming too! Encouraging post.
Jessi, I look forward to reading about the new journey! I truly hope your husband quits smoking… it makes everything so much easier health- and money-wise. My husband has quit for months at a time, but has never made it for a full year (the magic timeline for health insurance & life insurance). I keep hoping one of these times it will “stick,” because I really love the months when he doesn’t smoke and I can tell his health improves.