Some new price increases...great

[GoVegan]

I don't know how far you can extend this, or if it works in all situations (I doubt it does if you both make comparable salarys), but as for us, my wife quitting work and taking care of the kids saved us a lot of money.

It didn't seem like it would at first (comparing her salary to childcare costs) but in the end it did by eliminating a lot of miscellaneous costs (lunches out for the two of us, extra gas, extra work clothes, extra dry cleaning, her cooking dinner instead of getting take-out, tax advantages, etc).

After the kids got a bit older she took a part-time job to get out of the house, which pays enough for her to "not have to ask for money".

I am assuming you get a nice snus allowance.

[danielan]

I am assuming you get a nice snus allowance.

Yeah...

My pay doubled when I got my degree, it cost me 3 years of life on 4 hours of sleep, but it made life a lot easier.

But, I'm getting to the point where I want a lot fewer things then when I was younger. It's not that I have everything I ever wanted now, it's just that things seem sort of extraneous now and usually not worth the effort/costs.

So, while I'm pretty cheap to keep around, when I want something, I get it.

Although, given the price differences between snus and cigarettes... I should probably get a bit more.

[Frosted]

My post came across to me as a rant so I deleted it. Here's your answer to the $2,621.40.......

Have your wife stay home or work opposite shifts!

Problem solved and you will have much more cash in your pocket. My wife and I did it for 10 years AND we got the added benefit of raising our own kids!

I'm not saying that as a criticism of you but just an observation. if you can't afford it, do something different!

Why would either of us do that and lose a perfectly good job - good jobs aren't everywhere these days. Also and most importantly my eldest starts school next year, so again, why would I give up a perfectly good job just to look for another one in a years time. Also - it's actually more expensive for us not to work - we wouldn't be able to pay the mortgage and feed ourselves which would be a tad inconvenient. My wife earns a lot more money than me - just in case you were going to come back at me and say why doesn't your wife give up work.
I also like my job and my wife likes hers.

We do work opposing shifts and I'm off during the week sometimes but childminders require a full time place to be fully paid for all the time as there is no precise working pattern to be considered towards a part time place for the children.

Thanks for your insight into my affairs. I must be daft as you seem to have access to my finances and seem to know what you're talking about.

It's not a criticism but you've just come across to me as a know it all that talks bollocks.
Just an observation.

[GoVegan]

Excuse me, I answer your question. You made a public admission, that you harbor feelings justifying theft. I pointed out that those feelings were wrong, it is theft, it is communistic and I gave you a real life example. It's not my fault, you now realize how unjust your urge is or are troubled by the fact that Castro thought of it first.

Do you honestly think that Batista was any better? Castro overthrew an entire government with 81 rebels. I am not saying that Castro is great by any stretch of the imagination but I hardly think Batista was any better. Also, if my recollections serves me right, Castro did not start out as a communist but turned into one after we refused to help him. We seem to have a passion for being able to go into foreign countries and buying land for pennies on the dollar. Land that usually had to be sold in order to feed the family. What pisses us off is when that peasant comes back to get his land. When that occurs, we have an ample supply of money and troops to give to the losing side. Maybe it's time we stop living in the 50's and just get on with life.

If you really think about it, Mexico seems very ripe for a socialist or even communist type of movement. We are ignoring Mexico now but I can guarantee we will be willing to throw billions of dollars at Mexico if communism were to take hold. Think Nicaragua! Perhaps we would be better off we would focus more of our efforts on trying to provide countries with opportunities instead of military action. We always act in shock when we support some half ass regime that eventually turns against us. Hussein, Marco and Noriega were all considered to be friends with the US in the past. We should also learn how to focus our efforts. Why are we looking so hard for terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan when they are in plain view in Africa? It's all about class and capitalism. Welcome to the 21st Century!

[Ainkor]

Why would either of us do that and lose a perfectly good job - good jobs aren't everywhere these days. Also and most importantly my eldest starts school next year, so again, why would I give up a perfectly good job just to look for another one in a years time. Also - it's actually more expensive for us not to work - we wouldn't be able to pay the mortgage and feed ourselves which would be a tad inconvenient. My wife earns a lot more money than me - just in case you were going to come back at me and say why doesn't your wife give up work.
I also like my job and my wife likes hers.

We do work opposing shifts and I'm off during the week sometimes but childminders require a full time place to be fully paid for all the time as there is no precise working pattern to be considered towards a part time place for the children.

Thanks for your insight into my affairs. I must be daft as you seem to have access to my finances and seem to know what you're talking about.

It's not a criticism but you've just come across to me as a know it all that talks bollocks.
Just an observation.

Sorry if you took that as a personal attack. You simply mentioned the large cost of childcare and since most of us here tend to rather friendly to each other, I offered a suggestion. Take it or leave it. I don't think I said anything that I would think of as insulting. If I did, please accept my apology.

Based on your response it appears your harboring a bit of anger about something, care to talk it out?

[Frosted]

Sorry if you took that as a personal attack. You simply mentioned the large cost of childcare and since most of us here tend to rather friendly to each other, I offered a suggestion. Take it or leave it. I don't think I said anything that I would think of as insulting. If I did, please accept my apology.

Based on your response it appears your harboring a bit of anger about something, care to talk it out?

Yeah - fair enough Ainkor. You've hit the nail on the head.

I'm getting fed up with people constantly telling me what I should be doing with my finances - it's just happening all the time and it comes from people that believe that they know better when they don't have a clue about our personal affairs. It's just getting tiring listening to it all the time.
It's tough and there's no easy or better option - I've been through it all over and over again trying to figure out the best option and when people start telling me about the way they think I should be doing it I feel like they're treating me like a thick plank.

Yep we're a big family here and I do respect people here. I went in too hot with you on that but I hope you'll understand. Sorry Ainkor.

[GoVegan]

I feel a bromance starting to develop!

[chadizzy1]

I renewed my passport for my trip to Sweden and it was over 100 bucks....is this news?

[Ainkor]

Yeah - fair enough Ainkor. You've hit the nail on the head.

I'm getting fed up with people constantly telling me what I should be doing with my finances - it's just happening all the time and it comes from people that believe that they know better when they don't have a clue about our personal affairs. It's just getting tiring listening to it all the time.
It's tough and there's no easy or better option - I've been through it all over and over again trying to figure out the best option and when people start telling me about the way they think I should be doing it I feel like they're treating me like a thick plank.

Yep we're a big family here and I do respect people here. I went in too hot with you on that but I hope you'll understand. Sorry Ainkor.

Totally accepted and haha GoVegan :P

[kreigle]

Forgot to add, but it's probably obvious that that's per month.

Just wow.

That's more that I make in a month.

We have 2 kids. My wife lost her part-time job when our second was born 2 yrs ago, blew out her back and needed surgery a year after that, and hasn't been able to find any work since. My parents (for now, luckily) help out with babysitting. No way could we afford any kind of daycare.

Vacations? We had been visiting my wife's parents in SoCal every year, on their dime, but ticket prices have gone up to the point where they can't afford it anymore.

Getting to the point where we're considering applying for foodstamps/WIC. I know we qualify.

[danielan]

Getting to the point where we're considering applying for foodstamps/WIC. I know we qualify.

And why not? I pay so much in taxes (all told a bit below 40%), if I ever qualify for _anything_ from the government I'm marching down there and signing up the second I qualify.

[shikitohno]

Do you honestly think that Batista was any better? Castro overthrew an entire government with 81 rebels. I am not saying that Castro is great by any stretch of the imagination but I hardly think Batista was any better. Also, if my recollections serves me right, Castro did not start out as a communist but turned into one after we refused to help him. We seem to have a passion for being able to go into foreign countries and buying land for pennies on the dollar. Land that usually had to be sold in order to feed the family. What pisses us off is when that peasant comes back to get his land. When that occurs, we have an ample supply of money and troops to give to the losing side. Maybe it's time we stop living in the 50's and just get on with life.

If you really think about it, Mexico seems very ripe for a socialist or even communist type of movement. We are ignoring Mexico now but I can guarantee we will be willing to throw billions of dollars at Mexico if communism were to take hold. Think Nicaragua! Perhaps we would be better off we would focus more of our efforts on trying to provide countries with opportunities instead of military action. We always act in shock when we support some half ass regime that eventually turns against us. Hussein, Marco and Noriega were all considered to be friends with the US in the past. We should also learn how to focus our efforts. Why are we looking so hard for terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan when they are in plain view in Africa? It's all about class and capitalism. Welcome to the 21st Century!

See, the reason Batista was better (as far as the US government was concerned at the time) is because he allowed US fruit corporations to come in and take advantage of the country for massive profits. Communism was already unpopular in the US, and Castro nationalizing the fruit industry's holdings in Cuba made him very unpopular. You have to remember, it's okay when we or our allies do something and we profit from it, but not when anyone else does it without giving us something. Did you know that at the Nuremburg Trials there were Nazi war criminals who successfully mounted a defence of "Wait a minute, the Allies did that a lot too?" If what they were accusing Axis war criminals of doing was something widely practised by the Allies, they would drop the charges.