My husband is starting a second job on Saturday. He is a licensed exterminator by trade and he received an offer to work part-time on Saturdays doing just that. I wasn’t sure how I felt about this when he first brought it up because we haven’t been struggling financially, thank goodness, and it caught me by surprise. His reasons for wanting to do this are that he wants us to pay down our debt faster and become debt free. Obviously, I couldn’t argue with those reasons because I would love to be completely debt-free and to waste our hard earned money on more enjoyable things than paying bills.
I’m still conflicted over the whole thing because I feel that it is time that will take him away from the family. After all, I work full time all week during the day and he works full time during the week at night so the weekend is really the best time for us to spend time together and catch up on family time. Against my better judgment, I am trying to be supportive because I know that this might turn into a good opportunity for him long term. He works in produce during the week lifting heavy items and working very hard. This weekend gig might turn into an opportunity for him to get back into his trade which is exterminating. I often worry about him working as hard as he does nights for the rest of his life and exterminating is definitely not as taxing as his current job.
There are so many American families that make these kinds of sacrifices in order to provide the best lives possible for their children. I have had many conversations with other mothers whose husbands work nights or drive trucks that keep them away from the home for days at a time. Although a lot of family time is sacrificed, it is done so in the best interest of the family financially. The way I see it, I can sacrifice eight hours every Saturday if it is going to mean getting my family to a point where most of our debt is paid off. This will allow us to save more money towards our children’s college educations, our retirement, and for substantial family vacations.
Of course, this will mean that I will have to take over some of my husband’s responsibilities on Saturday with regards to Little League. My older son is in the Farmer Division now and has games every Saturday. Normally, my husband would take him to these games and I would stay with my younger son. I will now be taking him to his games and being there to support him while my husband is working. Hopefully, my son won’t miss his father too much since he will still have him there on Friday afternoons for practice and on Sundays for his second game on the weekends. I’m not that much of a sports enthusiast but I certainly know how to cheer and support my children.
So, I apprehensively will venture into this new phase in our lives and continue to juggle all of the things that I normally do including trying to set aside time for the family to spend time together. Hopefully this will have positive outcomes and it will help to move us in the direction of finally becoming completely debt free. I’m sure that many of you also burn the candle at both ends with your spouses. It is definitely not easy when one takes into account all of the expenses that are involved in raising children. During these times I am reminded how blessed we are to have steady jobs and to have steady income which funds our comfortable life. I’m aware that many families are struggling during these difficult economic times and my heart goes out to them.
Albert Einstein was so right when he said, “Only a life lived for others is worth living.” That is exactly how my husband and I feel about living for our children, it certainly makes our lives worth living.
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I can understand your dilemma but it is a shot you need to take. Who knows, maybe he’ll move along faster than you anticipate. I hope it all works out!!
Currently my hubby is out of work again and I just started doing childcare again out of my home. So i’m finally bringing in money again plus blogging. But we’ve lost his income once again which is upsetting and discouraging. Times are tough that is for sure.
Thanks, Eschelle. He is going to be working from 8 to 4 on Saturday so I figure that isn’t too bad since he will be home in the afternoon. I’m sorry that your husband is out of work. It seems that everyone has been hit by this slow economy. That is why I am thankful for the opportunity for my husband to make extra money even if we will miss having him with us during the day on Saturday. I hope that your husband is able to secure a job soon and that things only keep getting better for you guys.
If it were an opportunity for our family, I’d have him take it. Becoming debt free is a dream of mine.
I can totally relate. My hubby puts in a lot of OT and its hard, since we already work opposite schedules. We do our best and somehow we make it work. We both have experienced cut backs in our incomes over the last 2 years, and I know he is doing all this OT for our family so I do my best to support it. 🙂
Came by thru the blog hop and saw I was already following thru GFC so I followed on Facebook and Twitter today. I would love a follow back, especially on Facebook. I had a mishap occur that dumped my followers and I have to start over on Facebook. Thanks for the help and have a great weekend.
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Wow. I completely understand what youre going through. Going through it right now. Hubbys working two jobs which started last Monday. Poor guy’s working 56-64 hours per week. Its rough…on all of us. Definitely an adventure…
It is definitely rough, especially when you are trying to figure out when there will be enough time to spend together as a family. These are just the kinds of sacrifices that we make as parents.
I hate when my husband works on the weekends, but at the opposite end the money is nice. I think I feel guilty because I left my job to spend more time with my kids. So when he has to give up his family time, I feel a little selfish. We’ve always made it work though, even when I was working we were on completely opposite schedules. He worked days and I worked nights and weekends. It wasn’t always easy, but we made it work.
My husband used to travel all the time. We only saw him on the weekends. When we began homeschooling we would go visit him sometimes and that made our life much easier! Now, he still works 60+ hours a week but he is usually home in the evenings.
It is a tough choice to make, but hopefully it will only be for the short term and will lead to new opportunities. Just remember to cherish the times you do have together.
It is always hard to decide on using spare time for family time or to pay down bills. I use to always have to make those decision when working in a factory and accepting over time and working on the weekends or spending it with my kids. I know you are clever and will find a way to spend quality time together.
I love that quote that “Only a life worth lived for others is worth living”. It’s so true. I find more joy in making sacrifices for my husband and son than for myself. You are lucky to have such a hard working husband that loves his family to work as hard as he does! I can’t blame you for being upset for missing him while he is at work, but I bet that it makes him happy to be such a good provider for your family!
What a great post and sooo true… we all juggle, sacrifice and try to raise happy little ones. Thanks for sahring and keep encouraging us with great tips and ideas.