Yes, I have tried to pick up jobs tutoring, but they are sporadic and inconsistent. I do have a little job now caring for an elderly lady once a week, but that isn't enough to really do much for us financially. Every little bit helps of course, but little jobs like this still have us at the 5 plus year mark on getting debt paid off. I would be bringing in an additional 2500 to 3500 after childcare is paid and taxes are taken out, maybe even more, if I went into the classroom. I can't find enough side jobs to bring that kind of money in unfortunately.

I've been offered the possible opportunity to go back into the classroom and teach full time. I've been home with my kids for the past 5 years, and have been homeschooling my 6 and 7 year old for the past couple of years. I love homeschooling, but I also love the idea of being debt free in 2 years compared to the 5 plus years it will take with our current finances. Has anyone ever stopped homeschooling for a period of time, put the kids in school/daycare, and are happy they did it to get their finances in a better place? My plan would be to stop teaching after next year...so I would finish out this year, and then teach one more full year, and come back home to homeschool. The kids would all be at the same school with me, except for my 3 year old who would be in daycare somewhere. We would cut our debt in half (we have a boat load) by doing this. However, I know this will cause a lot of emotional stress. One of the reasons I left teaching was the amount of stress it caused me. I know too that the kids will probably be behind their peers academically, which I worry will hinder their confidence. (I just figure they are behind because the curriculum I use purposefully introduces things at a slower pace than a lot of other programs..they are in Kindergarten and first grade...the first grader can read a little bit, but not very well, and the kinder is still trying to learn letters and figuring out blending sounds). I'm of course praying for wisdom and discernment in this decision, but wanted to get feedback from any of you who have maybe been faced with a decision like this and what helped you decide to jump in or not, and if you regretted your decision or not.

Deviled Eggs...I am not a great cook and it stresses me out, and that's the one dish I never mess up!

Yes, just bought 2 couches off Craigslist from 2 different sellers, and I've bought couches and chairs in the past the same way (we have moved a lot, so it's just worked well for us to buy cheap and sell it rather than haul it each time). I've never had an issue! I think the key is picking it up from their house. If their house looks gross, then pass and find another one! So far we haven't experienced that, but that's what I would do.

I use them, but not daily. I use plant therapy (not MLM), and the sniffle stopper truly works! I’ve also had a lot of success with diffusing a blend that helps with croup...barely any coughing through the night when I diffused the oils...and on several occasions, not just a 1 time thing! Seeing the benifits just from those two issues was enough for me to be sold on how helpful they can be! I guess Doterra and YL are considered the best quality, but I can’t afford their stuff, so I’ve had to settle on PT for now!

We live down the road. I don’t know anything about the homeschooling days. We are just in kindergarten so we haven’t been for that. Everyone has given good info on their experience so I thought I would just chime in with stuff that locals do in case you have down time, and some things I didn’t see mentioned above that you can do at some places. Kidsburg (huge park), if it’s raining the WISC has a nice indoor playground with laser tag, and rock climbing walls. Yorktown has a cute beach area with a pirate ship ride (a bit pricey), and a trolly that is free to ride around on for fun. At Jamestown there is a ferry...my kids think that’s fun to do. There’s also a go cart place, but I’ve never been there so I’m not sure what it’s like. There’s a couple of cute old fashioned general stores that are fun to visit. Duck donuts is a neat place to visit. Pierce’s bbq is a popular place and always packed, but sooo good! Yankee candle is amazing, and they have little things for kids to do. Of course great wolf lodge, Busch gardens, water country, and kings dominion are all here too, but those are vacations all on their own! Hope that helps!

I got myself back in gear this week! I’ve started using my step tracker again along with my fitness pal. I think those things are key elements for me to stay on track. Looking back if I stop using MFP, my food choices start to slip more and more each day until I find myself back into all my old habits. So this time around rather than thinking at that 3 to 4 week mark “oh I don’t need to use that anymore, I know what to eat”, I’m just going to keep with it. I’m ordering a couple of the books you all recommended too to help me keep focused on health in general! I managed to get between 5 to 6k steps each day this week. Today was a bit different because we had an event we went to with food trucks. I got a couple of fun things there to eat, but got 11k steps in to try offsetting some of the bad calories. I’ve managed to lose close to 3 lbs since Tuesday, and I’m super happy with that! BTW I am new to this forum. I just jumped in here because weight loss is something I’ve struggled with for a few years now. Thanks for letting me join in:).

@mamaraby thank you for that! I don’t have a ton of weight to lose...30 pounds would put me close to where I was before I had kids, but I would really be happy right now to just lose 20.

I will definitely check that book out! I think what I’m really wondering is if there are articles/books/documentaries/magazines that you all read that keep you focused? I watched fat sick and nearly dead, and that kept me really focused and motivated for about 3, maybe 4 weeks. When I lost that motivation maybe watching it again, or continually being in a book about health or something would keep me going. Is that something that some of you do to keep focused? Maybe having a list of go-to blogs, magazines, books, or whatever would help me when I find myself losing focus and falling back into old habits?!

I’ve heard of intermittent fasting. A lady’s husband at DHs office has been doing it and has had amazing results. I don’t know much about it, so I will have to read check out that book and learn more.

I do these things, but I just don’t stick with it. It’s like I lose my motivation after about 3 weeks. I will change my coffee to black, or drink just 1 with creamer a day, I will track my food, I will add in lots of fruits and veggies...was recently juicing twice a day, I will track steps or excercise...but I’m bad about trying to do that everyday, which I think is where I get off track because I will miss a day and get frustrated with myself. But with all the other stuff, I do so well and then BAM, I get off track. I think my main issue is that I don’t feel like I’m seeing results fast enough and then give up. I only have about 20 to 30 pounds to lose and it just seems to come off so slow!

I have 2 major weaknesses: coffee with too much creamer (I drink about 3 a day and the amount of creamer is around 120 calories per cup), and evening sweets. I eat pretty healthy the rest of the day. If I excercise I can still indulge in these things and lose weight because the rest of my diet is good, but I don’t excercise. I really struggle with it when I don’t have a set time each day, and I can’t seem to figure out a good time to put it into my routine. I can’t get up before the kids consistently because my youngest sleeps with us and is usually laying on me, which would result in him waking up. My days are pretty much the same during the morning hours, so I need to just find a slot within my routine to add excercise in and just make it happen...then stick to it...which again is one of my issues. Of course I need to also find an alternative to my coffee with creamer! I mean that is equal to 3 sodas a day!

What are some ways that help you stay motivated? I will go full force for 2 to 3 weeks at a time, lose 3-6 pounds, then lose my motivation for a few weeks, gain a pound or 2 back, then get mad at myself and start the whole process over again. I just can’t seem to stay on track more than 3 weeks before I lose my motivation. Any tips?

Oh sorry...totally missed the update that you decided to move into the basement! Great plan! The house we rented was 2300 sq ft. Our camper is roughly 400. So it’s totally doable for you to make the basement work! I hope everything works out smoothly and you’re able to make some major headway on your debt!!

We have been on the road to getting debt free since 2016 using the Dave Ramsey program. We’ve made some radical decisions to make it happen, but it’s working for us. Our craziest decision thus far has been to live in a camper! We are a family of 5...kids are 6 and under. It’s actually amazing how many people do this...mostly to travel with their husbands for work, but some to get debt free too. If you don’t love your house, and don’t plan to live there forever, and it’s draining your finances...I would say sell it, and get creative!