Shake Your Money Maker

There was a time when I wasn’t confined by the restrictions of a budget. When I was fresh out of nursing school, and both my husband and I were working full time, we had financial freedom. Our money was just that, our money. If I needed a pair of shoes I bought one. If we wanted beef tenderloin for dinner, we had it. Times were simple.

A few years and one kid later, I decided to quit work and stay home while hubby solely brought home the bacon. What ensued shortly after was a monetary culture shock. I learned to deal with our new financial situation and rather than following a traditional budget, we adopted what we called the “rich week/poor week” system. It was a pretty simple concept. The week after payday, aka rich week, we lived it up like rock stars, while the second week we had to be a bit more frugal. We most often made it through poor week by reminiscing about the good times from the week before when we had dined out, shopped aimlessly, and poked poor people with sticks.

Unfortunately, my waxing schedule fell on poor week and I could no longer handle choosing between a lip wax and a bottle of wine. It can damage your psyche to wake up day after day with a hangover, a mustache and an empty wallet. I knew this could only mean one thing. It was time to go back to work.

Luckily in the nursing realm, a job is but a phone call away, so I picked up the phone and the rest is history. Now, with a part-time job to add to mothering, writing and trophy wife-ing, it’s safe to say I’m spread a little thin. However, it’s good to know that when the situation calls, I can still put on my big girl panties and go to work, preferably in that order.