I am trying to get us back on track.

I called this blog Windy City Cheap Skate, because, well I live in Chicago and I need to be a cheapskate. I've always been pretty good at being frugal and stretching a dollar, but now that I am married and have two kids, I have other people depending on my dollar stretching abilities.

I had thought about calling this "Out of the red" or " Into the Black" because right now my finances are really backwards. I was laid off a year ago, and I have enjoyed spending time at home with my children, and not trying to balance work outside the home with my family. I am not planning to go back to work right now, but the income that I was receiving is gone, and I must find some creative ways to offset that imbalance.

Initially, I am going to focus on how I am getting our family back on track financially. I figure having my business out in the open will motivate me to be more serious about that, and give me a chance to vent or try out new ideas along the way. Eventually, I hope to help others who are in similar situations find their way out of the abyss.

But, for my own sake, I will list some things that are in favor for me right now (not in order of importance):
1) My cars are paid off
2) I don't have daycare expenses
3) I have an amazing husband who will work with me so that we can get over this hurdle
4) I am relatively healthy
5) I have a mortgage, but I got into the market at a good time and I don't owe more than the house is worth. Also, it's a fixed rate loan, so I am not in the position of trying to come up with an insane new monthly payment. (That's not to say that my real estate taxes and insurance costs haven't gone up)