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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Single mom of four here making it work with half of what you make, in a 800 sq condo unit.  Single due to an ex who fell down a rabbit hole of addiction and self harm.

Got free. Peace of mind was worth more than class will ever be.

Some on DCUM will flame you without ever having had to experience what you have and are experiencing. Do not listen to them or let their lack of knowledge and fear of discomfort either get into your head, or you into debt chasing their reality.

Throw out any ideations of class being a motivation to living your life.

A couple of tips here:

- Keep that amazing job that you like and brings you peace and happiness, remember to max out any retirement benefits it offers. Use the retirement account as leverage when times get hard (you can loan yourself money at a low interest and pay it back to yourself, even after you transition to another gig).

- Go to first time homebuyer classes and try to get out of the rental cycle. If you're going to be in an Eng basement, you may as well start looking to buying a condo. There (surprisingly) are many in DC and you can write the mortgage off on your taxes. At 75K, you'll qualify for many programs that will help with affordable condo unit set asides in new developments in every ward that are set aside for moderate income buyers and families.

- Get in a groove with other moms who are thrifty and are in the know.

Some things I do to offset costs for our lifestyle:

1. Food. I learned to cook ten meals with less than seven ingredients each really really well from YouTube. From minimizing lunch/dinner expenses (we use really good storage containers and always bring lunch/snacks) we eat very well and literally save thousands of dollars a year managing food expense.

2. Clothing Swaps/Thrift Stores. DC has a thriving seasonal clothing swap community. It gets harder to swap the older the kids get (over ten), but the money saved is tremendous.  I also only shop thrift on 50% off days.

3. Ibotta!  I cannot sing the praises of this app enough!  Google it, get into it. The small amounts add up, believe me.

4. Join Thrifty Mom/Minimalist Mom groups online, learn more about dematerializing your mindset and impart those routines/beliefs to your kids. Incorporate these into your lifestyle.

5. Certifikid/Groupon/DCThriftyMoms... discount experience websites are awesome.

There are soo many more tips... just keep an open mind mom.  Youve got this!

[/quote]

This! I agree completely!!![/quote]

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