What Do You Think I Should Do?
I am having to make some decisions soon and I am not sure which way I should go. I need your HELP!!
My wife Bethanie is currently pregnant and is about 2.5 months along. She has been very sick lately and unable to go to work a lot. We have Bills to pay, Debts to reduce, Money to save, and a baby to plan for. With that said. The semester is over and I only need four classes to Graduate with my bachelors degree. I currently have three scheduled for spring semester and math will be finished over the summer. My job however is not too kind to going to school and is very numbers driven. I have barely squeeked by this semester with full time school and full time work. I feel as though one must give. Lite work and more school = Graduation but I lose the breadwinning position and insurance. Lite School and more work = More money and Insurance for the baby but longer school and longer working a job I donot enjoy.
What should I do? What would you do?
This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 15th, 2009 at 12:36 pm and is filed under No Place To Go. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
December 15th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
Not a fun decision. I know how hard it can be to work so much while in school.
If it makes the decision any easier… Beth will feel better soon. Some women are sick all the way through, but that’s rare. My magic number is 17. At 17 weeks I feel magically rejuvinated, as if I weren’t even pregnant at all. I can do everything I do when not pregnant (within limits of course), and I don’t begin to feel sickly huge again until something like 32 to 34 weeks. If Beth is anything like me (and genes say she probably is), then this awful sick period should only last another month or so. Then you’ll be able to focus on yourself and school a little more.
I say go for it! Get ‘er done!
December 15th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
That’s a tough one. Chances are Beth will start feeling better soon so that might help? Can you qualify for Medicaid? I know it is hard to go to social assistance like that but if you qualify while you are going to school it might work out for you in the end. You want these last few months together before baby to be as enjoyable as they can be so think about what will make the 2 of you the most happy! Good luck!
December 15th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
Just make sure you don’t lose your job before you find another. Your family depends on your income, and will even more so later on if Beth decides to stay home with the baby…
December 15th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
I agree with the above comments. Beth really should start to feel better soon. The 2nd trimester is better for almost everybody.
Do what you feel comfortable doing. If it was me I would say power through, because when that baby comes you guys don’t need any added stresses. But that is just what I would do.
December 15th, 2009 at 11:00 pm
When I was loaded up on the Pregnancy hormone I wasn’t really ever sick, just kind of bored. I don’t think my input really helps out your situation though.
School will always be there for you, whether you finish in a mad rush or stretch it out, the degree has the same benefit. Cutting work hours, however, does not. Here’s my two cents and observations: You give 110%+ to the tasks your assigned, whether work or school or both. But it’s really taking its toll on you. You can’t reduce the stress of money by taking more time off work, and you won’t reduce the efficacy of school by taking one more semester to bust it out. I don’t think that getting the degree in August or December will have any immediate impact on your finances. Keep in mind that on average you’re actually ahead of the game in terms of getting your bachelors. Especially for a married guy.
What I’m trying to say in not so legible English is I think you should throw in another semester to wrap up school so you can get your numbers up and relieve that work stress. The stress that you deal with is gonna give you a heart attack! So, slow down what you can, lower your stress, reduce your debt by working more hours and take another semester to get out of school. By doing so you’re not failing by any means.
December 16th, 2009 at 11:16 pm
You may not like my idea, but I don’t really like it either so there. Quit your job and go ultra, ultra, ultra, ultra cheap until school is done. Bethanie is probably making enough money for the both of you, or you could just get a part time (20 hours/week) serving job in a restaurant to supplement her income to get you by until you graduate. Then you budget every dollar, like Tamara and I are (trying) to do right now. You simply do not buy anything that you do not absolutely need, period. Go cheap on groceries, do not eat out (maybe once, cheap, every couple of weeks), and Christmas is a $20 gift for each other. I won’t lie, living this way sucks sucks sucks sucks sucks but we just polished off our credit card debt and we’re about to destroy our car loan and that feels good good good good good. For you, don’t let anything stop you from getting your degree. And also, come to grips with the reality that after you get your degree, your life is not going to dramatically improve. It will still take a while for you to get rolling. Shi-, look at me! I’ve been graduated for two years with my bachelor’s and I’m working a damn $12/hour front desk job I could have done in high school! But I have to say I don’t think I could have gotten even this job without the degree. Your biggest financial crisis will probably come after you graduate, so be ready and save some money, and don’t let a job you hate stop you from graduating. Cut your spending, and get creative to find ways to do it. That’s my idea. I don’t like it though, so I don’t blame you if you don’t either.
December 17th, 2009 at 7:47 am
I just everyone to be happy….
However, sometimes just ripping off the bandaid quickly instead of slowly peeling it off just makes the pain linger longer. It would be nice to have your degree by the time the baby gets here, so that would be one worry you could check off your list. AND it’ll be harder to make yourself want to go to workd and take classes after the baby comes because you’ll want to be home more with your little family.
I understand needing insurance though, so you need to save your job. If you decide to focus on work instead of school, please at least keep your foot in the door with one or two classes so it won’t be so hard to come back and finish up. You will regret not getting your degree when you are this close to the finish line…. Good luck with the decision!
December 17th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
I agree with Ryan…not necessarily about quitting your job, but about learning to live on less. Re-reading Dave Ramsey helps remind me why it’s important. You’re about to have a baby, so it’s going to be especially important to start saving. Babies don’t come cheap!!