Headline Reads: Kid Graduates, Mom makes $44,000
One of the best quotes I’ve heard that encompasses how time passes as a parent is this:
“The days are long, but the years are short”.*
It captures how time flies perfectly. Each day has its own obstacles and questionable sticky substances, yet when I remember to pause and look back, I realize another year has passed by almost instantaneously.
So here I am, trudging along in the day to day, dollar by dollar, missing little cues that YoungFUnd is growing up and becoming more independent. Turns out, recently, I had missed enough signs that I ended up getting smacked over the head with a big fat reminder of how time flies.
“Mom? Can I start walking home from school? I don’t want to go to the after school care program anymore”.
My knee jerk reaction– You’re too young! You’re too short to walk home. Short kids can’t walk home.
…but wait.
YoungFUnd has been gone the majority of weekend days with the neighborhood crew. My kid uses their alarm clock to wake up and get ready on the school mornings that I’m at the gym. We’ve even made a cute little poster about what YoungFUnd can, and can’t, do when they’re home alone, on the short stretches they decide to skip grocery shopping and stay behind.
But walk home? Away from the safety net of afterschool childcare? What if it rains? What if their friends who also walk home are all sick?
None of these thoughts came out of my mouth, of course. I simply said, “Let’s talk about it a little later today, let me think about it for a minute.”
Satisfied with my response, they ran off to look for frogs in the hose bucket.
I’ll spare you the 12 pages of soul searching I could put here, but in summary:
Yes, this kid is old enough to skip afterschool care, walk home with neighbor kids, and spend time at home while my partner works away upstairs. This probably could have been done earlier in the year, come to think of it…
We decided to celebrate this “graduation” by going to Home Depot and picking out their own key so they could let themselves into the house independently. Each day that week, during the “trial run” of walking home, nobody got kidnapped, run over, nor came home with a face tattoo.
Have I mentioned I have to fight the fear of the unknown? Well, I fought it, I won, and now my kid is stronger and more independent because of it.
And you know what else?
Momma now has about $325 more bucks per month because of it!
This is “my” half of the expenses for after school care, the other half YoungFUnd’s dad pays for. Thankfully, we both agreed that it was time to release the kid from childcare, and set them free after school in the neighborhood jungle with other wild ones.
$325 unexpectedly coming my way? Every month? This budget item was so engrained in my monthly expenses, that it didn’t occur to me that one day I would not pay out each month. Sounds like I have an opportunity to make an impact somewhere.
If you’ve read “My Retirement Plan(ish)”, you’ll know I am not stuck to a specific plan, and I am going to have several options available in the near(ish) future. I am heading towards those options, comfortably set on cruise control.
First thought:
It’s a no brainer what I should do: Add the $325 amount to my 457b. It’ll lower my taxable income, it will be available as soon as I separate from my current workplace, and it gives me even more flexibility in the future. An average of about 14% growth in the market over the last 10 years tells me this is a great place to put my money. After investing, I would have an additional $44,000 accumulated for future Ms. FUnds, giving even more breathing room and stronger options down the line. Amazing.
Second thought:
Future Ms. FUnds gets so much already! Current Ms. FUnds is busy, and has several ideas of where the extra money could go that could be used in the here and now:
House renovations
The sooner we knock these last big projects out, the sooner I don’t have to save extra for these, which would reduce my monthly expenses/savings requirements. Also, the sooner the house would be even more functional.
A (bigger than usual) summer trip to save for
There are some rumblings in the family (and extended family!) to all do a big fat summer trip, which would include plane tickets, some kind of residence, and who knows what else my crazy relatives will cook up. This will be more expensive than usual, and my typical monthly bucket for vacation may need more in it.
A house cleaner
I don’t mind cleaning, but I’m doing a half assed job of it, since there are plenty of other things that take my time and energy. Would I enjoy my house (and my life?) more if I don’t have to spend my extra time chiseling splattered crap off the cabinets? Probably.
It’s tempting to reason that applying the new funds towards my current lifestyle would benefit me now, but is it worth losing out on the investment opportunity for the future?
On the other side of the coin, why do I keep sending money and opportunity down the road to future Ms. FUnds? That bitch is getting everything!
There’s no rush to make a decision; I will weigh my options, and determine the best way to promote my goal to live life on my own terms. Compared to Survival Mode, what a great position to be in!
In the meantime, I’m going to use this moment as another reminder to slow down, savor this phase, and go look for frogs with YoungFUnd. They seem to have everything figured out, maybe I can learn something from them.
*Turns out, Gretchen Rubin is credited with this quote
