I have five children. And two of them have moved out.
Yesterday I shipped four boxes of Andromeda’s stuff. Five if you count the computer. The total was $175.64. I also refilled a prescription (Andromeda’s) and saw my doc for another $100. I have a budget of $1500 for the household for a month. This is to cover groceries, gas, Iker’s instrument, clothes, shoes, pool tags and other miscellaneous stuff. So, because of the above, I’m already a high percentage into June’s money. We also pay allowances and chore money out of it. What we call “board money” because we track the amount owed to or by a child on the whiteboard in the computer room.
I also have a personal budget for fun stuff for me. This month, I’m going to hang onto it and not get the Hunter Pence t-shirt I want because I may need to purchase groceries with it. It is what it is. I promised T-Bob a futon this month. He currently sleeps on a mattress on the floor–thanks to Ike we’re short on two beds because we had a “captain’s bed” bunkbed split between rooms. The two that were damaged.
We’re not poor and I’m not trying to give that impression. It’s just that it is an ongoing struggle And what I’m hoping is, that with Andromeda being gone it will ease the finances a bit. For one thing, her ADD meds have a $60/month copay. That represents a savings. We’ve used up our flexible spending account money on glasses and medication for me and my hospital stay. So from now through December, medical stuff comes out of my household budget. So that $100 is a direct savings if you include the psychiatrist’s copay. Also, dining out with fewer people is cheaper as is any kind of field drip, whether it be an Astros game, ApolloCon or just a movie.
Jonathan and I are expecting that well will have indirect savings. Andromeda did laundry almost every day. The dryer running for an hour times 20-30 days is a real savings every month. We won’t save on board money because Andromeda did not get an allowance, she was only paid for chores and the chores still need to be done. But she had a large footprint in terms of “personal items”. And clothes and all of that stuff. Plus she’s been known to alter the state of the thermostat to more expensive settings–warmer in winter and cooler in summer.
I miss her. I don’t want anyone to think that I don’t love her. But she’s 20 years old and really needs to leave home. So I have two kids grown up and gone. I’m batting .400.
