My wife, Becky, recently submitted her resignation. Her last work day will be March 13 and we will become a single income family.

She has dreamed of leaving her job for years so she can spend more time with the kids and focus additional effort toward home schooling.

Just within the past year we’ve accomplished some major financial milestones that makes all of this possible. The biggest of those was paying off our vehicle and eliminating our student loan debt. Now, we only have our mortgage to worry about — no credit cards, no personal loans, no other debt of any kind.

We’re incredibly blessed to be in this position and I thank God everyday that we’re able to make this change.

But we’ve certainly done the work so that it was possible. We’ve never had credit cards and have avoided debt like the plague. We purchased a modest house several years ago and are constantly struggling with the fear that everyone else around us is doing “better”. That’s when we have to remind ourselves that we’ve just taken a different path by living well below our means and that the visible wealth that others advertise is likely fueled by a 6–20% interest rate that isn’t mentioned when they show off their new truck, talk about their vacation, and so on.

We live on a relatively strict budget now and I’m using a spreadsheet that I’ve setup alongside Bobby and Simplifi to keep track of it all. We have enough to pay all of our bills, put a bit in retirement, save some for emergencies and shorter-term goals, and have a little left over for discretionary spending.

We aren’t going to be saving as much and will have less spending money than we did with two incomes, but we’ll make it work. And it will be worth it for the betterment of the family as a whole.

The elephant in the room that has yet to be addressed, of course, is my income. As many of you know, I work for Automattic. It’s an incredible company that I’m ecstatic to be a part of. I’m very happy with my compensation and benefits there. But given what I’ve just described of our plans, I suspect many of you have the wrong impression about just how much I’m making. I won’t share the exact details, but I will say that most people would be shocked at what’s possible when you have almost no debt and a lean budget.

Thinking back at the life we’ve had leading up to this point, I don’t think I, or anyone else, would have expected the success that we’ve had. But I’m most proud of what that success will allow us to do. Becky and I will have more time for our kids, more time for each other, and live a more manageable life.

We won’t have to worry about finding and maintaining childcare and will avoid the additional stress that comes from having two incomes. Just a simple, focused life where the most important things are at the forefront.

We’re going all in on our family.

I should try to be bored more often, too. It would, undoubtedly, do wonders at helping me deal with life’s inevitable little problems that I tend to avoid thinking about.

➝ Source: cdevroe.com

Josh Ginter:

I do not believe, barring the opportunity to meet my Heavenly Father, there is anything greater in life than being a parent. It’s the pinnacle of responsibility — providing and protecting a helpless, innocent, perfect baby, and providing for the little one’s mother, who herself requires a partner to help her with life. It’s the pinnacle of meaning — seeing little versions of yourself learning, growing, and exploring the wide, wonderful world. It’s the pinnacle of self-realization — realizing you sacrificed the child you once were to put on the shoes of an adult who puts their family before themselves.

You cannot experience any of this without being a parent.

There is nothing more challenging or more rewarding than raising children. And for the vast majority of people, there is nothing that they will ever do in their life that has a bigger impact on the world.

➝ Source: thenewsprint.co

Chris Hannah:

For quite some time, I felt like I was ageing, and I was gaining more life experiences. But I was still the same 18-year old, just with a few more grey hairs, and a bit more money. That’s because I didn’t have any major responsibilities. I could skip meals, go to bed late, go to the pub, or even stay at work late. 

But once I became a parent, everything changed. My daughter needed feeding, a routine, enough sleep, and me to be present.

For years I expected some kind of moment where I would feel ready to be an adult. When that didn’t happen, I thought that maybe real adults didn’t exist.

But now I think that you only really become an adult when you need to be one. In reaction to your environment. You don’t get to wait until you feel qualified. It’s a response to necessity. You become an adult because you need to be an adult.

➝ Source: codeandculture.uk

David Heinemeir Hansson, writing on Medium:

For the first few months, I barely touched any of the money. Sure, I bought a big screen TV and more DVD boxsets than I could hope to consume, but it wasn’t like I couldn’t have done that anyway. It wasn’t until near the end of that year I finally drew down on the account of cliched purchases: A yellow Lamborghini! While all very nice, very wonderful, it didn’t, as we say, really move the needle of deep satisfaction.

What kept moving the needle, though, was programming Ruby, building Basecamp, writing for Signal v Noise, taking pictures, and enjoying all the same avenues of learning and entertainment my already privileged lifestyle had afforded me for years in advance.

I enjoy purchasing new gear as much as everybody else, but nothing makes me happier than hitting publish, sharing a photo with loved ones, or learning something new.