Thousandaires!

We're well on our way to refi land! Looks like, after all of our bills are paid off, we'll be getting a check for around $20,000. That's more money than we've ever had in our hands at one time. Of course, most of that is claimed in the way of house repairs, but there will be enough left for me to register for my medical transcription course. And because we won't have nearly as many bills, since we'll have no credit card debt, or car payments to make, we'll be in a better place financially. So much so that I'll be able to quit my job and focus on school and, most importantly, being Jonas's mommy.

It's such a relief, after all this time of struggling to get by, to know that we're going to be ok, and all the guilt of leaving J for 12 hour stretches at a time in the care of someone else is nearly over. I'll work until I'm registered and until they find my replacement, but after that I'm free!

It's not so much that I hate my job. There are some aspects of it that I love, and I work with a group of pretty great people. Sure, there are a few that make it miserable, but I'll miss most of them.

Doing the math the other night we realized that without my paycheck, and with the decrease in money going out each month, we'll be in about the same position we're in now with me working. Add into that the cost of daycare and the gas I use commuting across town and back, and the fact that my income puts us in a higher tax bracket, and it's actually advantageous for me to stay home.

Eventually, once I complete my course, I'll work again. It'll be at least six or nine months from now, but transcription is something I can do from home, in my off-hours.

Finally, for the first time in nearly two years, I feel like I can breathe again.