The first thing that started annoying me about this "movement" is that about 80% of the people posting and re-posting it on my Facebook wall are people my age that still live with their parents and have never held any discernible job. The second was all of the fucking whining about how "ZOMG! There are people that are rich and I'm not! No fair!" mentality.
I could really go on forever, but I'm going to present you with my life (picture it on a sandwich board if you want to)...
I am a Stay-At-Home-Mom of three daughters.
My husband is an E-5 member of the U.S. Navy (go ahead and look up his salary. it's easy).
All of my children have been (and still are) exclusively breastfed. That saves us (and the federal government since I'm not crying to them about the costs of infant poison) $230 per month, at a minimum.
My children that are not potty trained wear cloth diapers. The initial investment of this was around $300. However, I would be spending $150 per month on disposable diapers.
We live in military housing because it is cheaper than renting or buying in this area.
We do not have cable. We use Netflix and Hulu which saves us $150 per month.
We have 2 vehicles; one of which is paid off, therefore, we have no plans of buying new ones and taking on payments we cannot afford.
Are there things that we want that we don't have? Sure. That is human nature. Are there times when things are MUCH tighter than we feel they should be? Yes. Ultimately, the point is that instead of bitching about what I don't have and can't afford (there's always something. iPad, maybe?), i take a few deep breaths and realize everything that I DO have, and I am damn grateful for it! I have the ability to be home with my young children every day. I have a nice house. I have a car that I love. When my kids take a nap, I can watch documentaries on Netflix. The bills are paid. There's food on the table. 99% of the time, we are having a fucking blast!
That's my 99%. I will NOT be your 99%.
could not agree with you more.
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