Crunch, crunch, crunch...

One thing that has definitely changed during my time away from waged work is my perspective on our family's budget. When I was still working for wages, I had a pretty good idea of what our monthly income and expenses were, but now I REALLY know. Something about watching the dedicated "stay at home with Mr. D" savings account dwindle down over these last two years made it all seem so much more real. Today I spent some time sitting down with old paystubs and current expense reports, trying to figure out how much money we need me to be bringing in, as distinguished from how much money we would LIKE me to be bringing in. It was an interesting excercise, and at least now I have some ballpark ideas. Although of course roughly 30% of the value of a typical compensation package is derived through benefits. Which are looking a little more important, now that Gov. McGreevey has signed S2820 into law.