Soon after the last post...

things changed.

So, I am working as a consultant for a few days and the person I'm working for is my supervising teacher from my student teaching. It's a short contract that ends in June, but she had a proposal for me.

She has offered me a job for next year. It is part time, has no benefits and doesn't pay into my retirement. However, from the dates I found that I could work, I could work 58 days next year at about $50 an hour and make around $23,000. I have a few options for more part time work to fill in the gap between that and my old salary. I need to make around $34,000. (which would be my salary next year minus day care). I have a side job I'm already doing that could give me another $3500. I can also do some subbing as well which is a good chunk of money as well.

My neighbor said she's willing to watch little J for cheap. She said if she could make $100 a month to pay for her daughter's preschool, that would be great. She also talked about doing a swap where I watch her kids so she can do some accounting/payroll stuff.

If I were to take this job, I would be working outside the home for 5 days a month max. I could do a ton of subbing at the beginning of the year while Jeremy is home to make some more money.

The benefits of taking this job: I am home with Jana a lot more than if I was working in a school. This would get me some experience with the educational law as well as how to deal with federal grants. I would be making contacts in the world of education-outside of teaching. We'd have little or no daycare costs. We might still be able to move. I'd get to learn something new (educational laws) and that would be very intellectually stimulating for me. I have no idea what my teaching job would look like because of cuts, I would only be teaching math part time and they'd have to fill it with maybe English (meaning more prep time and potentially teaching classes I've never taught before).

The draw-backs of this job: I would be giving up a full time job for a job that has the potential to be renewed each year for 6 years, but no guarentee. It has no benefits or retirement (although I have no insurance now because I was dropped for being out of work too long and we have put into our own retirement since I started working). It could be long days when I do work. There will be some local traveling (at most an hour away) which would make it longer days.

If I take this job and if we decide to move, we could sell both cars and buy a new(er) more fuel efficient car which would eliminate car payments (or most of them because we could pay off most of it with what we get from selling our cars). It would decrease our insurance and gas bills as well.

So much to think about that my head is spinning!