Financial hole

This last week has been stressful with the madness on Wall Street. Everyone, including myself, is worried about finances. Living in the San Francisco Bay Area is already very expensive, but trying to raise children here is nearly impossible. I don't know how some families can afford a stay-at-home parent. My husband and I both work full time jobs and now I am looking for a side gig because we cannot afford daycare. However, I cannot quit work to stay at home to care for our boys because we cannot afford our cost of living (mortgage, car payment, etc.)

Finding a side gig is very difficult. Back in January I told my husband that I wanted to resign from my choir position so that I could spend time with my family. Yet here I am, one month after giving birth contemplating returning to work early and looking for a second job because we cannot live on the current income coming in and we are in a very big hole already.

{sigh}

I applied to this Craigslist.org post for an Environmental Protection Online Researcher. I hope it pays well enough to afford daycare. I don't know what we can give up for us to afford daycare -- landline? cable? We cannot give up the Internet because my husband works from home once a week. We don't go shopping. The last purchase I made was for a pair of shoes for me to wear to a wedding while I was 9 months pregnant because none of my shoes fit. The last time I got my hair cut was last year, after giving birth to my first son. We cannot afford college funds for our boys, let alone a savings account for ourselves or contributions to a 401(k). We are very slowly paying off debt. If I make a purchase, it is almost always for my kids. Now I carry no credit cards and have asked my husband to only care one in case of emergencies. I pay with cash or gift cards. If I don't have the money, I don't buy.

I am so thankful for my parents and my in-laws. They have provided my family & I with food, groceries, diapers and formula to help us get by.

Lord, I pray that you help us find a way to get out of this financial hole.