Opportunity Cost

Oh man. How did life all of a sudden get so BUSY? Oh wait, I can tell you how...

I became a working girl again.

And while having income from a job is fantastic, there are also opportunity costs. What's that? I remember something from freshman year's American Heritage class?! You bet I do! (Granted, this is about the only thing I remember from that class.... that and the trip to Vegas to work campaigning....)

Here are the opportunity costs of my job (in no particular order):

• Blogging
• Clean house
  
• Healthy home cooked dinner
  
• Free time
• Organization
• Scripture reading
• RS Lesson planning
• Lunch with Dustin
• Fridays with Dustin
  

I'm sure there are more, but those are the ones that weigh the heaviest on my mind right now. My blog hasn't been posted in for over a month, and there are lots of fun things we've been doing that I'd love to record in this journal of mine/share with family and friends. My home has become somewhat of a disaster with piles of clothes that need sorted in my bedroom and crafting supplies scattered all over the floor in the spare bedroom. And when Saturdays roll around, I'd rather spend time relaxing than cleaning. Though I attempt meal planning, even work on getting chicken out to thaw, by the time it's time to cook dinner, I just don't want to or nothing sounds good. So Subway has become a frequent eatery for us. I am teaching Relief Society tomorrow and have I even STARTED my lesson yet? Um, not really. Read through it, got the online version so I can rearrange it and print it out, but haven't started actually forming it yet. I used to do that a WEEK in advance. Dustin has 2 hour breaks on Tuesdays so he would come home and have lunch with me; also is done with classes at 10:30 AM on Fridays. Now I see him for a few hours each night before we try to get to bed early to wake up on time (which doesn't always work).

These are all things I give up to have a job, the opportunity costs.

Of course, there are many perks to having a job:

• Money - no need to take out grad plus loans next year!
• Fun date nights
• DVR service
• Paying off the car in April!!! Only student loans left to pay off :(
• Savings account more realistic
• Something to do all day (hahahaha)
  
• Trips to plan (Chicago next spring break? Alaskan cruise at graduation? Utah for a weekend here and there? the coast?)
• 2 year gym memberships to 24 Hour Fitness bought (via Costco!)
  

Again, more things could be put on this list, but those are probably the biggest. Do the pros weigh out the cons? Some days yes and some days no. I do miss having more time to myself and enjoying time at home, having no excuse to not read scriptures or clean the house and make healthy dinners. But the pros are pretty fun too. We have some fun little weekend trips planned in the next few weeks with Dustin's 2 week break and I love that we can actually DO something for date night instead of McDonalds and Netflix every week. I am SUPER pumped to pay off my car 2 and a half years early! And the thought that we can potentially graduate with more in our savings account than when we started is a nice thought, and that's without taking out grad plus loans for the rest of school! (if I work til he graduates). We got 2 year gym memberships to 24 Hour Fitness so we can get back in shape (Ha, like I've ever been in shape...) and are excited to workout together!

I just have to keep looking at the pros to remind me that I'm doing what's best for our family right now when I look around at the messy house and another Subway dinner because I'm too tired/have no desire to do anything once I get home. It's all about balance and I'm still working out that work/home balance to see that everything is taken care of. It will come with effort and practice, but until then, if the blogging is feast and famine.... you've been warned.