$43K to $57K Raise in Austin, TX... A Year Later, Debts Are Still Piling Up
Family of 5 here. I'm the breadwinner, husband stays home with our three kids (3, 5, and 9). Left a private school job ($43K, garbage benefits) for Austin ISD last year. $50K, actual health insurance, step increases. Thought we'd finally stop drowning.
We are still drowning. Debt is somehow worse. Cut up the credit card because when you're $200 short on groceries you make bad decisions. Student loans are on "we'll deal with that later" status, which I know is a disaster waiting to happen.
Everyone's advice is just "cut the extras" but I have a 3, 5, and 9 year old. Soccer. Movie nights. Park days. That's basically the whole fun budget and it's already almost nothing. I'm not cutting it. I'm not getting these years back.
My husband is doing everything, three kids all day, no breaks, no income. I'm not going to nickel and dime every family activity on top of that.
Edit: Started picking up edtech recruiting on the side, nights after the kids are down. Makes sense I guess, I know the space, I know what schools actually need. Market's patchy but I can grab a req here and there. Not life changing money yet but it's something.
Anyone else feel like a raise just revealed how screwed you already were?