The Beginnings of the SINK

Earlier this month, my soon-to-be-husband found out he would be losing his job in a few months and so begins this blog. Until this point, we've been an averagely enabled couple with modest means. We could (and did) eat out once a week and go record shopping and take the occasional vacation. We had plans to finally plunk down money for a major home renovation - and, yes, we are homeowners, even if Bank of America still owns most of it.

We were, as our clever friend Treavor taught us, DINKs: dual incomes, no kids. This is a category largely reserved for gay couples, so he says, but increasingly describes more and more straight folks as the average age of first time parents rises. Instead of saving for college tuitions and diaper supplies, we save for trips to Spain and that perfect lamp for the guest room.

And now it only makes sense that we're soon to be SINKs. It's not a done deal yet, of course - J could get a new job tomorrow and this all could be over sooner than it started. But, as a former career counselor and perpetual over-thinker, I am far too practical or cynical (depending on your angle) to buy into that now. We have to prepare for the future that most likely includes some time where we have one income to live on and a whole new set of priorities to wrestle with.

That said, I started this blog for a few reasons. First off, this is stressful for everyone and I needed a place to think about things in writing. My stress only makes J's stress worse, so it seemed to make sense to build another channel. Secondly, I chose to do this in a public forum (instead of in a journal like a normal person) in the hopes that anyone who might read this would be able to offer advice. I'm already an avid reader of several sites on this (more on that in a bit), but I'm hoping get some more as this goes on. Lastly, and in a reversal of the second, I'm hoping (and most likely in vain) that this maybe helps someone else going through the same thing. While I am writing this for myself as much as anyone, it would be great if anyone but me befitted. After only two weeks, I can attest that a change like this is hard on everyone and if anything I go through strikes a chord, maybe even a small bit of solidarity might help.

So, here we go.