REAL TALK ON FINANCIAL STRAIN

I'm going to take a minute to be honest about a pretty taboo topic. If anyone has a partner or themselves are studying for their PhD let me just start off by saying, I feel for you.
 
Andrew has been in post-secondary education for 10 years. Yes. 10 years. He has been finished his PhD for a year, which was supposed to be the most climactic point of his post-secondary career. That moment where he was supposed to feel like, "I made it!" Last summer, on his convocation day I couldn't be more proud of him and his achievements. I was so happy that I not only was present to witness this moment, but our son was there as well. I was beaming with Rory strapped to me in the baby wrap, only a few months old. I knew he wouldn't remember a thing but I would be able to retell him the story of this day with photographs. I thought, wow! After all this time he made it. WE made it!

Well, not quite.

Months following, he began his post-doctoral fellowship at Brock University, a 2 year contract position which brings in the same amount of income he received in school studying for his PhD. Don't get me wrong, this is the institution he wants to work for. It's in the area we grew up in, it's close to family and friends and he honestly just loves Brock. After graduating, this adjustment for him was hard. Really hard. He was finished school but he still had an uphill battle to climb to achieve his career goals.

We're both going to be 30 years old this year [barf]. We have a child, a dog, a mortgage and two vehicles. Add on gas for said vehicles, utilities, miscellaneous baby items, internet, television and food each month and it doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room does it? First world problems. I know, i know. But truthfully the struggle is REAL. I know he is going to get that killer professor position one day and I will get the nursing position I want, but right now it's hard.

I know other people can relate. You go to school for X amount of years and you accumulate this massive student debt, then you get married and accumulate more debt, and then you want to buy a house to raise a family in because time is a relentless son of a bitch and then you accumulate even MORE debt. It's a viscous cycle, and you can't even pay it down because you are JUST making it every month. It feels like you can never get ahead. It sounds pretty depressing now that I say it out loud. It makes you just want to say f*ck it, sell everything, move to an island and sell bracelets to live a simple humble life.

Anyways, this is us right now. We'll make it through. We always do.

B.