And I am a worry wart

So I worry- a lot! I stress and stress and stress about EVERYTHING, to the point that sometimes it interferes with my life. And my husband knows this. Right now, the main contributor of stress is well, money. And the ever approaching day that Scott gets out of the Marine Corps, which means a loss of income, health care, dental insurance- EVERYTHING. And without going into too much detail, being a military family comes with sacrifices, such as living away from the area you ultimately want to settle down in. Because of this, and lack of money, and the indebtedness, it is hard to just up and travel to job interviews to find a job somewhere you might actually want to live voluntarily. And so we looked for other options.

Our options were:

1) Me go active duty.

2) Me find a job.

3) Me commission and hope to find a full time reserve position.

4) Me find a job.

Scott re-enlisting was never an option. Until Sunday, when he brought up the idea. I was like "Whoa, what?" Because this has always been a closed subject. SCOTT WAS NOT GOING TO RE-ENLIST! That was just how it was for the better part of the last three years. But after research and discussion and prayer and thought and discussion, Scott is *hopefully* going to be laterally transferring (changing) jobs and re-enlisted for another 4 years in the Marine Corps.

But what changed our minds you ask. (Right? You did ask that?)

DEBT changed our minds. And after researching we found out that job Scott wants to re-enlist as carries a bonus of $44,000 (that's more than we make in a year!!). Can we say good-bye debt? Can we say have everything paid off within 18 months of today? Without having to scrape our budget tooth and nail to pinch every penny and "save" every single dollar? So our plan now goes as this:

Scott re-enlist into the Marine Corps. Scott goes to MOS school, Scott graduates, and the Marine Corps deposits about $30,000 into our bank account. We pay off Scott's credit card (if not already paid off), we pay off my motorcycle, we pay off Scott's motorcycle, and we pay off most of my loan (oh and we buy a new bed WITH bed frame, a pistol, and Scott concealed and carry license). We sell my bike. We pay off my loan and we continue making payments on what is left, my car. In February or March 2011, we should receive a pretty hefty tax refund check. We use it to finish paying off debt, as much as we can (because then we will move on to student loans). And we will pay as much on those as we can until they are paid off. We then move to baby step #3 and get 3-6 months expenses in the bank (or about $12,000). And then we move on. So please tell me, I think we will be out of debt and have an emergency fund in place by the end of next year.

Our main reason for doing this. So that when Scott's EAS date comes around again, we will have no debt, money in the bank, and less stress about looking and landing jobs. And by then I should have my MBA as well, making job hunting hopefully even easier.

Oh did I mention this also means we can have another free baby (medical bill wise), free health insurance, cheap dental insurance, and a steady paycheck. The peace of mind is worth the 4 extra years to us. And so we commence Operation: Re-Enlist. Please pray that he gets the job that he wants. The paperwork is already flowing.