Comments on: The Simple Dollar Weekly Roundup: Future Plans Edition

By: Dee

Dee — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 15:45:41 +0000

I agree with Tom. Yes, I worked and so did my husband.

By: Adam P

Adam P — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 17:18:45 +0000

Hmm my parents had live in help when I was growing up…so my “Miss Robbie” the housekeeper looked after me when they were running their companies but I don’t ever remember being sad or upset my mother wasn’t around. Where does that place on the “if my schedule isn’t flexible I’m letting someone down” line of thinking?

By: Tom

Tom — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 17:12:57 +0000

If he felt he was letting his family down by pulling necessary overtime at an inflexible, salaried position, that’s a totally valid opinion.

That’s how I read his statement. Trent has a mantra of do what’s important for you if you can afford it; I’ve never heard him suggest that just anyone can up and quit their job and create a succesful, income-producing blog. He’s thankful of his schedule. Everyone else is inferring more out of that statement.

By: valleycat1

valleycat1 — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 16:58:54 +0000

#4 lurker carl – LOL

By: Steven

Steven — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 15:41:06 +0000

“But let’s cut out the idea that the only right way to parent is to be at home all day and that anything else is a betrayal. And once we’ve done that, let’s cut out the idea that anyone who
doesn’t have a job is just lazy and whiny.”

By: lurker carl

lurker carl — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 15:36:45 +0000

Ouch.

Trent is inferring that his wife is letting him and the kiddies down because of her inflexible work schedule.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 15:26:48 +0000

So most parents who work a 9-5 are letting down their children? A.K.A. most of the country?!?

By: Katie

Katie — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 15:01:13 +0000

Seriously, my parents worked (my mom didn’t when I was very young but did when I was older), and I don’t feel that either of them ever “let me down” for reasons related to their work schedule. I knew they were working both for our family and for their own personal fulfillment and even at a young age this made intuitive sense to me.

I mean, no family is perfect, obviously, and there will always be hurt feelings and misunderstandings and disagreements. But let’s cut out the idea that the only right way to parent is to be at home all day and that anything else is a betrayal.

And once we’ve done that, let’s cut out the idea that anyone who doesn’t have a job is just lazy and whiny.

By: valleycat1

valleycat1 — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 14:56:28 +0000

RE flexible scheduling – Bashing people who work instead of staying home with the kids is getting tiresome – some of us have to hold down conventional jobs.

I was a single parent for the years my child was 3 to 13. I held down a 9-5 job with a moderate amount of overnight travel & rare overtime. She was in day care or school from 7AM to 5:30PM for most of those years. I don’t think she’d tell anyone I ever ‘let her down’ – though there were a few activities I had to miss. She has a very realistic idea of how the world works – no one can always be there for you every single time, and it takes some compromising to get food on the table & bills paid particularly if you’re a single parent.