The Breakfast Club for 40-Somethings

Chapter 3An invitation

Karen didn’t want to fight with Russ about him getting a new job. It was just she knew their financial situation better than him. They had two kids in private school, costing more than $17 000 for each child annually, and with Taz going when Nate finished. Add in the mortgage and living costs, and they couldn’t afford to miss a single month’s pay.

Their credit cards were already racked up, with another $10k going on to pay for their last holiday to Fiji, on top of the $18k she had already spent over the past few years. She kept paying off the minimum payment but, somehow, the card balance never went down.

Karen quickly reassured herself whenever she felt a pinprick of guilt about the debt. She was sick of waiting until they had saved enough money to go on an overseas trip. The kids were exhausted from school, and school holidays sucked when there was nowhere to go. And it had been a fantastic week in Fiji. They’d all relaxed and had the chance to relate as a family again — without their own individual demands on their time. Those kinds of holidays were essential to keep you together as a family, she had always felt.

But it meant they were maxed out. They could always put nice food on the table, and the kids always got their activities and opportunities — Karen always made sure that was the case, no matter what she went without.

She knew Russ wondered where all the money went. He earned a small fortune but the fact was, in Sydney, $220k didn’t really ...