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6:45 a.m.
Adriana wakes up every day at 6:45 a.m., without the aid of an alarm clock. "I don't know how," she laughs. "I just do." This sense of time is essential to geting everything done with a family of five children. -
7:10 a.m.
To be on time to take her two oldest children to high school, at least one foot must be out the door by 7:10 a.m. -
8:20 a.m.
By 8:20, Adriana has to have her three younger children in school. She usually has to wait by the school gate until her youngest, a rambunctious boy with Adriana's eyes, is led in by his teachers. In the past, his excess of energy has led him to run from the building. -
9:10 a.m.
By 9:30 a.m., Adriana is home and putting up her advertisement on Craigslist. This is the only Web site she advertises on. -
9:30 a.m.
Adriana is at her first housekeeping job -- she relies greatly on her trusty steed, a blue Dodge, to get her to work on time. -
12:30 p.m.
On a good day, Adriana will be at her second housekeeping job by 12:30 p.m. She brings along her own cleaning supplies - broom, mop, duster, paper towels, micro-fiber towels, a toilet brush, Windex, two types of Lysol, among others. The $25 every two weeks that the supplies cost her are negligible for the competitive edge they offer. -
2:30 p.m.
At 2:30, Adriana picks up her three youngest children and takes them to their crafts activities at a nearby daycare center, and stays there with them until 4:30 p.m. -
4:45 p.m.
At 4:45 p.m., Adriana comes home and, depending on the day, shops for dinner or cooks it. She only spends $100 a week on groceries, which makes seven dinners for seven people, as well as lunch for her and her husband during the week. -
5:45 p.m.
At 5:45 p.m., Adriana takes her three youngest children to hockey practice. She is one of the few parents that stays through the whole game, and saves up during the week to buy the whole team bottles of water after practice. -
8:00 p.m.
During her free hours in the evening, Adriana does homework with her youngest child, takes some time to relax and works out her budget for the next day. After going deeply into credit card debt, Adriana and her husband cut up their four credit cards - two from Bank of America and two from Chase - and now live only with cash, and a debit card. -
10:00 p.m.
Ideally, Adriana is in bed by 10 p.m. each evening. Though her house was refinanced, leading to a doubling of the monthly payment from $1,200 a month to $2,140, her family decided to stay in the home they love despite the extra financial strain.