Editor's note: This story is part of an ongoing series of profiles CNN is doing about economic survival in this time of financial crisis.





Nicole Thompson-Arce poses on her wedding day with her husband, Mathew Arce, and her ex-mother-in-law.





(CNN) -- Struggling to make ends meet, trying to dig themselves out of debt, Nicole Thompson-Arce and her husband have moved in with her ex-husband.





Together, the unlikely threesome of Omaha, Nebraska, is raising two young daughters from the first marriage.





It's the kind of situation that has left cable guys howling.





"They'd never heard anything like this," Thompson-Arce, 28, remembered with a laugh. "And they're in people's homes everyday."





When she and Craig Thompson, 42, were going through a divorce in 2005, this was not a deal either of them could have imagined striking. It was a messy divorce, the kind involving a custody dispute. But once they ironed out that battle, agreeing to joint custody, Thompson-Arce said they were able to move on and forward. iReport: Read Thompson-Arce's post





By the time she married Mathew Arce last July, she said she and her ex were friends. In fact, they were so close that his mother -- meaning Thompson-Arce's ex-mother-in-law -- was in (not just at) the second wedding ceremony.





Soon after the Florida wedding, the new lovebirds flew into a financial mess. She had left a job, and as soon as she found another (a temp position), her 22-year-old husband was fired from his higher-paying gig. iReport.com: Job hunt stories





They fell behind in rent. The bills stacked up. The credit card debt grew. iReport.com: What are you cutting from budget?





A couple months later, Arce, landed a temporary Wal-Mart cashier position, which has since turned into a full-time job. But finances remained shaky and digging themselves out of debt seemed insurmountable. Tell us how you're surviving in this economy





In walked the ex with an offer, just in time for Christmas. Thompson, an 18-year bakery employee at Wal-Mart, lives in a three-bedroom, one-bath home.





"I knew they were having money problems, so I just asked them to move in," he said. "I figured I'd get to see my girls, my daughters, more often. And Nicole said yes right away."





Besides the economic savings, the benefits are many.





No longer do they have to shuttle Victoria, 7, and Caitlyn, 6, between two households. As a team, they can parent and be on the same page. Finding a baby sitter is never a problem. They take turns making meals, which they all share.





Thompson and Arce, who are 20 years apart -- "I had to get the whole spectrum going there," Thompson-Arce joked -- have become the best of friends, and share a similar sense of humor. They have tackled home improvement projects, run around together on days they both have off and often hang out at the kitchen table building plastic models.





"We just clicked," Thompson said. "When I tell people, 'I'm living with my ex-wife and her husband,' I get some really strange looks. ...It's different. It's unusual, but it works."





The transition has been smooth and great for the kids, Thompson-Arce said. And for their benefit, irrespective of finances, she thinks it's a living situation they'll stick with for at least five to 10 years. It has, however, taken a little time for the little ones to get the story straight.





Seven-year-old Victoria went back to school after winter break -- and after the whole team had blended under one roof -- and started telling people this: " 'My mommy has two husbands,'
What do they tell people? What does the husband get? What did the couple do? Who has moved in with her ex? What is the reason he gets strange looks?
'I'm living with my ex-wife and her husband,' some really strange looks. moved in with her ex-husband. Nicole Thompson-Arce "When I tell people, 'I'm living with my ex-wife and her husband,'
question: What do they tell people?, answer: 'I'm living with my ex-wife and her husband,' | question: What does the husband get?, answer: some really strange looks. | question: What did the couple do?, answer: moved in with her ex-husband. | question: Who has moved in with her ex?, answer: Nicole Thompson-Arce | question: What is the reason he gets strange looks?, answer: "When I tell people, 'I'm living with my ex-wife and her husband,'