Blogging Away Debt Blogging Away Debt follows real people on their journey to debt freedom — with tips on the debt snowball, budgeting, cutting expenses, and staying motivated.

by Hope

I have written about bartering many times. Trading services for services has been a mainstay in our lives for a long time. Here are some of my earliest posts regarding things I bartered for:

Barter Win – Homeschool Tuition – 2014

How I Got into Bartering –  2015

I’ve bartered for Tae Kwon Do lessons, homeschool co op tuition, competitive gymnastics training, and so much more over the years. And now, I’ve gone and done it again. This time, it isn’t for the kids, it’s for the dogs.

Saving on dog expenses

One of my biggest dog expenses is boarding them when I want to travel. We now have 7 dogs! Boarding them is EXPENSIVE!

So when the local kennel we use needed help me their website, you KNOW I jumped on it. Score!!!

In exchange for two full weeks of boarding, to be used when needed, I am re-doing their website. AND, he will continue to use my services in the coming years. I cannot explain how exciting this is.  It will literally save me thousands of dollars.

I LOVE our kennel. Anyone who owns pets know how hard it is to find someone who loves your pets and takes care of them the way you do. We have been really blessed with this one…here’s pics of 4 of our dogs getting “pup cups” during their last boarding stay.

I used a few of my free days for our state fair trip. And some of my days will cover our family trip to New York. But I am super stoked to find this cost saving measure that will really make traveling a bit more cost effective.

Hope

Hope is a resourceful, solutions-driven online business manager with over two decades of experience helping clients streamline operations, manage projects, and grow their businesses through digital marketing and technology.

But life has a way of rewriting your plans.

A year ago, Hope made the decision to move in with her aging parents full time – a season she wouldn’t trade, even as it came with its own financial and emotional weight. Earlier this year, she lost her mother, and is now walking the tender, disorienting path of grief while learning what “forward” looks like from here.

Hope came to the Blogging Away Debt community in 2015 as a single mom raising five foster and adoptive children. She’s written through job changes, financial setbacks, and the bittersweet transition to an empty nest. Her kids are finding their footing in the world now – and so is she.

Rooted in faith and fueled by the same perseverance she’s brought to every hard season, Hope is ready to face her finances with fresh eyes and an honest pen. She believes that clarity, courage, and community can change the trajectory of anyone’s story including her own.

She lives in Austin, TX with her dad, loves adventures with her dog Addie, and is figuring out, one step at a time, what this next chapter is meant to be.