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

Five years ago, we began Guys’ Nights with the twins. They invited all their guy friends over for the night once a quarter. And they stayed up all night playing video games, eating junk food and having a good time. The last one took place during their junior year of high school while we were living in the apartment.

It began due to the restrictions of being foster kids. But it continued because it was a great way for me to get to know their friends and know that they were having good, clean fun. It was a cheap way to give the twins’ a positive social life. And those Guys’ Nights were epic.

Now we find ourselves in a similar situation.

New Friends, New Town = Girls’ Night

Princess has really begun to come out of her shell, making friends, the whole teenage girl thing. But in a small town, most everyone here grew up together. They are all related or feel like they are related. We are kind of like ducks out of water. And I’m still the same over-protective parent.

We hosted our first Girls’ Night this weekend. Five girls, five face masks ($1.37/each,) one giant tub of cookie dough from Sams Club ($8.95) and a couple of pizzas ($7.99/each.) It was a blast. And let me tell you, a girls all-nighter is very different than a guys!

The total cost for the night was minimal. The fun was priceless!

Challenge Issued

And after they had baked cookies, taken dozens of pictures and written a play…I issued my Summer Challenge. The girls jumped at it! Immediately talking about their skills and what they could produce.

Several of them asked me to speak with their parents about it. I’m so excited. This gives me more motivation to keep building my training modules for a young entrepreneur’s program.

Princess has been given the liberty to have her friends over every Saturday when Gymnast spends the night. I am still working on how I will manage our summer schedule.

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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.