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by Hope

Well, I turned around and we are halfway through March. How in the world did that happen?!?

Next weekend, not this coming one, Gymnast arrives for a week long visit.

Then we leave at the end of that visit for a week long trip (Spring Break) to Texas to visit my parents. Holy cow, this year is flying by.

Oh, and sprinkled in 2-3 times per week is volleyball practice or games. We are going to be half way through April before I can catch my breathe. Anyone else going through this?

As a result of this craziness, not to mention the financial setbacks of a hospital stay and a car wreck, I have officially decided, just yesterday, that I will not buy any more groceries until we return from Texas. We are going to eat through our pantry again.

I did a grocery run the last week of February and spent around $200 (too lazy to look up the total right now.) But haven’t spent any other grocery money of our normal $600 budget.

I’d rather leave the cupboards bear anyways since we will be gone for over a week, and what better way to do it. We’ll save some money, eat through the stuff that is no one’s favorite (yes, we still have Chicken Noodle Soup) and I’ll have a clear conscious to splurge on groceries upon our return. It’s a win, win, win!

I know it’s Spring Break other places now. Most of my Texas friends are posting their getaways this week. Anyone in the BAD community doing something fun for their break?

We are looking forward to visiting Texas again. I will be working the entire trip. And we are going to take my car (crossing fingers that it is fixed by then) to save money vs renting a car like we did for Thanksgiving. I’m excited because it means the twins can help drive on this super long roadtrip!

It will be a low key trip. And we will cook a lot to stock my parents deep freezer for them. And the countdown in on. Now I’m off to make a 3 week meal plan, clearing out our pantry, freezer and refrigerator. Wish me luck (especially when the kids hear about my plan!)

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.