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by Hope

I have started my second trip to Texas. I have a full tank of gas and $50. Do you think we can make it on that?

Don’t get me wrong. I will get paid tomorrow, so I will have access to some money…at least until I pay my bills. And Gymnast actually put $40 in my hand when I drove away yesterday and said to call if I needed money or got stuck. (There are just some days you know you did something right when raising your kids.)

I’ve lined up friends to stay with every stop along the way there.

I packed a cooler with drinks, apples, cheese, and added some granola bars and peanut butter packets. (All food from my house versus a special grocery trip.)

And, of course, I have all the food and water Addie may need. (Had some distilled water gallons from my ex-fiance’s CPAP in my closet so am using those as her water.)

The Math

So I filled the tank of before I left. I have $50 readily available. (Not counting my $40 in cash.) And I have 1,031 miles to travel.

I get between 350-400 miles per tank of gas on the highway. So it’s going to be really close. But I’m going to challenge myself. (Not so much that I’m going to risk running out of gas on the side of the road.) Just imagine if I can make this happen, how much more travel I can do once I’m back on my feet if I get good at the packing and planning to cut down costs.

Here’s to the life of adventure I am actively seeking. And this is just step one.

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.