by Hope
Happy New Years Eve, BAD Community!
Going into 2025 with a lot of insecurity as far as work goes. On December 19th, my full time client once again changed his mind as far as the full time role goes. And frankly, the roller coaster of his commitment and backing off has worn me out. He’s offered me some part time work for January. But I’m just not sure I trust him to pay me at this point.
However, I did secure health and dental insurance for myself and my younger two children – Beauty Princess and Gymnast. Woot, woot! I appreciate everyone’s input, specifically the link to the Georgia Access site.
Monthly cost: $84 for now with my variable income being cut so drastically.
Coverage starts tomorrow. And I will be working on finding providers and setting up preventative care appointments.
I wrote last summer about habit stacking. With some down time going into the new year, I am planning to pick back up my self work – a new counselor, a new calendar to keep me on track, and the open-ness to accept whatever comes for me in the new year.
It’s taken me a long time to realize that I cannot plan for “work” – it comes and goes, both as a contractor and employee, but I can plan for the in-between, the improvement of myself, and how I handle the challenges.
My self worth should not, cannot, and will not be tied to my work. My identity can no longer be wrapped up in being a mom now that my kids are grown and on their own.
2025 is going to be the year of reinvention for me. Time to shed the old and embrace the new…whatever that might be.
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.
