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As I was sitting around Friday night awaiting Princess arrival for the weekend. I thought it might be interesting to look back to this time last year. You have to admit the last year and a half have been one for the history books…for everyone!

Last August, I was…

Focused on paying off Student Loan #1 – I did it too. Last year, the first of my student loans was closed out. And here I am just picking back up in paying the minimum on student loan #2.
Dreaming of my Post Kids Time – Boy, that dream has changed. No more RV’ing or upcycling a bus type dreams here. Now I own my home and am creating the perfect place to live out my olden days. No regrets in how this dream has changed.
Planning for the Fall – the state fair was cancelled last year – thanks COVID. So our fall was pretty boring. But I am hoping the girls and I can go this year. Gymnast will be going to Texas for his fall break. (My dad purchased his airline ticket.)

This year looks very different.

From 5 at home to 1

I knew my post kids time was coming. Although Gymnast is still home, I don’t really see him much. Between work, school and friends…I am home alone ALOT. I am keeping myself busy with home projects and training my new puppy.

Food continues to be a challenge for me. I love my kitchen, but cooking for one is not fun. And I really don’t like left overs. (I ate the same meal 3 times this week.) There are lots of nights when I settle for a sandwich or just raw veggies and dip.

This months money is planned and spent. So I’m coasting through this month, sticking to the plan and working on next month.

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.

Clarifying the Plan

by Hope

I knew my plan would be met with some criticism. And that’s okay. But there are a few points that I thought might be worth clarifying….

I have run the numbers every which way. All the time taking into consideration all I want to do with and for the kids over the next two years. With a firm commitment, tightening the belt and a few extra projects every year, I can do it.
Paying off my mortgage is important for my peace of mind. I’ve been through 13 years of housing insecurity and several years of job insecurity. Getting to the point where I could literally work a fast food job and pay my daily bills would be amazing and is my ultimate goal! (But I will consider the recommendation of a money market account as I am completely ignorant as far as that goes.)
Barn doors are my style…and my kids like them too. We’ve never been a family that needed locks on our doors and in many cases, with foster kids, it was discouraged for safety reasons. Closing the door offers plenty of privacy. Just like personal finance is personal, so is house design, I suppose.
My financial outlook/plan for September remains unchanged. I have DIY supplies galore around here from all the work we’ve been doing. This weekend I plan to paint the window trim in the living room and hang 3 sets of new blinds (thanks, Habitat for Humanity thrift store) and complete the kitchen remodel, well mostly.

My DIY kitchen is almost done

I love, love, love my new dishwasher. It is the perfect size for my little household now. I even have a disposal now! Feel like I’m back in the modern world after YEARS without what I consider typical conveniences.

He installed my disposal, dishwasher, waterline to the refrigerator, countertops and even the new light over my sink. I am SO GRATEFUL!

After months of pricing countertops and reviewing materials and maintenance, I am thrilled with my super economic butcher block countertops. (This is before they were cut, connected and conditioned.)

My DIY kitchen (at least for the most part) is on the cusp of being complete. As I mentioned, I negotiated a really great rate for the finishing touches I needed help with, ie plumbing and electrical work.

Before anyone comments, Gymnast designed this kitchen. I love the style and open shelves. (I realize from my last post about my kitchen that this is a poor person’s kitchen, but I love it.) Gymnast and I are going to finish out the area under the sink and around the dishwasher this weekend.

I’ve still got to install the backsplash. This will have to wait until I have several free days in a row. I anticipate it will take about 3 days. I have the tile and spacers, although I still need to purchase the compound, grout and find a tile cutting tool to rent or borrow.