by Hope
I received an unexpected email from our HR department a couple of weeks ago. In addition to my new company paying 1/2 of tutoring their employers kids, they were purchasing a bulk load of Dell Chromebooks and offering them to employees at cost.
The end cost was $200, divided over 4 pay periods where they took it as a payroll deduction. A phenomenal deal for a great computer for school age kids. I quickly responded and got one for Gymnast. It arrived this past week and I just have 3 more payments to make.
It should easily last through his last 2 1/2 years of high school and even into college…no promises there. But crossing my fingers!
Why didn’t I get Princess one?
I can’t remember if I shared my Christmas surprise for Princess. She has for the last couple years really wanted a Mac book. Needless to say, $1,000+ was not in my budget for a student computer. (I had planned to go in with family for her high school graduation if I could pull it off and hopefully take advantage of any education sales they have during the summer.)
BUT, my youngest brother’s company was selling their old corporate laptops…all Mac books. He let me know at Thanksgiving and graciously went to preview them when they went on sale. I gave him my deal breaking specs and he got us one.
As a result, I was able to get her an older Mac book for Christmas for $199 + $40ish for shipping. A steal if you’ve ever priced Mac books. It works wonderfully and she was shocked at Christmas! Score!
(I may have already shared that, but couldn’t remember.) But either way, both of them have solid computers for school. Their last ones were no longer working – Gymnast due to mishandling and Princess screen just stopped working.
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.
