by Hope
I have always loved the winter months – the early darkness, the cozy quiet evenings. When the kids were younger and less busy, we would spend evenings watching family movies, play board games and put together puzzles.
Over the last year, I picked up a couple of puzzles in preparation for this winter. But with the kids working and occupied with their own lives, the winter nights are a lot different now. Most nights, it’s just me.
I’ve been working on finding some new things to do. I love to read and have plenty of self help and business related books. But let’s face it, that can get old. Our local library’s availability has been iffy with COVID, shutting down for weeks at a time whenever there is exposure.
And then I found this…a coloring book for introverts! I already have a slew of markers and colored pencils. So today, I start my color book.
Side Hustles for My Son
Sea Cadet visited me yesterday to do some laundry and he asked about making soap and other DIY projects I/we’ve done over the years. He’s interested in finding a side hustle of his own to supplement his EMT job income. We talked about alot of options. I did discourage soap making as a money making idea based on the math. But it was exciting to hear him interested and open to doing his own thing.
It’s sad to me that if he wants to continue down this career path, he will most likely always have to have another job and income stream. Not sad that he wants one, but more sad that the pay rate for EMTs is so low that he will need one.
Do any of your kids have side hustles that they enjoy and help make them some money? I’d love to hear more about your experiences.
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.
