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When I first had kids, I always thought they would follow in my footsteps. I thought they would graduate high school, go to college, maybe go to grad school and then begin their lives and their careers…

It wasn’t until the twins came into our lives that I began to rethink that and realize that not everyone’s path should or needs to include college. It was a hard pill to swallow at first as that is how I was raised.

But over the now 9 years that the twins have been part of our family, I have really come to embrace that everyone’s path will be different and not always what I expect and that is okay. Even more than that, it is good and it is for the best.

Another Entrepreneur in the Family

So when Gymnast first began talking about how he is going to be rich and how he’s going to buy this and that and the other, well, in my head, I always pictured him going to college and then…or maybe becoming a professional athlete and then…or maybe becoming an actor because anyone who knows him, knows how important an audience is…

Traffic lights and an E Commerce street sign

What I didn’t picture was him starting a business at 15. But after months of talking and pushing and him pushing back…well, I am stepping out of the way.

This past month, he has taken the first steps to starting a business…

He laid out his plan to me.
He worked up the numbers. And then worked them up again after I pointed out some holes.
He designed a logo and collected the data and content he would need for a website.
He researched the product, the process, the supplies, the how tos, the everything.
He priced everything.
He added everything to an Amazon cart.
I bought him a domain name ($15 investment) built him an ecommerce website. (And hosted it for free because I’m his mom.)
He ordered all the supplies he needs to get started, using every penny of his savings ($300). I finally acquiesced.
We launched his website last weekend. And his supplies will begin arriving this week.

I will be honest, I have no idea if his idea will succeed or fail. But I realized that I needed to get out of the way and let him take a shot. Here’s to the next generation of entrepreneurs, may they think big, work hard and be amazing successes at whatever they choose to pursue!

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.

“I Hate the Government”

by Hope

Princess received her largest paycheck to date this past week and she was super excited! Until she saw it…

She makes $8 per hour and had worked almost 60 hours over a two week period. She was feeling good and had a plan for her money.

She has learned to live on the $30 per week allowance I was giving her last spring. So she based her financial plan off that knowledge.
She’s been saving upwards of 60-70% of each paycheck.
And now that she will be responsible for her 1/2 of her car insurance and all of her phone bill, she worked out how much she needed to set aside each pay period to cover her $170 per month in bills.
Princess was excited…

And then she took at a look at the taxes and other government monies taken out. So she came in with her paycheck, rushing to the bathroom and screaming “I hate the government.”

Tax withholding forms and a pen on a table beside a coffee mug

I just had to laugh. They only took just over $50 out for state income tax, medicare and social security. But she missed that money! There aren’t taking any federal taxes out, which surprised me, but maybe that’s common since she would get it all back anyways.

Either way, it led to an interesting discussion on taxes and politics and different views on government, etc. It was educational and a little bit funny.

Taking on Some Responsibility

Princess settled into the idea of needing to pay some of her own bills easily. This was expected after watching the twins begin to pitch in when they were her age. She’s always witnessed their responsibilities grow as they got older and more independent…well, at least a little. And like them, she knows that this is part of growing up.

It was just this year, at 21 1/2 that the twins began paying room and board here at home, got their own auto insurance policies, and just last week History Buff decided to get his own phone service.

I let Princess know that I would help her buy one more phone when she was ready, but after that she would be solely responsible for those upgrades as well. (She started making noise about her phone needing an upgrade a month or so ago, but when she realized that I wouldn’t be replacing it like I have in the past, that noise has quieted. I have told her how much I would contribute and they rest would be up to her.)

Because Princess is so far ahead in school, (if we had pushed, she could have graduated last year) one of her classes is work based learning. As a result, she is able to work more hours. She only has to be on the high school campus for one class every day and it gets out at 11am. Two days a week, she has two college classes, also on the high school campus. But three days a week, she is pretty free. She will begin working doubles a couple of days a week and is excited that she can maintain her working hours while going to school.