by Hope
The girls and I leave today for a week in Texas. We are all very excited to get away and see family. This will be Beauty’s first flight, first trip to Texas so that makes it even more exciting.
My parent’s neighborhood pool opened this past week, with restrictions, but it will give us something to do while we are in town. Our plan is to steer clear of most other public places to minimize the risk to ourselves and my parents as much as we can.
I thought I would pop in with a end of June debt update…so without further preamble, I will let the numbers speak for themselves.
| Student Loan #1 | $17,000.00 | $11,674.48 | $8,993.60 | 2.88% | $0 |
| Student Loan #2 | $21,750.03 | $19,561.92 | $19,536.55 | 2.88% | $0 |
| Honda HRV | $21,200.00 | $17,631.11 | $17,335.27 | 3% | $250 |
| Total | $59,950.03 | $48,867.51 | $250 |
Bot the twins are saying they are planning to move out at the end of the summer…but I am not confident that is really going to happen. And I’m still not sure if Gymnast will live here or return to his dad’s. This flux is hard for me, I am a planner, big time. But I’m learning to just breathe and go with the flow.
The kids are learning that they have to tell me if they are going to be here for dinner though. I’ve stopped cooking every day because so often I would cook and then I’d be the only one here for dinner. It became very frustrating.
Isolation, Independence Kids and School
Overall, this isolation continues to be good for my debt payoff. I am working 10-12 hours most days. My days are mostly uninterrupted since the 4 kids at home are relatively independent and mobile.
Sea Cadet, History Buff and Princess all pitch in to make sure Beauty gets to work and home. And when the girls aren’t working or studying, they spend their free time together skateboarding, a new hobby for both of them, at local parks or crafting around the house.
Georgia’s governor has declared that schools will re-open this fall. I’m not sure how that will look as far as restrictions go. But Princess school anticipates students returning to campus mid-August. We are waiting to hear what Beauty’s school plans to do.
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.
