by Hope
Some weeks life just… piles up. That’s where I am right now.
Job applications. Family meetings about mom’s estate. Taking over dad’s bills. Planning one more road trip with him. Leading a small group on Saturdays through my church. And juggling an ever changing roster of clients and projects. All at once.
So let’s talk money. Because every single one of these things touches it.
The job hunt is still on.
I’m still sending out applications. Still doing interviews. Still waiting to hear back more than I’d like. It’s slow. It’s a little discouraging some days. But I keep showing up to it, because income is income, and right now I need every bit I can bring in.
I’m grateful for the clients who keep coming back.
This is the part I don’t say out loud enough. My long time clients… the ones who’ve known me for years… they keep coming back to me. Some months it’s only 2 hours a week. Other months it jumps up to 20 hours. It’s not steady. It’s not big. But it’s paying the bills and helping me continue to save.
That kind of loyalty is its own kind of income. Not just dollars. Trust, too. I don’t take it for granted.
Estate planning.
We sat down this past weekend as a family about mom’s estate.
That was a hard conversation. Not because anyone was fighting. Just because talking about what’s left behind… and what dad wants for his own future… makes everything feel real in a way it wasn’t before.
We didn’t solve it all in one sitting. Nobody does. But we got some things written down. Recorded the whole conversation so there is no discrepancy in what was said and what someone heard. Some decisions were made. That matters more than I expected it to.
I’m the one paying dad’s bills now.
This one snuck up on me. One month I was just helping him check a statement. Now I’m the one logging in, setting up autopay, watching the due dates. It’s a lot of responsibility. It’s also a way of loving him, if that makes sense. Paying attention to his money is paying attention to him.
He agreed that he needs the financial oversight now. All the siblings have a few of it. And my brother who works in finance will be providing oversight and advice on investments…working with dad, not me. I’m just responsible for the day to day bill and documentation. That’s a good thing, even when it’s tiring.
Road tripping with dad.
We’re planning a road trip. His last high school reunion.
His class decided to retire the reunion after this year because the class itself is done gathering. So this is the last one. Ever.
We are going to stop along the way and see his old friends, his sister, etc. After the 9 years he’s dedicated to taking care of mom, this is his freedom flight. And he’s looking forward to it, and dreading it, all at the same time.
Here’s the thing though. Dad is paying for this trip. Every dollar of it. Gas, hotel, meals, all of it comes out of his pocket, not mine. My job is different. His eye doctor gave him a firm warning a while back. No long drives. Definitely no driving at night.
So I’m the driver. And the support in case he gets sick or has pain (an all too common occurence these days.) I’m there so he can just sit back, watch the miles go by, and get to see his old classmates one more time without worrying about the road himself. That’s my part in this. Not the money. The miles.
And I’m still teaching.
Small groups. Church. No paycheck attached to any of it. But it fills me up in a way a paycheck can’t. It reminds me that not everything I give my time to has to show up on a bank statement to count.
Here’s what I keep coming back to.
Money isn’t just numbers on a screen right now. It’s dad’s independence. It’s honoring mom. It’s one more trip with my father while he can still make the drive, even if someone else has to be behind the wheel. It’s showing up for people at church even when my own bank account is stretched thin. And it’s remembering that a client who keeps coming back, even for just a couple hours some weeks, is a gift I shouldn’t rush past.
I don’t have this all figured out. But I’m watching every dollar closer than I ever have. Because right now, every dollar is doing something that actually matters.
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.
