No Debt

Let me preface that this is not one of those self-help posts like "Get through College without paying interest"  or "You can get out of debt." Also let it be known that we only have our undergraduate degrees which is a lot easier to get out of debt than any higher education. Especially when scholarships and financial aid are much easier to come by with the lower level of education. We don't want I mostly just want to have a record of some of our personal situations and choices that let us be debt free. 

First off, we chose schools that give a great education for a relatively low price. I started with a year at Portland Community College while living at home and working to save up for BYU-Idaho. I drove school buses right out of high school which allowed flexibility with my class schedule as well as a relatively high paying job for someone right out of high school. Later Max and I both went to BYU . Then Max transferred to UVU and it would have been extremely expensive but because we had been in Utah so long, we were able to claim residency and it ended up being about the same price as BYU.

We made sure we applied for grants for school. We were allotted a decent amount before marriage but got a whole bunch more after marriage. So I guess the moral of that is to marry young and poor and you will get more money from the government. Not the perfect system, but it worked for us. Even with the grants and our income from Max's summer sales we still ended up racking up 17,000 dollars in student loans. part was from Max immediately starting school post mission and also our last year when we had to do our internships during the summer and couldn't work. 

I was eligible for a scholarship from BYU my last year, so that helped.

We never worked during the school year, if we had, we probably would have had less debt but I also think that could have jipped us of some education. I don't know how people work and keep up in their classes. Hats off to those that do! 

We knew from the beginning that we were going to be doing this on our own without financial help from our parents (as many students do, especially married ones) so he had to save our money appropriately.

Clark Pest control was an awesome sales company to work for. You always hear of summer sales companies scamming their employees but this company was real and honest and very generous to their employees. It is because of this company, along with Max's really hard work and long hours that we were able to earn so much, it is also from this company that we were able to have a Mini Cooper to use as a second car for a period of time, it is also from this company that Max won a moped which saved us during our year of different schools and different internships.

 

Some of these are huge blessings that you can't really plan for, but I know we were blessed for Max's diligence and hard work.  

We made it a goal that we at least wanted me to finish college before we purchased a second car. There were times when we really wanted to get a second car and started shopping around but Max continued to use the moped even in the cold dead Utah winter. 

We have also been blessed with only needing to pay rent 16 out of the 45 months we have been married (yes I did just calculate how many months we've been married ) This is due to circumstance and is another blessing you can't plan for. We never had to pay rent during the summers when we worked for Clark because Max would always meet his sales quota. When we moved back to Oregon we were able to live in and take care of Max's uncle's house while he was doing a second retirement in central Oregon. After our last summer in California we came back to take care of Max's grandma's property by exchanging TONS of labor for rent. Out of the 16 months of paying rent, 8 were spent by paying $375 for a tiny basement apartment in a kind of scary neighborhood. That was one of the sacrifices we made to make college more 

affordable, looking back we have a lot of great memories there. 

Choices

Everybody spends money differently and live different lifestyles. There are tons of right ways to use money and tons of wrong ways. These are some things that worked for us when trying to stay frugal but I just want to emphasize that we don't think people that choose to live with things that we choose to live without are bad! Everyone has their priorities and needs...

We've survived with one car for quite awhile. We're not sure how much longer this will work for us but we are happy that we've never had to deal with car payments.

We will only use credit cards if we know we have money in the bank to pay it off. We do not believe in paying interest to the credit card company. They don't deserve it!

 We shop around a ton for larger purchases We finally made our first big furniture purchase...A couch! In the meantime we survived with a camping couch and an ugly free couch. We don't believe in paying interest on furniture either. Homes, school, and cars are really the only things in our book that deserve to have a little interest paid on them.

He have become expert garage/estate salers We found our amazing dining room set, desk, lamp, mirror, projector and so much more for tiny prices.

We don't spend money on things we feel we don't need. For example, we decided not to get a crib and that Charlie would be just fine in a pack n play, we also didn't do anything to make his nursery cute, even though we kind of wanted to, but he doesn't care one bit! His dresser and changing table were purchased for about 90% off. He has received the majority of his clothes through hand-me-downs, a big thanks to Natalie and Lisa! Anything I have purchased is usually from a consignment store. 

 

We set goals such as we only eat out once a month. We haven't always followed this rule and we haven't gone out to eat every month either

We set a family budget for gifts at Christmas. 

When I became pregnant with Charlie we ended up using medicaid for our insurance in both Utah and Oregon. I know this can be a controversial topic but overall we felt it was the best for our family and that we were not abusing the system seeing as it is to help poor to get ahead and us being college students, we definitely fit that description. We have a different perspective now and we can never gripe about the portion of our future paychecks that go to medicare because we know how beneficial it has been to us. 

The student Loans: We only accepted subsidized student loans which meant we didn't have to start paying interest on them until 6 months after we graduated. All the loans were under Max's name because he was planning on graduating after me. So we had the goal to pay them off before any interest started accruing. 

Last summer we decided to work for Clark Pest Control for the very last time seeing as there were no promising fire jobs in the near future and we could take this opportunity to completely pay off our debt before Max even graduated. Max has always been successful as a salesman so we decided that we would divide up the amount owed by his eight paychecks he would receive and pay that amount off with each paycheck so the loan would be gone by the end of the summer and we did it! We didn't come home from California super rich but the money we had was ours, not borrowed. We don't like being in any kind of debt so this felt good! 

Life Changes

We have just been showered with blessings these days. It's almost overwhelming. Then we remind ourselves that we will gladly accept any blessings that Heavenly Father wants to throw at us.
As my few blog readers know, Max was quickly approaching the deadline for completing his final college course. Without this course Max would receive 0 degrees, with this course Max would receive 1 bachelors and 2 associate degrees. When we came back from California at the end of August he had about 4 months to complete this course. This is also when we started renovations on the house we are currently living in. We were just planning on getting the house livable then move in and max could got started on his math. The house needed a lot more work than met the eye and weeks turned into months. but we (mostly He) worked long hours so we could have a comfortable place to live. I guess the point of that back story is to prove that he wasn't really procrastinating the math class he had been working really hard to take care of his family and that is why he is an amazing husband and father. Ok,, so Max officially took his last final a week ago but really worried that he may have failed it. As of Yesterday we found out he passed just fine and can now receive his degrees. The major blessing came when Max was offered a job that started the day after he took his final. This job was created by the owner of the company specifically for Max. (yup, he's just that darn desirable) We have a friend from our ward we grew up in that has a construction company. Max had run into him at Home Depot as we were just starting the renovation on our house, Nic (the construction company owner) asked max if he would be interested working as a laborer with his company. Max let him know that that may be a great idea when he finished working on the house and while he was applying for fire fighting jobs ( a process that can take years) As Max was finishing up his math class he gave Nic a call. Nic said they had cut down on Laborers for the winter season but he still wanted to meet with Max and discuss other possible ways to use him. After they met, Nic felt that he wanted Max for more than a laborer anyway. With Max's newly attained degree and all of his sales experience, Nic thought that could be put to better use. (That always feels good when someone wants to promote you with out you even asking right?) Long story short. Max is basically working in a management position as Nic's personal assistant and will soon take some of the burden from Nic. He is learning a lot about business ownership. He has only been working a couple of days so far and has had a lot of training and spent time helping make bids and writing up the proposals. He has also been able to add to the company with some sales techniques that should help them to get more business. Max is pretty excited that he has a chance to work with such great people and even use a little of his creativity. This opportunity came at such a great time for our family and feel so blessed.
In the meantime i get to mostly be a stay at home mom again. I was about to start with 4 new piano students on February 1 but we decided that I was more needed at home now and had another teacher sent to them. I still currently am tutoring one student and have 2 piano students with in-my-home informal lessons.
 

Piano Man

I know that most little kids get excited about making music on whatever instrument may be lying around however, I still get so thrilled at how excited Charlie gets about the piano and I feel so blessed to finally have a piano in my home after my many transient college years. Whenever I start playing, he feels that he needs to be right there with me. He likes to work the keys and then crawl under my feet to work the pedals. He likes to wave his arms and dance to the music, and sometime even sing. This melts my heart. I finally felt brave enough to let him sit on the bench by himself and play his heart out. He had a blast and probably could have stayed there for longer than I let him.  

                                       
Later, he figured he could start climbing and that was when he had to get down!

Also, we've been playing in the mud and rain. I might get sick of cleaning muddy feet and jeans in the near future but he just gets so happy to be outside and he's only young once, so I say "Let's get a little Muddy"

And while I'm on the topic of the happenings of Charlie, let's talk about his Vacuum obsession. If the vacuum is in the room, he has to be touching it...it's like there is a strong magnetic field between them. I'm trying to upload the video of this but it doesn't seem to work....Oh well, just imagine vacuuming with a permanently attached child. Pretty Funny.

OMSI!

I love this place, I just can't get enough! Now that Charlie can walk it enhances the fun a billion times. I love watching him explore and seeing what catches his interest in a safe environment. We had so much fun that we  went 2 days in a row last week. It is the perfect place to go on a cold rainy day. I'm glad we did though because now Max is working full time and us being a one car family, are not sure when we will get the chance to go again (that is a story for another blog post, but we are uber excited about that) Anyway, Here are some pictures from our most recent outings.

We all have those days...

I'm pretty sure Charlie gets just as excited about the elevator as anything else.

"eat a rainbow" puzzle

This is what Charlie is supposedly going to look like when he's 45.  I don't think it works that great on babies!

That's my boy...inside an ear!

That's all for now. I love spending time with this little handsome guy!

Great Wolf Lodge

I swear we are so spoiled. Family and friends are so kind and generous to us. Last week we were invited to join my brother's family on a wonderful vacation to celebrate James' 30th birthday and Gwenevere's 4th birthday. Elizabeth planned an outing at Great Wolf Lodge Resort. It is basically a hotel, indoor water park resort all wrapped in one. So fun! We met them at the hotel last Thursday afternoon, got all settled and took off to the water park.

We played for a little bit but then came back to have dinner and a party for 4-year-old Gwenevere!

The birthday kids! And the Amazing rainbow star cake made by Elizabeth   (But Gwenevere was the designer)

 After cake and presents, James and Elizabeth ran off to the water park for a hot date while Max and I watched the kids. It was so fun! I love my adorable nieces. My favorite was how Grace kept carrying around my phone looking at the picture of Charlie and saying "Charlie" over and over again. And when both babies had poopy diapers at the same time. Anyway, Grace and Charlie fell asleep, then James and Elizabeth came back and demanded that Max and I go to the water park to try out the slides at night. We didn't refuse, we're always up for a hot date! We had a blast, and even got to enjoy a little hot tub time. 

The next morning we got up, ate breakfast and packed up all our stuff so we could check out of our room. We still had the rest of the day to use the water park though so we put our stuff in the car and played some more. 

Charlie got a lot of walking practice trying to keep up with his cousins way far in the distance. 

I love this handsome little man!

Everyone blasting Uncle Max!

This girl is such a beauty!

A little lounging and animal cracker break!

Throughout the day we switched off with James and Elizabeth watching the kids and going down some water slides.

The drenching bucket

We planned on leaving after our lunch break so Charlie could get a nap, but he was still going strong so we stayed a bit longer. He ended up zonking out before we even left the parking lot. It was so much fun. thanks for inviting up James and Elizabeth! (and thanks for letting me steal the pictures from your blog Elizabeth) 

Employed

I have a little side job. We decided that with Max home doing his online class, it would be possible for me to do some part-time work using my degree. I really liked this idea because the extra income would benefit us, I could still be a mom, and I really enjoy working with children and helping them in the learning process. I applied to be on a panel of tutors through a tutoring agency. I wasn't sure exactly what this would entail because it seemed to me, the elementary school children do not get tutors as often as older students. They hired me right away and shortly after sent me a client. As of now, I only have one client (it's not exactly the busy season for tutors with the holidays) I meet with her twice a week and we work on math together. I had forgotten how much I love teaching and how much I really learned in all my practicums. There haven't been many times in our marriage where I was working since we have been students for so long and in the summers it's been most beneficial for us to go to California for Max to do sales. It feels good to contribute a little bit.  

Christmas Cheer: Part 3

This is the blog post where I will try to cram everything else in that we did to celebrate this magnificent Christmas season...along with a lot of pictures.

We tagged along with my mom and brother when they went to go get a real Christmas tree. Even though we have a fake tree, I still love the tradition of going to cut our own down. It was really cold and we weren't there for long but it was still a great memory!

Give this boy a stick and he'll love you forever!

For Family Night we decided to make snowflakes to add to our festive decor. We made a whole bunch! 

After making the snowflakes I remembered doing this same thing at my Grandma's house and decorating the playroom. She told me that it would always snow the next day.....and look what happened this time!

It wasn't much snow, and it melted by noon but it was enough to play a bit and make a weak little snowman!

Charlie pushed the snowman over...that Bully!

Then came one of our favorite family Christmas traditions. The progressive eating day...on the bus.
Every year, all of our family on my mom's side gets together and we ride a bus (driven by my mom) around to each family members house where we eat a food and have an activity.It's an all day event and it was extra special this year because almost everybody was in town. My wonderful cousin Kim and her husband even came from Maryland.

Even though this was an all day affair, I'm glad Charlie found the bus soothing and took a nap in my arms.
 

This year we also stopped by the cemetary where my aunt is buried, she passed away earlier this year at the age of 44. Max and I missed the funeral because we were on our way to California so it was nice to visit the cemetery  leave a wreath, and sing silent night. The progressive dinner was one of her favorite family traditions. 

We also got to spend a lot more time with this little beauty. Gwenevere rode with us for a lot of the bus ride. She is such a great cousin.

I didn't take very many pictures but it was a blast and lasted nearly 12 hours!

Christmas Eve we always go spend with my Green Grandma. She always spoils us with a delicious dinner and gifts for every child, grandchild, and great grandchild. And the family keeps growing. We liked spending some time with our cousins.

Carolyn serenaded us with some Christmas Carols. 

Gwenevere got a chance to try the violin

I've apparently been bad at taking pictures, I wish I got some more family members and Grandma.

We then came home late and put Charlie to bed and did a little Christmas morning preparation. we threw breakfast in the crockpot, filled the stockings, and called it a night.  

We set a low budget for Christmas gifts this year, we stayed under budget and still felt spoiled beyond belief.

Charlie opened his presents very delicately

We had a fun morning together as a family, later that evening we went to my red Grandma's house for Turkey dinner. Yum!

 The next day we went Roller Skating. There was a great family in our ward when we were growing up that has 13 kids. every year on New Years they rent out a roller skating rink from 1am-3am. Now that most of their family has their own kids, they decided to do a daytime roller skating party (in addition to their 1 am party) We had so much fun, and it was great to see a bunch of our old high school friends.

We figured Charlie might prefer skating over walking.

We was pretty good. 

But he mostly rolled in the stroller while we skated...and yes, this is an awkward pose :)

After the skating, we heading over to Uncle Jay's house for Max's family Christmas get together. We arrived just as they were cleaning up the wrapping paper and getting ready for dinner. Just a little late...whoops!

Max and his siblings with Santa/Dad

Charlie spent some time on Santa/Grandpa's lap.

We definitely were able to spend a lot of time with family and it was great. The season is wonderful and we love seeing how everyone becomes a little more Christlike.

Merry Christmas!