Our Journey to Debt Freedom Pt.2
Welcome to Part II of our financial freedom journey! If you haven't seen Pt.1 already, click this link and go read it!In this section, I'm going to share the answer God had for us after my husband, Hunter's graduation and job gap around the time we had our firstborn child. This section also gets exciting because I'll share a little about how we started to incorporate more non-toxic, environmentally friendly, healthier lifestyle and food choices into our household!
After about two months of unsteady income working as a golf cart driver out at the AT&T and Ranger's stadiums, Hunter was offered and accepted a job as the Director of Rehab at a therapy clinic at a skilled nursing facility. It was a job he expected to get five-ten years down the road, definitely not as a new graduate! I remember when he told me, we were crying in the kitchen as relief flooded each of our systems and we felt like we could finally breathe! We were finally going to make some money, God was providing!With this job came long hours and a lot of hard work and dedication for Hunter, and in the long run, he ended up working it for about a year and a half before he found a new job and we moved to a new city, but that is a story for another time!Having this new income put us in the $55-70,000 income bracket. Looking at this number I can hardly believe that's what we were making because we DEFINITELY didn't live like it, haha! With rent being close to $1,300, we spent another 20-25% or more of our income paying off our Honda, student loans and the month of credit card debt we'd accumulated. Every month, the budget was the same, It looked something like this:
(Our food included dates, a small alcohol budget, groceries, and our personal allowance so more accurately, we spent about $350 on food a month. Our housing included utilities, internet, cellphones and gas bills! Lifestyle was our budgeted money for anything needed, toiletries, and any other small gifts and events we were attending. This month I happened to take a small trip to San Diego for my good friend's wedding with my best friend!)
I'll say, it was, and continues to be hard to make the most of our days being financially strapped. Every dollar we spend takes forethought, and we are reminded that every dollar we bring in isn't ours ( it's God's) but it's literally not ours it's owed to someone else. Every debt we pay brings our negative net worth up a few thousand dollars a month and gets our butts into gear to hasten the day that our hard-earned cash goes straight to our own retirement, savings account or mortgage and giving funds. To see that day coming closer and closer now is so relieving and exciting!
In the mean-time however, we've still got to eat and shower! We've still got to clothe ourselves and as part of our own family's philosophy, we want to experience life as a couple and with our children still. That takes being insanely creative (maybe not insanely if you're naturally good at that)! In order to keep our marriage healthy, we need date nights and try our hardest to make them weekly ones. I enjoy dressing stylishly and dressing my babies in cute outfits! We love to travel and *can't stop, won't stop* seeing the country we live in (one day we'll cross borders again!). I love having a cute home and love to bake and cook. Now that we've educated ourselves more on the topic, we also have come to value having a safe home, not just physically, but in being conscious about what we put into our mouths, onto our skin, wash our clothes with and more.Luckily, doing those things doesn't take a lot of money! Did you know that? Sometimes, it takes a lot of intentionality and humility. There are plenty of brands and products I'd love for us to use that we can't afford right now, so the second-best is okay for now! So here's what we've learned and here's a gist of how we do it:
FoodWe like to eat, and we like to eat well! Well, as well as *beans and rice, rice and beans* can get you. Unfortunately, in our family, both I and our son suffer from various food allergies, so we have to eat some more expensive food products to stay healthy and get enough nutrients (almond milk, coconut milk yogurt, almond butter instead of peanut butter to name a few). Previously living in Denton, TX helped keep our food budget low too, because groceries were a little cheaper there. We mainly shopped at Aldi's and Wal-Mart and Kroger only for specialty items. We only just this year have started switching over to some organic produce items that are actually LESS expensive than their non-organic counterparts. This all takes some patience and being willing to step out of your comfort zones. For example, if you've always liked shopping at Whole Foods, well, you might have to say "adios" until your finances are in check again and you're able " to live like no one else" again. If you like to coupon or your finances are really tight, this could be a good time to start couponing!
Check out this helpful guide we found to help choose which items to switch over to organic and which to keep the same in the meantime until you can afford to fully switch your food to all organic.
Read here why eating organic MAY be a good idea for your family!
Like I said, we love to eat and try new recipes. When we were in college and first married we basically ate homemade burrito bowls every day because that's what we could afford. Now, I can't stand the taste of those and couldn't go back! Check out my Pinterest board of some of our favorite, cost-efficient recipes!
Body CareThere are a lot of chemicals in our everyday hygiene and body-care products that researchers and scientists are sharing information about to consumers. When I was pregnant with our first child was when I started to take that information seriously and we tried to switch products at least just for me until we could do the same for the both of us. I also have very sensitive and allergy-prone skin so the switch was needed pretty immediately so I could have healthy skin that wasn't breaking out in hives or eczema daily. The first thing we changed was my lotion and body soap, which amazingly was blessed to us from the pregnancy resource center we were using. Next was shampoo and conditioner, and from there we've fully transitioned everything from our toothpaste and mouthwash to our floss and deodorants! We find a lot of great deals on Amazon, and sometimes even at TJ Maxx!Here is a helpful study of the many that are out about why it IS beneficial to switch out those body care products TODAY! Many stores including Walmart and Walgreens have eco-friendly and non-toxic options that are affordable for EVERY budget. On my "All Natural" Pinterest board are many examples of body products you can make from items in your own kitchen and save even more money! Here is a great little article on why switching out your clothes detergents is a great, healthy step too! Remember, do your research!
Clothes, Home Items & Baby Gear Practically everything I buy for our home and to wear is second-hand or handed down. For a short time, Hunter and I ran a small business called KHP Creations where we repurposed furniture and sold it to bring in some extra income. We miss it so much, and wish we still had time for it! (Follow our Facebook page to see some fun projects we've made for ourselves in the meantime until we can start our business again someday).I love to find inspiration on social media, especially ( no surprise here) on Pinterest! From there, I head to my favorite thrift stores in town to find something close to what I found online. Sometimes, I hit up Poshmark (use code MRS_KYRIE_PRICE to get $5 off your first purchase!) and order new or gently used goodies from there! We don't buy new clothes for ourselves often and have adopted a minimalist wardrobe to save time spent on laundry and money, so when we do shop we are very intentional to buy what we LOVE because it looks good on us, suits our individual styles, and try to buy quality pieces that will last for years and not fall art after a few washes. I make sure to keep up with the clothes we do have and give away or sell anything we don't wear frequently or that doesn't fit us properly. Sometimes those items are in great enough condition that I can sell them at a resale shop and use the credit to buy something "new" I needed, or take the cash and throw it at debt! The only things we buy new are running shoes, underclothes and sometimes jeans because those items can carry nasty bacteria if not cleaned properly, would wear out too fast being bought second-hand, and as Kinesiologists, we know how important it is to have well-supporting shoes while exercising!We keep this mentality for everything we bring into our home. At this point, we buy furniture second-hand that we like, not just accepting anything. We've been at that stage, don't get me wrong, where we were handed down an old office furniture set, an old bed, old couches, and we happily accepted them! Now, since we sold or scrapped all of those old things in our latest move, we've started from scratch and are incredibly intentional about what we inherit and buy! A few examples- I scavenged for at least a month to replace our old dining table after we moved, and had my heart set on finding the perfect Mid-Century Modern piece. Then, one day, I happened to visit this thrift store in town that was closing down and found the perfect vintage table of my dreams for $100 and a set of mid-mod style chairs from the clearance at Nebraska furniture mart for $100. Steal of a lifetime! Right now, we're hunting through Facebook marketplace for second-hand, $40-70 couches that are in very good condition, and then buying some very affordable, $40 couch covers that will make them match and look cute and stylish in our new home!For baby gear, we follow this same practice, and have found some amazing products on apps like Letgo, Offerup and at stores like Once Upon a Child and Dirt Cheap. Our only stipulations are that they haven't been recalled and we won't buy used car seats for safety reasons!
See, living healthy and becoming debt free can fit hand-in-hand, and can be a very fun experience! I hope you've been inspired and maybe even motivated to go clean out your bathroom cabinets and start from scratch or do a little more research if you still have to be convinced a little more! Follow me on Pinterest to see all the ideas I find, and on Instagram to see the new deals I'm finding for our family and budget decorating I incorporate in our home!Most importantly, I hope you can take away that all of these things we're doing, we're doing to take care of the bodies, belongings, and money God has so faithfully given to us. It is up to us to steward them well, and nourish our bodies just as much as we nourish our souls!
"Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' ”—Hebrews 13:5
"For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come." —1 Timothy 4:8