my FRIDGE

In 2010, Dustin and I were living in Idaho Falls.  Isabelle had just turned one year old.  All of my family was in Utah, all of Dustin's in Wyoming.

We both had great jobs, lived in a nice house and had made a pretty nice life for ourselves.

We soon realized it was time for us to move so we could be closer to family.  As you may recall, in 2010, the housing market was at an all-time low and there really could not have been a worse time to sell a house.

Despite all of this, we put our house on the market and hoped for the best.  To help make our house more enticing, we decided to include our fridge as part of the sale.  While this may not seem like a big deal to some, it was for me.  That fridge was $3,000 and the only reason we bought it was because it was the only one that would fit properly in our kitchen.  I absolutely loved that fridge.

Five months later, our house sold.  And we lost a lot of money.  Like, a lot of money.  And I left my wonderful fridge behind.

Soon, we were in Utah and living in Ogden.  When we learned that Dustin's new job would not offer health benefits until after six months, we knew he had to find something different. 

After one month, we packed up all of our belongings again and moved to Bountiful.  Dustin found a new job.  The responsibilities, the pay and the hours were less than desirable, but we had awesome benefits from day one.  He dealt with working a job he hated for the benefit of our family, and I spent my time scouring the internet in search of something better for him.

During this time, I found a part-time job at a local reception center.  I washed dishes for next to nothing.  I would come home from work soaked to the bone with sore hands, feet and back.  As a dishwasher, I was considered the lowest of the low and had to deal with snotty high school girls (I was 30 years old at the time) who were servers (which was considered a big step up from being a dish washer) on a regular basis.  For whatever reason, they, along with the rest of the staff, decided they were better than me, and I spent a lot of time biting my tongue.  I was there for a paycheck.

Dustin and I both acknowledge this was the lowest time in our marriage - both working pitiful jobs for pitiful pay.

But, we both had faith things would eventually get better.

And, they did!

Dustin found a new job with a local bank.  We moved out of our crappy apartment and purchased a new townhouse.  We made new friends.  We belonged to a wonderful church.  And I stopped washing dishes for a living. Things were definitely looking up.

But, we always seemed to have a mediocre fridge.

Over the next few years, Dustin did what he does best by being awesome.  He worked the hours no one wanted to work, and we saw very little of each other.  But by being flexible he proved his value and he worked his way up the corporate ladder.  I found better job opportunities as well.  Slowly but surely, our financial situation was getting better.

I often thought about our old house, that beautiful fridge, and wondered why we felt inclined to move when it meant losing so much money.  Even today, I don't regret a thing, but that doesn't mean the past doesn't sting a bit.

Now, nearly seven years since this story began, I feel as though I am closing that chapter of my life.  We are coming up on three years in our newest house.  We live in a great neighborhood and have made great friends.  Our daughter attends a phenomenal school and, thanks to another amazing career change for Dustin, I was able to quit my job to be home full-time with our youngest child.

And, just a few days ago, we purchased a new fridge.  It's not the same fridge we had before, but one that is very similar.  

As I stare at our new fridge, I'm almost brought to tears.  As silly as this sounds, this new fridge is a symbol of the satisfaction that can come from working hard, putting aside your pride and doing things that may seem beneath you for the benefit of others, sacrificing your wants for your needs and realizing that even though things may be less than perfect now, they will get better.

I consider myself very blessed.

LOADS of LAUNDRY

I literally don't know the last time I bought laundry detergent.  

And I do laundry multiple times a week. 

Every time I go to use it, I keep thinking I'm reaching the end.  But, always to my surprise, the measuring cup fills without any reservation.

source

There's no logical explanation as to why I haven't had to buy laundry detergent in the last little while. 

But, there is a spiritual one.

I contribute 10% of all of my earnings to my church.  It is something I have been asked to do, and I do so willing.  As a result, I have been blessed immensely.  Not blessed in that I wear only the most stylish clothes or go on frequent, lavish vacations, but blessed in smaller, simpler ways.

And there is no doubt it is a blessing from paying my tithing.

I am currently dealing with a baby that adores spitting up.  I swear she is trying to make it into an olympic event.  Between the two of us, we go through at least 5 wardrobe changes a day.  I used to do laundry once a week.  Those days are long gone.

I'm thankful for the little things in life, like a seemingly limitless supply of laundry detergent, that help remind me that God is real.  He loves me.  And He blesses me even in the most mundane ways.

{day SIX} ONLINE banking

Or, should I say online credit union-ing since I prefer them over banks?

Source

Nevertheless, online financing is one of the greatest things of all time.  I remember as a young, dumb teenager my financial institution asking me if I wanted to sign up for an online account.  For some reason I thought it would cost money, so I always declined.  Then I grew a brain and have never gone back!

When Dustin and I first got married, it was very clear we managed our finances differently.  I checked my online account frequently and always had a good estimate in my head of what was available.  I always managed to mess up the math on my register, and eventually just gave up.

He, on the other hand, was very strict with keeping a register and the thought of me spending any money without writing it down was really frustrating.

We attempted having one, joint account and that lasted an entire two seconds.  We are definitely a dual-account couple, and it works for us.

But, getting back to the point, the convenience of online financing is so amazing.  Need to transfer money from checking into savings?  With two clicks it's done!  Running low on your checking account?  No problem, do a transfer from savings to checking in no time at all.  Want to pay a bill without mailing it?  Snap!  You've got a bill pay option!

The possibilities are endless.

something UNEXPECTED

It wasn't that long ago that I was working part-time at a reception center and, for the most part, enjoyed my job and the people I worked with.  The venue did all sorts of events, but for the most part we hosted happy couples on their wedding day.  It was so much fun to watch the bride and groom, to decide if I liked the wedding dress, colors and overall theme of the ocassion.  And, believe it or not, the carnival theme reception was a huge hit with guests.

Like all things, though, there were some major cons to this job.  I made next to nothing, often worked events that were severely understaffed and overall didn't get to work enough.  And, probably the most annoying part of all is that I never knew when my shift would be over which made coordinating with baby-sitters a little tricky.

In the meantime, I spent many hours scheduling and planning for baby-sitters and arranging my life so I could work my butt off only to receive a teeny tiny paycheck that wasn't available to set up on direct deposit and that I couldn't pick up until after 5:00p on payday {which was on a Friday}.  But, at least I was bringing in some money.

Then, things changed for my husband at his job.  His duties and hours changed which almost certainly guaranteed I would have to find a baby-sitter each and every time I worked.  Up until this point, he was home sometimes while I was gone and was able to watch our daughter.

We weighed our options and finally decided that, yes, what little money I did make was helpful, in the long run it was more of a hassle for me to be employed.  So, I quit.  And, let me tell you, I felt such a sense of relief when I did, but it was difficult not to have the extra cash flow, and I often found myself questioning my decision.

Well, a few weeks ago I was reading the book Building Wealth for Building the Kingdom:  A Financial Planning Guide for Latter-day Saint Families by Devin D. Thorpe, and after reading the part about dual incomes I immediately knew I had made the right decision.  In his book, Thorpe explored all the added expenses that can potentially come up when both spouses work, and pointed out that it's important to really understand if a secondary income is actually a benefit.  He touched base on a lot of things that Dustin and I discussed {baby-sitters, spending more money in gas, etc.) before we decided my job, in the long run, wasn't benefiting us to make all extra planning and effort worth the while.

So, after getting a totally unbiased, third-party stance on the matter, I, again felt like I had made the right decision.

Imagine my surprise when I very suddenly and randomly had the thought to look at a major retailer's website to see if they were hiring.  And, after looking at this website many times before {and being completely sure they would not be hiring}, imagine my surprise when I learned they were hiring.  And imagine my surprise when less than 12 hours after completing the online application, I had an interview.

It is times like this, when it's as though the stars all align and things magically fall into place, that I know I'm going in the right direction.  I don't always know why I'm given impressions to do certain things {like suddenly apply for a new job}, but I've had enough experiences like this to know it's not a coincidence.

To be continued.....

P.S. If anyone would like to read Thorpe's book, let me know.  He's giving away free copies to any of my readers that would like to be financially enlightened!  {FYI, it's an e-book for a Kindle.  I don't have a Kindle and was able to read it on my iPad}.

my TOP three

"There's no way to fully prepare to have a child, so there's no reason to delay parenthood."

I've heard many people say this. Maybe it's a cultural thing. Who knows? All I know is that I do not agree with it.

Sure, of course, there's no way to know exactly what parenthood will be like until you have a child; however, I believe there are three things that people can do or think about that will help with the decision of starting a family.

Acknowledge and be content with the fact that your life is going to change

Your life is not going to end. You will not cease to exist. You will not need to forget about your hobbies, interests, outings, etc. You will, however, need to adjust how you go about your daily routines. It may take a little bit of time and effort to get used to taking care of your new bundle of joy and including her in your everyday life, but eventually it will become like second nature.

Always remember that it is just as important for your little one to adjust to your life as it is for you to adjust to hers. Don't stop living, rather be ready to tweek your lifestyle so there's room for one more.

Financial Independence

There's not really a way to estimate how much money a baby will cost you. If you want to start a family, I highly suggest you have sufficient, steady, reliable income. Of course, jobs are not always a guaranteed thing; however, you do have control over your work ethic. If you realize the importance of always having a job and are committed to providing for your little one, you're on the right track!

A Support System

Welcoming a baby into your life is huge. Having people around to encourage, support and help you is key.

My number one support was (and still is) my husband, Dustin. He and I were on the same page when it came to starting a family from day one. Dustin was always interested in my pregnancy and came to almost all of my doctor appointments. He took the pregnancy seriously and helped me cope with the physical changes.

Once Isabelle arrived, we started working as a team. We both acknowledged that we had no idea what we were doing, but we did as many things together as we could so we could learn together. We took turns changing her, bathing her, holding her, feeding her. There was no division of roles. We did what needed to be done. We were sensitive to each other's needs and pitched in when someone needed a break. When things got difficult and we put our frustrations on each other, we quickly apologized and got back on track.

Knowing that Dustin is always there to help me is a great feeling. I realize how lucky I am to have such a great husband. I'm a better mom because of him.

...

Well, there you go. Those are the top three things I think everyone should think about before having a child.

Thoughts?