Money Management: Creating a Budget, Bill Plan, and Predicting Paychecks.

After many requests, I have decided to start a series exploring my methods on money management.

For the following examples, we are assuming a new month consisting of 4 weeks, with a fully stocked kitchen. This is the first of a series of posts that will walk through a variety of topics including budgeting, how to save grocery shopping, and other household tips! Let's get started.

So, for me, everything revolves around cutting costs anywhere and any way you can. Before you can do anything, you have to create a budget.

1.  Create a Budget with a Bill Plan

Obviously, if you have a system that works for you, use that! If not, here’s how I do my budget, though admittedly, at the moment, it’s more of a “Bill Plan”. For other ideas on budgeting and how to create one perfect for you, check out these ideas on Pinterest!
I personally use a series of note cards to keep up with my bills. One, because they're easy to slip into a wallet, zip pouch, or any container, and two, because I have an over-abundance of note cards in my stockpile.
For me, I use one card per week. One side will have this week's bills listed on the card. This week, we're a little light on the bills due--which is good! If you know you need to get gas or groceries, you'll add it in here as well (we'll talk a little bit more on how to get that grocery bill down!). Notice how things that automatically come out I write "Auto" next to, so I know this one requires no action on my end. I've also included due dates so I know exactly when something needs to be done. For extra comfort, you can "high ball" these bills. So, for example, say I have an outstanding credit card bill, or car payment. Instead of the exact amount or minimum due, I budget for, say $5 extra. This way either a) I have budgeted for the bill entirely, b) paid off a little more than necessary, or c) earned myself a credit towards next month's bill. The last option is especially helpful if you know funds may be a little short next month, or there's extra bills coming up.

For privacy reasons, I've left off our private bill amounts.

Now, on the other side is where you'll run your weekly budget. I include everything that I have in the bank at the moment of doing the bill plan. (If, for example, you cash your checks immediately or do cash envelopes instead of using your bank cards, include that in your bill plan, or modify as needed.) '
So, let's do some examples! (Disclaimer: I came up with these numbers off the top of my head!)

So, let's write down our bank amount, plus any cash. If using a cash envelope system, it might be a good idea to just account for these bills as "paid" and don't even add it in here. It will save space and confusion. Okay, for my example I'm going with $475 in the bank, plus $340 cash for a total of $815. We'll take away $12 for Netflix, because even if it requires no action from me, it still comes out of my budget. Then (again, make-believe numbers), let's say rent is $610. So, when all the math comes through, we're sitting at $193 left in the bank--I call this "Carry over". Now is a good time to add that as you pay each bill throughout the week (if for some reason you cannot all at once), mark the amount on the bill plan some way, so you know it is dealt with. Also include when you took care of it and, if you use checks, it's a good idea to mark the check number on the bill plan as well. I also go ahead and mark this same information on the bill envelope itself.
(If anyone is interested in a post on organization, let me know!)

SO. Here's a look at our hypothetical budget for this week.

Now let's say we're back to next Monday, and now we have four more bills to make: A Credit Card Bill for $50 minimum balance, a Car Payment of $100 minimum, Phone bill of $200, and we need gas! Plus, daycare costs (for me, I pay daycare every other week, so this example works for me especially) of $50, due Monday.

So, we still have that $193 "Carry-Over" from last week. Let's say there are two paychecks coming in for a combined total of $400 (we'll look later on how you can "predict" how much your income would be if you--like myself and many, many others--work variable hours with hourly wage). So we have the $193 plus $300, for $493 total.

Now, we have a combined bills total of $400 (that's paying minimum balance) plus our gas budget (which will vary from person to person, region to region. I average $40). So we have $493, a total of $440 worth in bills and we need milk and bread (staples in my household!). These grocery-staples must be accounted for in our bill plans as we need them (for example 1, we assumed well-stocked pantries). So add a $20 grocery budget. Later on, we'll discuss how this number is so low and how to cut your grocery bill.

Bills are up to $460, we have $493. Cutting it close, eh? Some weeks, (this time speaking from experience), you may not have enough to make the ends meet. We're going to assume for this that you also have a utility bill next week for $200, and you know that you won't be able to make that with a cut in hours you got this week. So let's plan ahead (and I can show you my notations and ways to prioritize this clump of bills so you don't drown in debt).

Here's a look at a mock Bill Plan for this example's weeks two and three. This picture is showing it as a type of weekly planner--which you can use for keeping track of your bills as well.

Here's where we prioritize. Daycare and Gas have to be paid, so take that out first, so we have $403 remaining. Let's also take out our $20 grocery budget, because that can't be put off either, so that makes $383. This leaves Car Payment, Credit Card, and Phone Bill due for this week, and Utilities next week. Here's a look at our budget so far.

We're at $383 for the week. Before we continue allocating money to different areas of our budget, let's get a look at how much we should get on this week's paycheck.This is especially helpful for those (like myself) who work hourly-wage jobs that vary. We'll look at two options: one standard work week, and one with overtime.

So, we need to figure out what we will get for (Week 2) Friday's paycheck, which (usually) covers the work from Week 1. Let's say we work 30 hours, making $8 (which, for TN, is right above the minimum wage of $7.35). 
So that's 30 X 8 = $240 before taxes. The amount of taxes you need to take out will vary; I started out with my budgets taking out 15%. In this amount you need to account for any other deductions that come from your paycheck. For example, I have union dues as well as a $1 donation to United Way that comes out of every paycheck. This brings my deduction to about 20% or so, and I've found that this percentage works for me. It takes a little trial and error here.

So we set up a proportion to take out the percentage. X over the your gross amount, then equal to 80 over 100. (The second numbers are coming from the deductions; to make it easier and quicker to see your net amount--what you'll actually be getting--subtract your deduction amount from 100. So for this example, 100% minus 20% gives you 80%, shown as 80 over 100.) 

Bring out our calculators, and we'll do our cross multiplication. 80 X 240 = 19,200. Set that equal to 100x.

19,200=100x

Divide to solve for x.

192 = x

So! We will get $192 back for this paycheck we receive on Friday of Week 2. For the purposes of budgeting, it's always a good rule to lowball your expected income. Meaning, yes, we mathematically used those algebra skills (that you thought you'd never use) to find out what we'll get back. But what if you worked slightly less than 30 hours? Maybe your percentage is slightly off? To cover the "what if"s and make sure we have enough bills, you're gonna want to account for slightly less income. So for our budget, let's say we have $180 coming in with this paycheck.

Now, what do we do with overtime? We will basically walk through the same steps as above. First, let's define overtime. For the average part-time hourly worker, this is anything over 40 hours, and is usually paid as "time and a half". This means, if we use our previous wage of $8 and hour, you get paid the $8 plus half of that per hour. Making your overtime wage $12 and hour--pretty freaking sweet.
So let's say for our second paycheck coming in on Friday of Week 2, we had worked 46 hours throughout Week 1.
So, 40 of these hours we made at our regular wage of $8, bringing us a gross total of $320. The other 6 hours worked were at the overtime wage of $12 an hour, bringing us to a gross total of $72. Add these two amounts together to get our total gross income for this week.

Now, we'll walk through those deduction steps to take out 20% of this total. For this paycheck we will have $313.60 in "take home", or net pay. Don't forget to lowball your income so we'll have roughly $300 to work with on this paycheck that we will receive Friday of Week 2.

(Note: These examples are based on a two job income, so adjust these accordingly. Either way, this example will show how to account for overtime. When we go back to our Week 2 Bill Plan and Budget, I will be combining both paychecks that we just worked with.)

So let's review what we're working with. In this example, it is the beginning of Week 2, and we are facing quite a few bills. We have $383 left after allocating money for the absolutely-cannot-wait-bills. We have a $100 car payment due on Sunday, a $50 minimum balance on our Credit Card due on Tuesday, a $200 Phone Bill due on Friday, and a $200 Utility bill on Tuesday of Week 3. We can expect a total of $480 of income on Friday of Week 2. We're wanting to pay bills up to get out of debt faster, as well as have a little bit of carry over for next week.

So, let's go ahead and pay the Car Payment of $100, and the Credit card bill. We've already determined we should have enough for both the phone bill and the utility payment for next week. So let's pay up the Credit card bill---send $80 there, and then the Car Payment of $120 (again, paying up. One of the easiest way to get out of debts--pay as much as you can when you can). That leaves us $183. Now, we do have a little extra! Hide some away into a savings account, and 
DO NOT touch your savings until it saves you from drowning. Want to get a pizza? Make it. Want to buy that cute new shirt? Nope. DO NOT TOUCH YOUR SAVINGS.
Here's what we're looking on Thursday of Week 2.

So when Friday comes around you add the $108 to your income of $480. You'll pay your $200 Phone bill, the Utility bill for Week 3, and have $188 leftover. The cycle continues. 

What if you need to split payments?
Let's say you've come up short one week; all resources are depleted and you absolutely have to pay your phone bill or they're gonna cut it off. Trust me, I've been in this situation. Here's my advice:
Call the phone company (or whichever biller may be causing you problems). Offer to pay whatever amount you can. Let's say, for our example of a $200 phone bill, we can only pay $75 this week for whatever reason. Tell the biller how much you can pay, and pay it. You need to build a bit of trust with these people. Set up a payment arrangement with them for your next payment on that bill. Every week until that bill is paid off, make it your number one priority bill.
I keep all of my bills in an organizer on my desk; every time one comes in I mark the due date and the amount due. Every time I pay the bill, I mark how I paid (debit, credit card--HUGE no, no-- or check with the check number). If I have to do a partial payment, mark each partial payment, payment method, and the new amount due. Highlight each partial-payment bill so it stands out to you next time you sit down to do your budget and bill plan.

Doing Bill Plans allows for me to readily see what needs to be paid for first, ensuring I don't overspend, and I don't get service charges or late fees. Another way I keep up with these amounts and upcoming due dates are through two apps on my phone (both of which have website components). I use Manilla and Mint to keep track of my bills, spending, and budgets in general.

Since this post is so long, and I'm sure there are tons of questions, comments, etc. about the subject, I am turning this into a series on Money Management. 

As always, if you've enjoyed this post, let me know. Feel led to support me in someway? Check out my GoFundMe. Don't forget to pass this post on to whoever you think can benefit! Until next time.... What Money Management information, tips, suggestions would you like to see? Sound off in the comments below!

Update: Tired, Burnt, and Ready for the End

….of this neverending rollercoaster.
You know that dream that we’ve all had when we were kids?
Gee, I can’t wait to be a grownup! I can stay up past 9pm and eat ice cream and gollywhiz, it’s gonna be grand!
Yeah.
No.

So, I’ve been meaning to update this for exactly one week now. Last week, we loaded into the car and drove down for court. Recap: Bryan had been driving on a suspended for over a year without his knowledge, and the crooked cop that had pulled him over tried to cite him for driving like 27 miles over the speed limit when in all honesty it was maybe 5.
Court went WAY better than expected. After waiting for nearly two hours to speak with the public defender, the attorney basically encouraged us to go forward with a not guilty charge. Basically, the cop went about everything completely against protocol, and, being a pretty-well hated dude, the attorney was offering to go to superior court with us for less than half what he normally charges. It’d wind up being a year or so before we’d make it to that court hearing and, because the cop would be forced to recognize he did wrong pulling us over in the first place, and apparently the cops in Blairsville rarely show to court anyway…. we would have won and had all charges dropped. We would have had to do at least three more trips to the courthouse, and, with my anxiety and everything else, we ended up deciding just paying the fines and being done with it.
The judge, upon hearing the story of what went down from the attorney, thankfully let Bryan go without serving jail time, and we paid our nearly $1,000 and went on our way.
So there’s THAT dealt with. Our next issue is/was getting Bryan’s license reinstated. It cost us a whopping $475 to do so, but his license is reinstated, and all’s clear….except he doesn’t have the physical license yet. The arresting officer (cough, different than the one that pulled us over on Christmas, because that’s not fishy) never gave Bryan his license back, never gave it to the courthouse….nothing. So now (long story short) we have to get him a new license in Tennessee (rather than just surrendering the GA license and being issued a TN license), which, in case you didn’t know, requires both a birth certificate and Social Security card…. both of which have been misplaced/damaged/whatever. So, now we’re in the process of tracking all of that down so that my love can have proof that he is indeed legal to drive.

sigh.

In other news.

We got the Save the Dates back from the printers! YAY! I was able to design our own, format it into a 4x6 picture, upload it to Shutterfly, use a couple of discounts, and get 100 prints for roughly $15. Not bad, when normally Save the Dates (I refuse to abbreviate…..) run $1.97 a piece. Well. They do on Walmart.com.

So, theoretically, those would have gone out in the mail like two weeks ago, but you know. WonderWoman over here is running low on juice. I’ve officially hit the point where I’m barely functioning, and writing this blog post was actually a break from the neverending homework that I’ve been choking on. Since we stayed in Blairsville significantly less time than originally planned, and Bryan was with me the entire time (trust me, I’m not complaining), I ended up getting behind in my studies, and you haven’t experienced exhaustion until you’ve literally fallen asleep doing homework, dreamed that you were studying, and woken up studying.
Well, I’m not sure if that’s exhaustion but still. I’ve got 600 pages of Herodotus to read and trust me, that’s more than it sounds. I’ve gotten into the habit where I write out study plans (which I’m currently behind on already but shhhh), and it physically pained me to write it out through next week. You know. Spring Break.

Ooh! I haven’t shared. So I have this AMAZING wonderful, indescribably awesome and completely stellar aunt who, as a Christmas present, has booked a cruise in the Caribbean for myself, my three sisters (psst, Amber, that includes you), Mom, my Mimi (the source of Chelle’s awesomeness), and herself. Week long cruise with the family, soaking up sun, and studying more homework trying to get caught up relaxing from this stress ….sounds like my kinda Spring Break.

So, there’s that update for you.
As the title may suggest, I’m a) tired (of doing homework, of never having downtime, of cleaning, of…….), b) burnt out of doing everything. (Like seriously, real life is giving me a headache previously reserved for too much Nintendo) and ready for the end of the madness.

Til next time, as always, we thank you for all the support and words of encouragement. While we’re still struggling, just gotta take this one day at a time, right?

--Kayla

**As proof of the neverending rollercoaster of madness, I'm posting this a full month after I wrote it, simply because I haven't had the time. Stay tuned for another update on the past month!**

T-Minus Less than 12 Hours.....

First and foremost, I want to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has supported us in this journey, whether it was through kind words of encouragement and support, or through financially and physically supporting us. So, again THANK YOU.

With that being said, since I decided to "go public" with our story in the famous (to me) January 17th post, I've come under a few criticisms and...stumbling-blocks, I suppose along the way. Let me be completely, utterly, and honestly, clear. I am NOT begging for money; I am NOT trying to guilt trip anyone, and I am NOT trying to force anyone to do anything. I am simply trying to keep my friends and family (and anyone that so happens to stumble upon my speck of the internet) informed and up to date on our situation. And, as both Bryan and I are too ....proud I guess the word would be... we do NOT want to straight up ask for money, and we don't accept it easily however. So, yes, we set up a GoFundMe (found here) to let those who feel compelled to donate and help us out, to do so easily. (And before someone tries to criticise the fact that our wedding is mentioned on our GFM page, we will be asking for monetary gifts as opposed to traditional/registry gift for our wedding.)

Now. On to that update.
We are in Blairsville, Georgia, safe and sound. I've got quite the stockpile (gathered from couponing) built up for my food while here: Cheerios, Ramen, jugs of KoolAid... I'm ready to go. Court is less than 12 hours away, and I'm officially beginning to get nervous. The jumpy, do-we-have-enough kind of nervous. As barely-above-minimum-wage workers with a child and a heavy debt ratio baring down on us (thank you student loans...), I'm terrified we won't get this all taken care of this week. We know of roughly $1500 worth of fees, fines, etc etc that need to be paid before we are scotch free out of here. Meanwhile, every day Bryan has to spend in jail (Side note: Positive energies, prayers, kind thoughts, anything and everything is appreciated that we don't have to be here more than the two nights) is another $65 for the hotel that I'm beginning to fear we won't have. Luckily, I brought all of my homework with me, so the hope is while I keep my mind off the fact that my love is stuck in jail over something he had no honest-to-God clue about, I at least get caught up with my classes.
I suppose only time will tell, and as always, I keep everyone updated again.
--Kayla

Less than Two Weeks

I've been trying to write this post for a month now. I had planned to update this blog weekly, and it just hasn't worked out that way. At the present time, we are less than two weeks away from court. Everyone with me, big breath in, slow breath out. Yeah. I'm stressed. Over the past few weeks, we have (so far, knock on wood) been pretty okay. Bryan was luckily given extra hours at work (yay overtime!), and my schooling has picked up. I've gotten used to three to four hours naps replacing my nightly sleeps, and large amounts of coffee fueling my day. I've reached the point where exhaustion is a step away (and fear it took me Tuesday night when a migraine caused me to go to the ER). But still. We're good. 

In fact, life has kept us so busy that we are now 5 days from court a I type this on my phone. We each had to take an entire day off to drive to Blue Ridge, Georgia so that Bryan could take a driving course, required by the State. I've begun running our budget constantly and, of course, we're a couple hundred short for court. Here's to hoping they take payment arrangements, right? 

This coming week will definitely, surely, test our faith in the universe. I'm planning to spend my few days in the hotel doing homework to keep me occupied and get caught up. Since I can't leave, might as well, right? 

On to happier news. Our Save the Dates for the wedding are here!! We found an awesome deal with shutterfly that got us 50 free prints through MyCokeRewards, so of course we formatted our Save the Dates (SN: I tried to abbreviate that. Don't do that.) into cute pictures and I'll start addressing envelopes soon! Yay! Meanwhile, still no venue, and we're less than 8 months away from our wedding. Do it with me. Breathe in, breathe out. 

Whoo. 

As always, if you feel so inclined, you can help us out at http://www.gofundme.com/6e3i8o

January 17th 2014

For a long time now, I have contemplated the publishing of the following post. For those who know me well, you know two things: 

1) I am an open book, read ‘em and weep. 

2) I am stubbornly independent to the point of nausea and heartbreak. 

What does this mean, exactly? For those who have stumbled upon this site, what am I saying about my own character? What does this say about the nature of this post? What do I hope to accomplish?

         I want to tell you the story of my life, or more specifically the troubles that my fiance and I have endured the past couple of months. I believe it has become a similar story across the nation as other families, whether they be my age (early 20s) or older, are struggle to make ends meet. I feel like everywhere I look, I see someone in desperate need of some kind: a parent/spouse lost their job, an unforeseen circumstance brings destruction and chaos to a family, a cut in assistance that previously allowed a family to eek out an existence. It’s on facebook, selling sites, social media, classrooms…. it’s in society and existence itself. And I’m not sure whether to blame poor budgetary planning/spending, a rise in costs of living, social problems and stratification, lowering of education standards… I’m sure the national epidemic of poverty (as I see it) can be explained in a combination of these ways. I don’t know, I’m not sure, I won’t claim to know everyone’s story, for this is only of my own.

          Last August, I began the last leg in my journey for an Associate’s degree of Arts from Pellissippi State Community College. The summer before I had attempted two online classes, both of which tanked my GPA and cost me a scholarship. My fiance and I were in a rocky situation at the time; our previous apartment complex had been entering our apartment without our consent/knowledge to the point of damaging our property. When we approached the property manager about the incident, he physically forced Bryan out of the office, screaming and cursing. To make a long story short, we called the cops and vacated the premises as soon as possible. We’ve just settled into our new place, unpacking and reorganizing far from done but liveable. With both of us working only part time jobs (that’s all we have still been able to find with an availability as ours has been with both my four year old and school), we ran a tight ship that would only get tighter as the semester went on.

          As stated earlier, we both maintained only part time jobs, and we were in need of government assistance for some time. Every bit of our roughly $400 in food stamps went to purchasing nutritious foods that fit into our lives--meats and proteins, fresh fruits and vegetables that my son adored, and we even managed to convince a four year old to eat things like yogurt and apples. We didn’t have to worry about “making it stretch” or saving leftovers to use in the next night’s meal. We had enough to eat well (read: not indulge and engross ourselves in mounds of food). It was routine for me (as the shopper of the family) to stockpile our staple items when they went on sale, and make good rational decisions about the money, but still. The assistance was well needed and well spent. Through this assistance my son also got to go to a wonderful daycare with a daily curriculum, learning how to interact with others and getting him prepared to enter the vigorous experience that is kindergarten in Fall 2014. We received a discount tuition rate to this splendid institution and my son was able to learn and grow while I worked or went to school myself. Things were looking well, and (remember that need for independence?) I purchased our own phone lines, and left the family plan with my parents. An extra $150 (or so they told us….) a month wasn’t too bad when my fiance and I were both working around 35 hours a week.

          Around mid September, our food stamps and family assistance was terminated. Even though we updated our addressed with DHS (as per the rules and guidelines of receiving assistance),  our appointment letter for a recertification to be sent to the wrong address and wasn’t received until after the case had been “closed and discontinued.”  For the following month, we utilized every resource we had. Instead of the child support money we received being spent on my son, who was going through a growth spurt, or deposited into his own savings account, the money went to food or to pay his raised tuition ($40/week, and that was even with a little bit of “transition assistance”). Gift cards that had been accumulated through birthdays and what not were now used on food, or sold through facebook. Free rewards programs that I had been enrolled in (shopkick, Swagbucks, etc) I quickly “cashed out” of and got maybe $20 to a PayPal account. Somehow, we made it through the month and to each paycheck.  Around this time, excess financial aid and a small student loan, applied for and approved for in the midst of all of this, came through and we were able to pay the bills and stay somewhat afloat. Through a roller coaster ride and bouncing back and forth between DHS case workers and appointment times, after a month of struggle and hoping for the best, I finally got an appointment with a caseworker. It was then that they told me we had lost the assistance permanently. The fluke of extra hours at work had been enough to put us roughly $25 over the threshold and we lost the $560 or so of assistance, unless “circumstances changes”, ie I lie and say my fiance doesn’t live with me, or one of us loses our job, neither of which were going to happen. Another small loan was taken out, and we started “making things stretch”. The stockpiles I had carefully built earlier were now being used.

          In early October, my beloved car began to smoke. A trip to the mechanics and $650 later, a rack and pinion had been replaced and the small issue of mini-fires in my engine had been resolved. This extra cost dug deep into any savings we had, and we began switching to meatless meals when my son stayed with his biological father every other week. Beans, bought and stored back when we had WIC, were now making their way into soups and meals  to satisfy protein needs, and my fiance and I began brown bagging it to work with fewer amounts. Rather than taking the leftovers from a previous meal, or a cup of Ramen, a sandwich and small bag of chips inhabited our lunch bags. It wasn't alot, but at least we had food, right? Bills started pouring in; our phone plans skyrocketed, colder weather meant higher utilies, and rent was coming due. The credit card I had for "emergency use only" now was being used for bills. I felt like I finally knew what it meant to "steal from Paul to pay Peter".
          On November 15, I wrecked my car. Wet conditions and weakening brakes contributed to me rear-ending another car. Physically, both myself and the other driver were okay; his car had minimal damage, while mine was totalled entirely. The next day, a trip to the ER showed I had a "sprained neck" that caused pain throughout my entire body. Fun right? I had also just started working in the deli department at work, and they were not thrilled when I had to call out Day One for this pain. Down to one car, the tardiness unfortunately didn't end there. Every time I left for work, whether it was in the rental (that luckily insurance provided for all of a week) or with Bryan taking me from our home in Northwest Knoxville to Farragut, something delayed me. There was massive traffic, a wreck, five different emergency vehicles that had to get through during a standstill that backed for three miles. Once, it took me twenty minutes to go two miles. I would leave early, and there would be an even worse backup than before. Try a different route; something in the way. This would remain a constant to this day; I've coined it the bad luck of the deli. I have to leave a full hour and half to even hope to get to work in time. I digress.

          Fast forward to Christmas. We've managed to find a decent car for less than $100 a month car payments. A busted tire with three other balding, and a damaged O2 sensor left us with an $800 bill on a fancy Firestone credit card. We hobbled our way through Christmas, putting in layaway and building up our present pile slowly. After the morning festivities we set off for Bryan's hometown of Blairsville, GA. To cut a very long story (that I'm not sure how much I can actually share) short, Bryan's license had been suspended without his knowing due to a previous speeding tickets. The tickets were paid off, and for two months Bryan checked to make sure his license wasn't suspended. The last call they told him it wouldn't be---only for it to be suspended three days later. He was pulled over for "speeding" (which he wasn't but... we won't get into that) and jailed for driving with a suspended license. We're facing upwards of $1500 owed to the state of Georgia by March 5, and the ordeal of Bryan not having any form of identification. Meanwhile, our car insurance has gone up, and, I suppose as the universe's way of compensating for that, our credit card limit has gone up as well. This means our bills are "paid" except for a nearly maxxed out credit card.
This past month alone, both of our hours have been cut at work, and money continues to get tighter. I was able to graduate from Pellissippi and I'm currently enrolled at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville with two classes. A loan is due to come through any day now for school, and hopefully that can help us from one step to the next. So, why do I tell you all of this?

          Many close to my situation have asked me about financial support and help. Can I send you money; is there anything I can do to help; what do you need? While these questions come from well meaning and loving individuals, whether they be friends or family, thus far in my life I have denied you. I have said something to the effects of “no thank you, we’ll figure something out,” or “we’ll manage, you don’t have to do that.” Let me please please please make it clear now and forevermore, that I appreciate the offers from the bottom of my soul, and I understand your need and want to help me. However, my pride, my hubris if you will, stands in the way. I do not want it to seem that I am asking for a handout, that I am lazy, or that I just don’t want to provide for myself. At the same time, the mounting troubles and the neverending flow of debt and negative income into my home have led me to this decision, to this blog post.

          January 17th 2014, the name of this post, is the day I decided to go public. Moreso than anything, I wish to let everyone know of the actuality of a struggling family. I heard a kid in one of my classes this past week say that a person "should know better than raise a family on minimum wage" and that it's of the person's own "laziness and refusal to get off their ass" that leads people's financial trouble; this same outlook on the poverty problem is rampant on facebook as well. While I know I could definitely have it worse than I do, and I full appreciate the things that I have, I do see myself as the "family that fell through the cracks" and I do wish to share my story. Before this blog has been used to track my ramblings, recipes, craft projects, and the such. This journal of sorts joins those categories as I invite you to follow along in all that we do.
Thank you for reading.


If you wish to donate or help us out financially, a GoFundMe account has been set up here. Thank you once more for all the love, encouragement, and support.