June: Summer of Austerity

Going to Alaska definitely started our summer with a bang. But it also put us into debt, and we determined paying it off was a priority above all else. We had about $2500 to pay off. Well, we are living really tightly right now. Michael makes about $80k/year at Newfield, which is a great salary, and twice as much as a teacher or cop or other people in our ward that have to have 2 incomes to make that much. However, his take home is only about half of that, or $4000/month because of taxes, 401k (we are also aggressively investing in our 401k since Newfield matches up to 8%- so that's about $500/month), and HSA deductions ($300/month to cover our $3000 annual deductible and other costs). Also we've decided to have a 15 year mortgage to pay off our house as soon as possible, which means our mortgage of $1300/month takes up about a third of our take home pay each month.  Our bills/utilities usually cost about $800/month, and our tithing is about $700/month. So that leaves about $800 a month for food, gas, baby supplies, projects, etc. We actually automatically pay $300/month to an account of MB's so that he can decide  how to use it for projects, etc.

The point is, in any given month, I have $500 to pay for groceries, gas and anything else. And that means there's never anything left! So trying to pay off $2500 with $0 is hard! And we hate that we have that debt. So we've tightened our belt as much as we possibly can to only bare essentials- nixing a camping trip because we can't afford to fill up the pick up or get propane. Living off of food storage food, not going on trips, not buying gifts. No improvement projects, etc. Our goal was to pay $700 a month for 4 months and pay it off in time for Christmas. But MAN has it been hard to have NO wiggle room!! It means we just stay home on Michael's days off, don't go on dates, have to wait to go to Costco for things, and using up all of our extra stuff- TP, dishwashing soap, etc. We are down to bare bones!! But I've been proud that we've been able to stick to it each month since July. We've still had to use the credit card for some essentials when we are down to nothing, but we are really learning to live much more cheaply than I ever have.

It's been really hard though. I've decided that we are NEVER going to go on a trip or buy something until it's paid for up front again because it's so HARD to get out of debt now! There were also a couple of other things we had to put on the credit card- a repair for our truck that ended up costing $1200 unexpectedly, and some pavers we bought at half price but didn't have the money for that was $800. So it's been an uphill battle paying that off. And it's meant that our summer has been boring!

But considering I was pregnant, and much sicker than I was ever with Levi, that was ok. I had enrolled Levi in swimming lessons where we would go 4 days a week for 3 weeks, and some mornings it took all I had to get out the door with him because I would feel so nauseous. This pregnancy has been totally different with Levi in that sense- I felt queasy very very often and would be so tired in the morning and evenings. Because I didn't really have morning sickness with Levi, I was kind of surprised by it all. I had to stay home from church a couple of times and cancel on activities and visits as well, but no one knew why. I finally told Deb so she would know what the deal was, and then Kelly Ann. But no one else really knew. But it was good timing since we didn't really have many plans anyway, I could just stay home and rest.

I was asked to speak on Temples in church and becoming temple worthy. That was a good experience for me, especially since it was around the time of mom's 1 year death anniversary. Preparing and then sharing my testimony of the reality of temple covenants and forever families was really good for me. I'll post the talk here for reference. Sweet Teressa Guest came by on the 22nd with a little sunshine basket. She's so sweet. I figured no one in the world would remember that day as the one that my mom passed away. Grieving can feel so lonely. It meant the world that she remembered and came over and visited with me. She's a good friend.

We went on one camping trip to Starvation Reservoir in June, that's only about 15 minutes from our house and just for 1 night.


Then Katie McKinney Strickland and her hubby Spencer came and stayed with us as well, which was so very nice. They're still struggling with infertility, but Spencer recently got lapband surgery and has lost a ton of weight. He was like 600 lbs. and now is just over 200. Katie recently had it performed as well and she is REALLY hoping it will be the key for her being able to get pregnant. I hope so too, infertility is SO hard and it has been so hard on her. I hope more than anything that they can have children. I sure love her!



In June Kim and I also planned on getting makeovers for Mother's Day. Michael paid for mine and wanted me to do something that would make me feel pretty. Well Morgan Fabrizio did a great job! We had a great time and the pictures turned out great!

It was also Levi's birthday in June. I didn't plan anything extravagant for him because I think those kinds of parties are more about parents than they are the kids. But we did build him a sandbox in a little tent that he loved for like $30, and we had the neighbors over and had cupcakes on his birthday and he did a great job smashing the cupcake all over his face. He loved it. Grandma Pam also came and gave him some neat toys, and his cousins James and Brinlee stopped by and gave him some toys too. He's a pretty loved little boy :)

And here's just a couple of shots of every day life.
Levi's first selfie (obiously mom was totally unprepared- no makeup at all! But look at Levi's smile! He loved it!) and a typical summer sunset.

We love our little corner of paradise. Also look how small our trees were! They've grown a lot this summer. :)