Next week, our kids are out of school the entire week for Fall Break. I know...I never heard of it either, until I moved to TN! We are going to Roselle for the week to visit Mom, Dad, and Jill, and also get several things accomplished for our upcoming move next year!
First of all, Tony is painting Mom & Dad's kitchen cabinets. They are currently wood, and about 20+ years old. He's going to sand and paint them white. One of our goals while we're living there is to slowly prepare the house to sell, so that when Mom and Dad put it on the market to downsize, there's not a lot of extra expense. Tony is going to slowly paint each room a neutral color during the 5 years we're there, and we're also making those improvements mentioned earlier that will help the home's value: adding a third lane in the driveway, adding a bathroom in the basement, as well as 2 small bedrooms.
The contractor we know came to look at the basement improvements a few weeks ago, and we'll meet with him next week to discuss a couple of sketches and pricing. We also had a plumber come out to do an estimate for the bathroom work, and we'll have his quote back next week too. Lastly, a gentleman who is the son of Mom's friend is coming out to talk to us about a business he does that helps save money on utility bills. With 8 of us in the house, that is something that could potentially help our budget!
Lastly, one of the most DIFFICULT things to leave here in TN is the kid's school. They attend Community Christian Day School, a private Christian elementary, and this is their second year there. This school has made SUCH a difference in their education, grades, and behavior! We just love the owners, teachers, staff, and everyone there! Next week on Monday at 10 am, we will be touring a private Christian school near my parent's house that I hope (after LOTS of online research) will be a great fit for them while we are living in Roselle. Please be in prayer that God's will is revealed during this visit. The school is Schaumburg Christian School, and it actually goes all the way through H.S., so if we go with this school, they can be there the entire time we're living in IL! I'd like to have their schooling situation figured out sooner than later, so there's no anxiety about what next year looks like.
We will also be visiting the church attached to this school on Sunday...Bethel Baptist Church. We will miss our Edmondson Chapel family SO much while we're gone, so finding a new church home during our time while we're away is so important to us. There's just no place like ECC!
We would love your prayers for traveling grace, and that all of our plans for the week go as God would have them to go. I'll keep you posted on how it goes! Thanks for reading!
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Our First Speedbump
We currently live in an apartment. After making the decision to move next May, I went to our apartment manager and asked about how it would work with our lease, and giving notice. We've been here almost 3 years, and I assumed it would be easy. Not so much.
Our lease is up January 31, and they ONLY offer 1 year leases. NO exceptions.
So, we have 2 options: 1. either move by the end of January to another short term rental (which seems difficult) or 2. resign a 1 year lease, and be charged a $695 penalty plus lose our $250 deposit.
I was so frustrated! Everything up until this point, had gone so smooth, and God was just confirming over and over that we were following His will! I talked to Tony and posed the question about which option we should do. His response was that we should wait. He literally said, "You never know, God may just put something in our lap that is the same or less rent, and for the time frame we need!" I said ok, but in my head I was thinking "Yeah right!!"
The very next week we received a call from a prospective client. (Tony owns Cann-Do Interior Painting) They wanted the entire interior of a home painted, in LaVergne, about 5 minutes away from where we live. When the client mentioned it had been vacant for a year, I probed and asked whether he was trying to rent or sell it. He said he wasn't sure, but probably sell. I set up the estimate and called Tony to tell him when it was, etc. He immediately said, this might be the opportunity that God has for us! Again, I thought, "what??" While I did trust him, I somewhat dismissed his comment, and he went to do the estimate the next week. We provided the estimate, and the customer booked the job.
A few days later, Tony asked me to follow up with them about us renting the home until May. He said he mentioned it to him while he was there. I felt awkward, but sent an email explaining who we were, what our situation was, and indicated that maybe this was a "holy nudge" from God, so we didn't want to pass up the opportunity. The homeowner wrote back that evening, saying that they had been praying for a financial blessing, and us renting this home short term would provide exactly that, as they prepared to sell this home! They agreed to accept the same amount we pay in rent for our apartment, which is a huge blessing, and great deal! It is 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, and Tony is painting it next week. We will move in Oct 17, and although we are still breaking our lease, we were able to work out a trade for half of the painting cost for rent, and don't have to start paying rent until January 2016!
I should listen to Tony more often. ;)
Our lease is up January 31, and they ONLY offer 1 year leases. NO exceptions.
So, we have 2 options: 1. either move by the end of January to another short term rental (which seems difficult) or 2. resign a 1 year lease, and be charged a $695 penalty plus lose our $250 deposit.
I was so frustrated! Everything up until this point, had gone so smooth, and God was just confirming over and over that we were following His will! I talked to Tony and posed the question about which option we should do. His response was that we should wait. He literally said, "You never know, God may just put something in our lap that is the same or less rent, and for the time frame we need!" I said ok, but in my head I was thinking "Yeah right!!"
The very next week we received a call from a prospective client. (Tony owns Cann-Do Interior Painting) They wanted the entire interior of a home painted, in LaVergne, about 5 minutes away from where we live. When the client mentioned it had been vacant for a year, I probed and asked whether he was trying to rent or sell it. He said he wasn't sure, but probably sell. I set up the estimate and called Tony to tell him when it was, etc. He immediately said, this might be the opportunity that God has for us! Again, I thought, "what??" While I did trust him, I somewhat dismissed his comment, and he went to do the estimate the next week. We provided the estimate, and the customer booked the job.
A few days later, Tony asked me to follow up with them about us renting the home until May. He said he mentioned it to him while he was there. I felt awkward, but sent an email explaining who we were, what our situation was, and indicated that maybe this was a "holy nudge" from God, so we didn't want to pass up the opportunity. The homeowner wrote back that evening, saying that they had been praying for a financial blessing, and us renting this home short term would provide exactly that, as they prepared to sell this home! They agreed to accept the same amount we pay in rent for our apartment, which is a huge blessing, and great deal! It is 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, and Tony is painting it next week. We will move in Oct 17, and although we are still breaking our lease, we were able to work out a trade for half of the painting cost for rent, and don't have to start paying rent until January 2016!
I should listen to Tony more often. ;)
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Called to Be Counter-Cultural
One of the first things my mom said after we'd made the decision to move forward with God's call for us to live multi-generationally was, "You know, really this isn't that strange...it's just very counter-cultural. It's not normal for Americans." Think about it, in other cultures (think Hispanic, Middle-Eastern, Indian) it is very normal for 3 generations to all live together. They work together as a family to help meet the needs of everyone...i.e. the grandmother provides the "daycare," the men work outside the home and provide monitarily, the mother cooks and cleans. It all sounds very OLD SCHOOL, but everyone has a role that benefits everyone else.
God is amazing y'all. I attend a weekly women's bible study, and we are studying True Women 201, Interior Design By Mary Kassian and Nancy Leigh Demoss. I was reading today's study, and it directly correlated to this exact issue. I know for a fact that the Holy Spirit was speaking to me, and I believe my job is to share it through this blog. I believe that I'll be led to share a lot of what God says to me through this forum, and my prayer is that it also speaks to you. My prayer is that God will be glorified through this medium.
Anyways...this chapter is discussing responsibility. It stated "Up until the 19th century, the home was the center of production and the small business unit of the local economy. Most families ran a "family business" (also very common in other cultures) which generally involved everyone in the household-husband, wife, and children. The family was a single economic unit that worked together for the common good of its members. Certainly, there was a division of labor in which the husband's focus was predominantly on provision, and the wife's predominantly on household management. But work was a family affair. There wasn't a big chasm between "home" and "work"--the two spheres overlapped. Everyone in the home was productive. Everyone worked. During the Industrial Revolution of the early 1800's, people left their homes for employment in factories. Their income was no longer associated with the family business. Instead, the money they earned was theirs and theirs ALONE. The perception of what qualified as "work" also changed. Work became employment outside the home. This profound cultural upheaval had enormous implications for our modern perceptions about work, economics, and women's labor and productivity."
This may all sound like it's about women and their role, but what was revealed to me was how God created families to work together! He also calls us to be counter-cultural! So what if this plan isn't normal?? In America, we are taught that after we turn 18, it is important to get your college education, and then make it on your own. Then what do most of us do? Start off with student loan debt, add more debt, and struggle most of our adult lives. There are so many other things that are "normal" in American culture, but not as part of Christ's culture. We are called to be in the world, but not of the world. (John 17:16) I would much rather listen to Christ's call and be different, than keep doing what I think is "normal" and struggle.
When Tony, Meri and I went to our pastor to tell him we were moving, and explain our plan to him, he expressed his joy for us. He immediately told us a story of a family from Laos that he banked years ago. (He was a bank manager for many years.) He said that the family came in to open a joint checking account, and explained to him that the 2 sons and their families were all moving in together with older father and his wife. Pastor said he thought they were crazy. He explained that he's still friends with them, and that they now own 3 large homes free and clear in Brentwood. Working TOGETHER helped their family achieve big things. Proof in the pudding!
Will this plan work for everyone? NO. But it may work for some. Will this be an easy journey for us, without conflict? I think not! There will be EIGHT of us living in one home, LOL! I know that the initial motivation for this change is monitary, but I also feel like that's only a tiny piece of the growth journey that God has planned for each of us. I think He has many things to teach us about each other, and will give us lots of opportunity to give our testimony to others. This is a short term sacrifice for a long term gain!
I have been encouraged by several friends/family members to start this blog. I already feel led to tell our story. I encourage you that if God is speaking to you, the time is now to act on it! I hope my sharing gives you at least a little bit of guidance. I'm amazed at the things he's doing to just orchestrate every detail, just because we decided to go against the grain, be counter-cultural, and act upon him speaking to us.
I hope you enjoy reading about our journey!
God is amazing y'all. I attend a weekly women's bible study, and we are studying True Women 201, Interior Design By Mary Kassian and Nancy Leigh Demoss. I was reading today's study, and it directly correlated to this exact issue. I know for a fact that the Holy Spirit was speaking to me, and I believe my job is to share it through this blog. I believe that I'll be led to share a lot of what God says to me through this forum, and my prayer is that it also speaks to you. My prayer is that God will be glorified through this medium.
Anyways...this chapter is discussing responsibility. It stated "Up until the 19th century, the home was the center of production and the small business unit of the local economy. Most families ran a "family business" (also very common in other cultures) which generally involved everyone in the household-husband, wife, and children. The family was a single economic unit that worked together for the common good of its members. Certainly, there was a division of labor in which the husband's focus was predominantly on provision, and the wife's predominantly on household management. But work was a family affair. There wasn't a big chasm between "home" and "work"--the two spheres overlapped. Everyone in the home was productive. Everyone worked. During the Industrial Revolution of the early 1800's, people left their homes for employment in factories. Their income was no longer associated with the family business. Instead, the money they earned was theirs and theirs ALONE. The perception of what qualified as "work" also changed. Work became employment outside the home. This profound cultural upheaval had enormous implications for our modern perceptions about work, economics, and women's labor and productivity."
This may all sound like it's about women and their role, but what was revealed to me was how God created families to work together! He also calls us to be counter-cultural! So what if this plan isn't normal?? In America, we are taught that after we turn 18, it is important to get your college education, and then make it on your own. Then what do most of us do? Start off with student loan debt, add more debt, and struggle most of our adult lives. There are so many other things that are "normal" in American culture, but not as part of Christ's culture. We are called to be in the world, but not of the world. (John 17:16) I would much rather listen to Christ's call and be different, than keep doing what I think is "normal" and struggle.
When Tony, Meri and I went to our pastor to tell him we were moving, and explain our plan to him, he expressed his joy for us. He immediately told us a story of a family from Laos that he banked years ago. (He was a bank manager for many years.) He said that the family came in to open a joint checking account, and explained to him that the 2 sons and their families were all moving in together with older father and his wife. Pastor said he thought they were crazy. He explained that he's still friends with them, and that they now own 3 large homes free and clear in Brentwood. Working TOGETHER helped their family achieve big things. Proof in the pudding!
Will this plan work for everyone? NO. But it may work for some. Will this be an easy journey for us, without conflict? I think not! There will be EIGHT of us living in one home, LOL! I know that the initial motivation for this change is monitary, but I also feel like that's only a tiny piece of the growth journey that God has planned for each of us. I think He has many things to teach us about each other, and will give us lots of opportunity to give our testimony to others. This is a short term sacrifice for a long term gain!
I have been encouraged by several friends/family members to start this blog. I already feel led to tell our story. I encourage you that if God is speaking to you, the time is now to act on it! I hope my sharing gives you at least a little bit of guidance. I'm amazed at the things he's doing to just orchestrate every detail, just because we decided to go against the grain, be counter-cultural, and act upon him speaking to us.
I hope you enjoy reading about our journey!
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Pricing
Our next step is to price the home improvements necessary. That has turned out to be quite the undertaking. As of right now, here's where we're at in the process:
- Driveway- received an estimate, however cannot verify with the Village of Roselle that expanding the driveway by another lane is within code. We need a plat of survey to sketch out a draft and submit to the Village, and cannot find that piece of paper! Argh!! Mom is going to order a copy from the mortgage company. Hopefully they can provide it.
- Fence- received a RIDICULOUSLY expensive bid. Rethought what type of fence we'd like, but even chain link is expensive. Unfortunately, since we started this process, Meri's dog Wrigley was diagnosed with Lymphoma and probably only has about a month to live. We are putting this one on hold for now since there's so many what ifs...
- Basement Remodel- we are blessed to have a close friend of Mom & Dad's in the remodeling business. He came over and looked at everything we'd like to do and thinks it's very feasible. He is currently sketching up a few options for us. My family is visiting Oct 5-9 and we will meet with him then to review the options. He also referred us to a plumber who came by today. He seemed very reasonable and said the bathroom is very doable. He's going to work on a quote this week and get it to Mom by early next week.
I'm SO glad we have 8 months before all of this needs to be figured out! We plan to get all the pricing and then make a priority list. Not all of these have to be done immediately once we move.
Accomodations
Logistically, we realized that some accomodations will need to be made in order for 8 people to comfortably live at Mom and Dads. They live in the house I grew up in. It's a nice, single family home with 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. It also has a finished open basement. The builders "roughed out" a bathroom in the basement that has never been finished...and Meri suggested that she and Alannah sleep in the basement. That sounded great to me! LOL Seriously though, Arahn and Alannah have shared a room for the past 3 years, and they are getting to an age where separate rooms would be a good thing. Meri suggested that we finish the basement bathroom, and make 2 bedrooms down there as well.
I called Mom and she agreed. She also suggested the remaining space in the basement be a rec room with couches/TV for the kids. Dad is pretty set in his ways, and this would allow the kids to have an area to watch their cartoons, have toys, etc without Grandpa always being on edge, haha! She then discussed the need for us to expand the driveway. Currently it's a 2 car garage driveway, but we will have 6 vehicles, so they won't fit.
Meri then called me back and suggested the need to fence in the backyard for her dog, Wrigley. The backyard opens up into a large field/park, and it would be difficult for Wrigley to get enough active time without a yard to run in.
Wow, these things quickly add up! How will we pay for all of this?
We decided to delay the debt payoff for however many months it takes us to save up cash to do the home improvements. In other words, if 2 months is enough to pay cash, then we start the original plan on month 3, and just delay the initial start date. This way there is no additional debt being added. I feel like we're making progress daily!
I called Mom and she agreed. She also suggested the remaining space in the basement be a rec room with couches/TV for the kids. Dad is pretty set in his ways, and this would allow the kids to have an area to watch their cartoons, have toys, etc without Grandpa always being on edge, haha! She then discussed the need for us to expand the driveway. Currently it's a 2 car garage driveway, but we will have 6 vehicles, so they won't fit.
Meri then called me back and suggested the need to fence in the backyard for her dog, Wrigley. The backyard opens up into a large field/park, and it would be difficult for Wrigley to get enough active time without a yard to run in.
Wow, these things quickly add up! How will we pay for all of this?
We decided to delay the debt payoff for however many months it takes us to save up cash to do the home improvements. In other words, if 2 months is enough to pay cash, then we start the original plan on month 3, and just delay the initial start date. This way there is no additional debt being added. I feel like we're making progress daily!
Will This Really Work?
After everyone was in agreement that this is something we wanted to do, the next question was HOW will this work? We needed to know that it would make sense financially just like it did for the 4 sisters in the article I read. So, I asked all 6 income earners in the family to gather the following items for me:
- Approximate monthly income (estimate if job would change, as in Meri and Tony's case...as Meri is just graduating with her Master's before we move, and Tony is currently self-employed and probably won't restart his business in another city...too much involved and not enough space or time. I asked everyone to underestimate their income.
- List of all debts owed, from smallest to largest, with minimum monthly payment for each
- List of monthly ongoing bills (i.e. car insurance, cell phone bill, etc)
Although I am now disabled, my background is in consolidation of debt lending, and banking management. I have lots of experience creating budgets, debt management plans, and have also gone through Financial Peace by Dave Ramsay. Once I received everyone's info, I simply combined each item.
First, I added up all the income, to come up with a total monthly income for our household.
Then, I listed every debt, from smallest to largest, in one big list. It did not matter whose debt was whose...this was an all-encompassing list.
Next, I created a budget. My first priority was that each person tithes 10% off the top of their income. I believe that this is God's plan, and want to show Him our dedication to His Word, so that was the first monthly debt. I then listed each person's regular monthly bills, and added to that the minimum monthly payment total from the total debt list. That night, I had a long phone conversation with Mom discussing what the average monthly bills were for the household utilities, including the mortgage, electric, water, gas, and cable. I more than doubled the amounts for each, as we'll have 8 people living there instead of 3. I finished the monthly outgo by estimating food, gas, and monthly spending money. Again, I estimated all of these high, as I didn't want to think our plan was better than it was. Then, I added all of that together for a total monthly household expense.
Before moving on, I want to explain that the beauty of this type of plan is that you can adjust it based on what makes sense for YOUR FAMILY. For instance, in our family, my sister Jill has almost no debt, however she needs a new vehicle and currently isn't making much income. What I did was worked in saving the cash during months 8-11 so that we can pay cash for her to get a new vehicle. This was part of the personal benefit for her, and made sense since she didn't have the debt that the other family members did.
After figuring all of this, you simply subtract your monthly expense total from your monthly income total. From there, you can figure approximately how long it will take you to payoff all debts. The key is to start with the smallest balance, and work your way up. As you payoff each debt, you eliminate that monthly payment, and add it to your LEFT OVER amount to help pay down more debt quicker.
In our case, during months 1-7, all credit card debt is paid off. Months 8-11 pay for Jill's new vehicle. Months 12-35 pay off our 2 financed vehicles and over $100,000 in student loan debt!! Our plan is to reevaluate after 3 years to see if all want to continue the plan. Both of my sisters are single and realistically, we don't know what plan God has for them over the next few years as far as marriage etc, so this makes sense for our family. If we all continued during years 4 and 5, we could pay down the mortgage by 50%!!! This would put my parents in a situation to downsize and retire very comfortably, which is a goal for all of us. =)
Tony and I have always had a dream to purchase land outside of Nashville, and build a small, simple dream home. That is still our plan, God-willing. This journey will help us get there. In 5 years, we hope to move back to TN, debt-free, and begin that process.
Obviously, we quickly realized THIS WILL WORK INCREDIBLY!!! Our family will be debt free (not including the mortgage) in 3 years by working together. We made our plan official and started getting really excited! Meri and my family will be moving from TN to Roselle at the end of May 2016!!
Monday, September 21, 2015
How our Plan Came to Be
In early August 2015, Tony's cousin posted an article from Forbes magazine on FB that intrigued me.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/vanessamcgrady/2015/08/11/millennial-sisters/?utm_campaign=Forbes&utm_source=FBPAGE&utm_medium=social&utm_channel=Investing&linkId=16215773
After days of thinking about it, I brought it up to my sister and my husband one evening, and we briefly discussed how it might work if we tried it. Tony has quite a bit of student loan debt, and working together as a family to help each other just makes so much sense! After talking about the details, we quickly decided that it WOULDN'T work, as none of us have a large home, and we would have to rent too large of a house to fit all the family members, and the rent would eliminate the potential savings. =( I thought I let the idea go, but ended up mentioning it to my mom the next night. She thought it sounded like an incredible plan, but that was as far as the conversation went. When I got off the phone, the thought came to me! I asked Tony "why don't we look at using Mom and Dad's house and do this with my entire family?" His reponse? "Let's DO IT!" I was floored, but at the same time, it all made sense. Tony grew up with LOTS of family around him, and attributes that to the man he's become. He's ALWAYS dreamed about living with our family, and allowing our kids to experience the same thing. I guess I just didn't ever think of it from the perspective of my family and in IL! (He grew up and his entire family is in TN)
God had brought this option in front of us, and He worked it out from there. I called Meredith, (my youngest sister, who current lives in TN near us) and she was all for it! She graduates in May 2016 with her Master's Degree, and had been struggling because she was feeling called to move back to Roselle (suburb of Chicago), but she didn't want to move away from my family. She has significant student loan debt, and some other debt as well, and paying it off quickly is a huge motivator. I then called Mom, and she was all for it! She retires in May 2016, and was in the process of figuring out finances once she has a reduction in income. She knew she would have to get a part time job. I called Jill (middle sister who lives in Roselle with my parents already) and she was all for it. She loves being around my kids and likes the energy my family brings to the household. I called Dad, and he was all for it. He loves the idea of becoming debt-free so quickly, and would love to pay down the mortgage quicker! Arahn (9) and Alannah (8) are both very excited to move to Roselle too. They love visiting Grandma, Grandpa, and Auntie Jill and cannot wait for the new experience. Suddenly, this idea that intrigued me was becoming a possibility!!
http://www.forbes.com/sites/vanessamcgrady/2015/08/11/millennial-sisters/?utm_campaign=Forbes&utm_source=FBPAGE&utm_medium=social&utm_channel=Investing&linkId=16215773
After days of thinking about it, I brought it up to my sister and my husband one evening, and we briefly discussed how it might work if we tried it. Tony has quite a bit of student loan debt, and working together as a family to help each other just makes so much sense! After talking about the details, we quickly decided that it WOULDN'T work, as none of us have a large home, and we would have to rent too large of a house to fit all the family members, and the rent would eliminate the potential savings. =( I thought I let the idea go, but ended up mentioning it to my mom the next night. She thought it sounded like an incredible plan, but that was as far as the conversation went. When I got off the phone, the thought came to me! I asked Tony "why don't we look at using Mom and Dad's house and do this with my entire family?" His reponse? "Let's DO IT!" I was floored, but at the same time, it all made sense. Tony grew up with LOTS of family around him, and attributes that to the man he's become. He's ALWAYS dreamed about living with our family, and allowing our kids to experience the same thing. I guess I just didn't ever think of it from the perspective of my family and in IL! (He grew up and his entire family is in TN)
God had brought this option in front of us, and He worked it out from there. I called Meredith, (my youngest sister, who current lives in TN near us) and she was all for it! She graduates in May 2016 with her Master's Degree, and had been struggling because she was feeling called to move back to Roselle (suburb of Chicago), but she didn't want to move away from my family. She has significant student loan debt, and some other debt as well, and paying it off quickly is a huge motivator. I then called Mom, and she was all for it! She retires in May 2016, and was in the process of figuring out finances once she has a reduction in income. She knew she would have to get a part time job. I called Jill (middle sister who lives in Roselle with my parents already) and she was all for it. She loves being around my kids and likes the energy my family brings to the household. I called Dad, and he was all for it. He loves the idea of becoming debt-free so quickly, and would love to pay down the mortgage quicker! Arahn (9) and Alannah (8) are both very excited to move to Roselle too. They love visiting Grandma, Grandpa, and Auntie Jill and cannot wait for the new experience. Suddenly, this idea that intrigued me was becoming a possibility!!
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