Scholarships are Great

I love school.

I love libraries, I love computer labs, I love free access to expensive software and promotional snacks, sodas, and day planners! I love cool quiet rooms and shady outdoor study areas.

I love teachers, despite their distrust and occasional contempt. I love spending hours every day focusing on self-improvement and skill building. Even when it's hard, even when it's tedious. I love conversing with my husband about what we learned, and how, and why.

I don't so much love overpriced kit (should've taken your advice, Lu...), but I do love me some expensive technical pencils, strangely-shaped rulers called scales, and clean new erasers.

June 2nd two great things happen: profit share meeting at work (it was slow season, so I'd be surprised if I get a $25 share) and a financial aid meeting with the college. At this financial aid meeting I will be introduced to a company that has offered full scholarships to drafting students who fall into a certain lack-o'-earnings bracket. And I fall into that bracket. So it is very likely that Monday some very nice people will give me a sheet of paper that says I don't have to pay another cent for my $4,000 degree (which will quadruple my earnings potential) and to please put any future textbook purchases on their tab.

The only thing I enjoy more than being a student is getting paid for it!

First Day Of School

Survived my first day of class, though it was a little overwhelming. I'd forgotten how much stress I feel in a classroom environment. The professor was a little unenthusiastic about the drafting life in general (anybody who's anybody wants to be a designer, maybe even an engineer or architect) but it's obviously an exact science that takes lots of skill and practice. He was very positive about the job market, citing numerous cases in which second-semester students landed fairly great jobs. I'd like to have a "real" job for fall semester, so this is pretty important to me.

Because I was so sick over the weekend we are behind financially. We haven't gone shopping yet this week, we still have some May bills to pay, and I have to buy a small $25 tool kit from the school. We'll be withholding charity (again) and drawing some cash from the emergency fund to make rent. Which is not how I wanted to start this semester.

Hot Conversations

Texas is hot. Hotter than I remembered, because all last year we just set the thermostat to keep the house at eighty degrees central air did the rest. Now we are guiltily flipping our three window units on and off as we leave and enter rooms, and the entire house heats up when it's time to boil water. It's been about three weeks since we've had bread. I made pancakes this morning to celebrate feeling better (woo-hoo!) and it's the first time I've touched the stove since...well, since it got HOT.

Darling and I talked solar ovens, which sound pretty amazing-awesome. Put dinner outside in a couple of black boxes lined in foil in the morning and have a lovely dinner come sundown? Without turning the house into a raging inferno? Or spending $30 in electricity trying to combat the heat? Get me some of that.

I went to the hardware store while Darling was at the library borrowing books on the subject. Sharing our plans with a curious older salesman, I realized how mad some environmental choices sound to some people. I enjoyed this conversation:

"You're going to cook outside?"

"Well, yeah, like a barbecue, but it doesn't need to be attended."

"How long does it take to roast a turkey?"

"Ah...I've never roasted a turkey. Probably about twice as long using an oven, depending on the size."

"You know, Subway's having a deal, a 12 inch sandwich for $5. That could probably get you through the Summer."

"Solar oven supplies shouldn't cost us more than $30. My husband and I could only eat three meals at Subway for that price."

You know, they have nifty, smaller electric ovens you could buy for about $50, and little camper stoves you could use outside..."

At one point I went so far to insist that my husband and I KNOW what we are doing, we are not mad dirty hippies, Darling is NABCEP certified for goodness sake! Granted, I haven't built the oven yet, but really, suggesting we eat out all Summer rather than build a small, cheap solar alternative to grid energy and overheating the house? Some people are just silly.

Ill, slightly panicky

Still feeling unwell. I purchased a little packet of Imodium to get through work tomorrow, if that doesn't help I go to the clinic on Monday.

The irony is that a few days ago I talked to the head of human resources about health insurance. I won't qualify until the start of September, unless she were to fudge my employment date. I dissuaded her from doing so, however, maintaining my honesty and general good health.

School starts in three days! I need to be better now!

Yesterday I experienced pretty strong feelings of vertigo and nausea, this morning I was forced to leave work before any more customers mentioned milkshakes or salsa. With school starting in 5 days I don't feel great about missing earnings, but Darling rubbed my feet, made me tea, and made me feel better. My stomach is still gurgling rather discontentedly, but the dizziness has ultimately passed.

I made a debt payment. We are really behind with our student loan company. Once upon a time we were sending $200+/month, now we are barely making minimum payments. Worse: we haven't made any progress on our family loan in months. However, once upon a time we hadn't seen a dentist or eye doctor in years, couldn't afford classes, and were working every waking hour to get by. Life is full of compromise. This year Darling and I chose to dedicate our time and energy to living more, working less, going to school, and building a savings.

Part of me wonders if saving rather than paying debt is a particularly bad financial choice to make. We're earning just over 3 percent interest from ING. We are paying over 5 percent interest to debtors. So we're ultimately losing 2 percent. However, emergencies happen, and that includes having to pay for another semester of school in 12 weeks...

It's kind of wonderful being able to make these sort of decisions, though, isn't it? I remember a time when we were choosing to pay bills or buy groceries!

Our economic stimulus check was deposited in our bank account a few days ago. Darling and I hadn't really discussed what we wanted to do with it, but the monetary amount makes the answer pretty obvious. It is almost exactly how much we spent on this Summer's tuition :) I transferred the $798 directly to Ing and am relieved that we once again have an emergency fund.

Yesterday and today I woke up at 6 a.m., caught the bus, and commuted to North Austin. I wandered the small Northridge campus, poking my head into empty classrooms and computer labs, reading the cafe menu, and got a general feel for the place a full week before school actually starts. I come home and nap for several hours afterward, because my body still refuses to go to sleep before midnight. Darling thinks I'm a bit mad and over-reacting, but if I don't do this now I'll be too afraid to go to sleep the night before class actually starts. You have no idea how talented I am at getting lost, and a 1 1/5 hour commute with a transfer offers more than enough opportunity to do so.

Accidental Shopping

Organic lemons caught my eye during our last grocery shop. When was the last time I've enjoyed fresh squeezed lemonade? I purchased three, then headed out today in search of one of those hand-held juicing tools and a crisp $20.

What did I spend $20 on? Not a juicer (though the neighbor has one I can borrow). At Sally Army I discovered a large boxy portfolio absolutely perfect for our filing needs. It has space to file everything from dental bills to education paperwork. I love it, and it was half the price of those flimsy plastic things available at Walgreens.

I then saw and fell in love with a suit. A beautiful quality jacket and skirt set, soft gray, lightweight and just my size. Unable to find a price tag, I took it to the cashier, prepared to be disappointed. This is the Salvation Army that charged me $11 for a single sweater. I couldn't believe my luck to be told that this perfect outfit was only $10!

So now I own a suit. For, um, interview purposes? Since I intend to be job hunting this time next year, and maybe even working in an office, this purchase can just about be justified. Maybe I'll wear it while drinking lemonade...

Buying A Home Without Credit

I have a question about your mission statement. Are you planning to save/invest enough to buy property in cash? I'm just curious about your strategy to make such a purchase without using the credit industry. If you've run the numbers, would you be willing to share your plan? I'm not necessarily asking for your actual numbers, just the steps/strategy.


Get out of debt. Saving for a home is hard enough while paying rent, paying debtors on top of that is a bit overwhelming.

Live significantly below your means. Learn to prioritize needs and see how little you can live on in a month. Undertake frugal lifestyle changes: learn to cook and stop eating out, cut expensive meat and dairy out of your diet and replace it with beans and vegetables, stop buying clothing, sell your car and move to a city that allows you to walk everywhere...The further you are able to go with this step, the sooner you will see your savings grow.

Earn significantly more than you need. Once you break as many spending habits as possible, position yourself to earn more money. Darling and I are taking classes at community college that teach us incredibly valuable skills. In about two years our earning potential will quadruple while our living expenses remain constant (even though the price of gas and food is ever-rising, we don't drive, eat locally and grow some of our food, and fulfill some of our energy needs via solar power). Community college is extremely affordable, especially with the many grants and scholarships available. Many people who choose not to attend college can be very successful restaurant managers, business owners, etc. I know waitresses, hairdressers, and construction workers who earn more than professional white-collar workers. My brother has worked at Whole Foods for six years and earns more than my aunt, who has been a teacher for over twenty years.

Define your housing needs. People with mortgages can roll those mortgages into bigger homes when they have the third kid, they "downsize" when it comes time to retire. If the credit-free homeowner spent 15-20 years saving for a home, she'll have plenty of time to decide whether each kid really needs their own room (no) or how whether high ceilings are worth the extra heating cost. She can decide what area of the United States (or world) is her favorite, especially since renting allows for total mobility. Before buying a home, spend as much time in small apartments as possible. When it comes to buy, McMansions and their behemoth garages, 2 1/2 bathrooms, and over-sized kitchens will appear almost comical. Or they might be perfect for your needs.

Darling and I intend to buy land and build a totally sustainable house of our own design. That is what is right for us. But everyone has different needs. Buying a home in suburbia between a park and the middle school will still require the disciplines described above.

The reason these ideas might seem alien and even impossible is because they are the exact and literal opposite of what the prolific credit industry (with the help of mass media) has convinced the general population is the good and right way of buying a house. The industry tells us to first build credit, which requires developing a tolerance to debt. We are then told to take on the largest mortgage we qualify for, which can make saving - or even paying the minimum balance on those credit cards - almost impossible. Once responsible for a mortgage payment, young adults will find it much more difficult to do anything that might risk their employment, including taking time off to develop alternative career skills.

If having a home right this moment is vital to you, then by all means take out a loan and buy one. If you require that house to be huge or in an expensive city, that's up to you. If you are mature enough to recognize the difference between wants and needs, you should be fine. What concerns me is the vast amount of pressure put on young people to buy homes regardless of readiness. My own life will be a model for those people who don't want to trade opportunity for security.

This calculator shows how long it would take for us to meet savings goals, taking into account both investment return and inflation. At this point, I doubt we'll spend more than $250,000 on our land or the building process, so it seems that if we invest $1500/month, starting in three years, we should have enough money to meet our goal of homeownership by 2027. In the meantime we won't have to apply for a mortgage, pay thousands of dollars in interest, obsess about equity, refinance, or fear foreclosure.

Safety Nets

I know many people my age who still ask their parents for money, often to cover emergencies such as car repairs or health issues. Asking my parents for money is something I couldn't imagine, and it sometimes drives me mad that friends feel entitled to this luxury. These friends enjoy a financial safety net.

Everyone has safety nets, whether they realize it or not. The average adult is many, many levels removed from homelessness or hunger, whether he or she recognizes it or not. When Darling and I worried about our move to Texas, we discussed worse-case scenarios. And we knew that we'd never be homeless, thanks to family and friends. I'm obviously not denying that homelessness exists, but if you're reading this on a computer in your den, it's probably not in your near future. Even if you are terribly in debt, bankrupt, facing foreclosure, or working for a company in a struggling industry. You have safety nets.

Sometimes, though, we can get caught in our own nets. Jobs we hate, unhealthy relationships, a fear of failure...The very aspects of our life that keep us fed and clothed can be holding us back from our true potential.

This Summer, Darling and I are breaking free from a few of the nets that have kept us safe. Darling is learning to be self-employed after a lifetime spent at desks in cubicles. He is going to be reliant on his creativity, imagination, and discipline. He is returning to school to get further certification and for networking purposes, but I think he'll be his own boss for the rest of his life.
At the same time, I'll be working only three days a week while immersing myself in my own studies. This will mean overcoming emotional struggles as well as financial difficulties. I've been working steadily since the age of twelve, and equate overtime with security. No longer will overwork solve our problems, financial or otherwise.

Does anyone else out there find her or himself caught in a safety net, suspended from opportunity as well as danger? Is anyone else making a risky bid for freedom?

We had some crazy weather last night: hail took out one of our windows. Wind and hail decimated some of our plants, knocking the flowers off our squash, ripping our tall tomatoes to shreds, and flattening the corn. I'm pretty sure we haven't officially lost anything for good, but the garden will need some time to recover. It was pretty mild as far as natural disasters go, but more than one business was still replacing windows and waiting for electricity to come back this afternoon.

As a result, today was a beautiful, sunny, cool and breezy day. A shame to spend it at work, really. Even Darling spent most of his day inside writing what will hopefully be the first of many articles on solar resources. It is beginning to look like he might be able to develop enough freelance opportunities for himself that he'll no longer require nor desire traditional employment. Here's hoping, anyway.

I talked to my HR rep today about getting on the work health insurance plan. She promised to call the company on my behalf and see if she could set something up for me, but I'd probably have to wait until the next official sign up date in August or September. I almost objected aloud, "but I don't even intend to work here that long!" At least my 401(k) plan will be available in June or July.

Things Turning Up

Darling and I recently e-mailed a website developer looking to create a comprehensive green energy information page. He offered us the opportunity to develop a significant section of this site, which, if successful and maintained, could create a small-but-steady stream of income for the foreseeable future. I am really pushing Darling to tackle this, as passive income is pretty much the financially savvy kid's golden grail.

I visited my future campus today, managing not to get lost on my first try (this is a huge accomplishment for me). I visited the computer labs, listened in on a short lecture, found my professors' offices...I got to read all the bulletin boards at my leisure, growing more anxious and excited with every AutoCad and Architectural Drafting notice. I was especially pleased to find a poster advertising full scholarships to "impoverished" potential drafting students. Impoverished was defined as "U.S. student who fall below the poverty line," which the poster tells me is $27,380 for a family of two. This family of two had an adjusted growth income of $26,484 last year. Sadly, I had to apply in February for the Summer scholarship, but I should be a shoe-in for the fall semester. There is a similar scholarship available for Darling, as soon as his residency info gets worked out. This may be the last semester we ever pay for :)

We also talked to the landlord today. His mortgage, and therefore our rent, is rising. It finally came up that Darling is no longer in the tech support field, and is pretty unemployed by traditional standards. We were afraid that when this came up, our landlord would ask us not to re-lease in June. Instead, he offered to let us work a few days a month on his farm for lower rent! A previous tenant has done this and tells me the work is easy and the "pay" fair, about $50 and free food/day. Darling and I had a similar arrangement in VA, working for an ex-professor/farmer in exchange for checks he wrote directly to the school to pay off some of my debt. If we could knock just $100 off our rent, and apply for full scholarship come fall, our workloads could decrease even more without sacrificing our high standard of living!

Life Happening

Sorry it's been awhile since posting. Darling spent this week completing the brunt of his freelance gig, which required his use of the computer his every waking hour. Now we're just waiting to see if that company wants him to finish the job and maintain their site (for a slightly higher price), or if he needs to be on the hunt for more projects (some of which are already on the back burner).

In the meantime, directly after paying nearly a thousand dollars in college enrollment fees, we realized Darling had to renew his residency application. He has been a legal resident for two years, which is apparently some sort of probationary period. We had no idea that filing for renewal would cost $400! The urgency was such that we made an online payment and were hit with more than one overdraft fee as a couple of checks we'd written in weeks past suddenly cleared. It was a disheartening experience, having my debit card declined for the first time since I was eighteen.

Plus my mom was in town, a friend had a scare and needed emotional support, and I've had some sort of stomach flu that has made eating a very unpleasant experience. We have been busier than in a long time!

We Are Students!

Darling and I registered for classes today! It was such an ordeal. It took me seven hours to convince the registrar that I am indeed a Texas resident - my boss had to write a letter vouching for me, and then he had to re-write it because the registrar didn't think it sounded convincing enough!!! Poor Darling had it about as bad, the college didn't want to enroll someone who has neither proof of a high school graduation nor GED and claims to have degree from a small college in a tiny country that doesn't issue transcripts. But it's done. The only issue is that I haven't actually paid for my courses yet since the faulty ACC computer system is still trying to charge me over $3,000 for less than $500 worth of credit hours. We have a few days to work that out.

Darling and I both accidentally broke our no-packaged-food rule absentmindedly buying chips to snack on during our separate ordeals. We shall put that behind us and carry on.

An anonymous friend asked about how Darling and I intend to to purchase a house with cash someday, and I attempted to leave a lengthy response addressing this. However, the server ate that response and I can't bring myself to re-type it, but that will probably be the topic of my next post.

Jar Snobbery

Yesterday we went on our first official packaging-free shop. We intended to spend only $40, but went $12 over budget. I think because of the math involved in bulk purchases, every item is an algebra problem. Tea is $11.99/lb. The jar alone weighs .69 lb, the jar with tea weighs .81 lb, how much did I spend on tea last night?

Even though I brought several extra jars with us, Darling didn't realize this and bought two new jars for $2 each. Then wanted to know what the difference was between doing this and, say, just buying a jar of tomato sauce.

The difference is that the jars we buy to store products are more versatile and useful than sauce jars. We re-use jars all the time, but their narrow mouths can be quite annoying. They store less and their tops disappear. Also, eventually, we will have as many jars as we ever need - assuming we get good quality, useful ones that are easy to wash.

So I'm a jar snob, apparently.

The vast majority of our spending was on toiletries: laundry, dish soap, and toilet paper took the brunt of my half of the budget. I could afford tea (bought in bulk after all) and peanut butter. Darling spent most of his time in bulk filling bottles with oils and vinegar and jars with flour and beans. Thankfully he also thought to grab some spinach, carrots, and a cucumber. Anyone got a good recipe for vegetable pie that doesn't involve cheese?

New Chapter, New Net Worth, New Challenge, and New Gardens

I realized today that this blog is a little over a year old! I wanted to break my blog up into chapters by year, to conserve the look and feel of my early style while developing and changing as a blogger. Heck, even the mission of the blog itself will likely transform as the years pass. To achieve this, Year Two will be a separate blog. I'll be posting the link to that as soon as it exists.

Our Net Worth for this year decreased by $103.80. This is unfortunate, but considering we took ten days to drive around my favorite part of the country and party with friends and relatives, the damage could have been worse. We might expect another drop next month, since another chunk of our savings will be given to the school next semester.

On the other hand, we can expect a windfall this month thanks to the economic stimulus package, as well as money saved as a result of our May challenge. Darling and I have agreed to abstain from purchasing packaged food this month. This means eating a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables (brought home in plastic bags we already have) and bulk grains purchased in glass jars we currently own. We plan to cheat only when it comes to teabags, and although we can buy dish and laundry soap in bulk with re-used containers, we're obviously not looking for creative waste-free toilet paper (someday, but not yet).


I finally got those extra two gardens put in the front. We mixed vine vegetables (cucumbers, squash, melons) with flowers and herbs, creating a beautiful mix. There is now a small garden in front of every apartment, and the Three Sisters mounds and large main garden in the back.

Two Minute Post

Fellow community member wanted to put in TWO new gardens. We managed to shop for a load of new vegetables, flowers, and herbs and partially complete one bed on Tuesday.

Days later, and I haven't had time to make any of my own progress, and no one else seems spurred to complete our action. I'll have to wake up early to finish the first bed on Monday. I'll be hard pressed to let anyone try to convince me we need that other garden any time soon! Yard work is becoming a full-time job for me. At the same time, my actual job has picked up and is slightly overwhelming. I miss blogging so much, but I'll be back with regular updates soon.