The Series of Unfortunate Events that Inspired this Blog

2019 was the most unstable, scary, and weird year that my family has ever faced so far. This is the story of the year that we are praising God is over and the story of how that year broke us, changed us, and grew us. Oh, and how it also started a blog.

My husband Luke and I were married in college and were shocked with pregnancy news about a year later. At the time, we were somehow surviving on Luke’s part-time, minimum wage job and both trying to finish school as fast as we could. We didn’t have much, except a very low income, an empty savings account, student loan debt...you know, all the things smart people have when they have a baby. This began the interesting journey of our family so desperately trying to save money and hardcore failing.

That Time Montana Murdered our Camper

This pregnancy was a wakeup call for Luke and I to start saving and living well below our means. However, we went too extreme in this endeavor. The housing in Bozeman, the town we live in, was progressively becoming more and more expensive (thanks all ye Californians!). When our landlord raised our already high rent by $100/month, my husband wanted something to change.

So, we made the mistake of trying to save money by living in a small camper through the most brutal Montana winter. Yes, you read that right and if you just called us stupid, you would have judged us correctly. It was so miserable, especially when Bozeman decided to become the second coldest place on earth (you win, Antartica!) and the camper started to die….first the heater went out, then the refrigerator and freezer, then we had a gag-worthy sewer issue (romantically, this one started on Valentine’s Day), and finally, my husband said we could give up and move out when our pipes inevitably froze and burst. Between buying so many energy-sucking space heaters, my worthless Joanna Gaines-inspired camper renovation attempts, and the fact that we couldn't get much money from a murdered camper, we actually lost more money than we would have if we stayed in that expensive apartment. Yeah, fun chapter in our lives.

Let's Add Some Meth to this Cute Family Story

We were blessed by some awesome friends that allowed our small family to invade their spare bedroom until we figured out our lives. Basically, they saved us from being homeless (thank you Sam and Jessica!). We knew that logically, we couldn’t afford to stay in Bozeman so we decided we needed to move, which brought us to an apartment near Missoula, a city about three hours away. I think we were so excited to actually have an apartment that we were not picky enough when we moved in. After four months of living there, you know just enough time to finally unpack that last box, we were informed that the apartment tested positive for meth and therefore, everyone in the complex would eventually have to move out. For the safety of our family, we moved out as quickly as we could, to a much better apartment in Missoula.

That Other Time Burger King Rejected Us

We did have a fun summer, gotta get some positivity into this story! Missoula is beautiful and we loved exploring new places, going on hikes, and our lake days. However, this was short-lived when I got pregnant again and afterwards, Luke’s employer ran out of work for him. Those two life changes happened almost simultaneously. Luke desperately applied for everything, all over the country (he was filling out about 7-10 applications a day). And to our surprise, he literally could not land any job...like not even a placeholder, minimum wage job (he was rejected from Walmart, Burger King, Taco Johns, just to name a few) and I was way too sick and weak to work.

Oh, the Irony

Again, we were in an unstable place and knew that something needed to change. I remember crying and praying in crazy amounts during Luke’s two months of unemployment. I was so sick and weak from my pregnancy and at the same time, so worried about our family and our future. Everything in our life felt so uncertain and it was like we couldn't outrun instability, no matter what we did. Ironically, the only job Luke could find was his old painting job in Bozeman...you know in that town that we couldn’t afford to live in. We prayed a ton and actually moved back. By having lots of faith and making some strict lifestyle changes and financial goals, we are in a stable, meth-free apartment and living better than we have in a long time.

Thank you Rollercoaster!

This sounds like just a crazy, bumpy story, but it was our reality. Luke and I have grown so much from this rollercoaster of a year. We both are so much more appreciative of everything we have and everything we receive. We thank God constantly and we want to use all that He gives us as wisely and intentionally as we can.

From this, I have also learned that the first step in saving money, is not having a purse full of coupons or adopting a strict budget plan. It starts with changing your perspective of what you have and who provides for you. Honestly, from a logical standpoint, we still can't afford to live in Bozeman...especially with Baby #2 on the way. But, for some twisted reason, God doesn't want us to escape! So, we are trusting God to come through for us and so far, He really has. We are far more reliant on Him as a provider and more thankful and careful with what he provides.

I decided to start this blog as a testament to how God has miraculously provided for us since moving back to Bozeman. He has since given me a prayerful and contentment-based perspective on managing money and pursuing a simple and joyful lifestyle. I also want to share all that I've learned about budgeting, saving money, and stretching every penny, while still living a very healthy and fulfilled life. So, if you've had any sort of financial experience like us, this blog is for you and I pray it encourages you and pushes you to reach your financial goals!