A Financial Future With Twins

Money has been a topic of conversation around here a lot since we found out we are expecting. The fact that we are expecting double has also doubled our concerns about making it by as new parents. Last night we sat down and mapped out our budget and our debt re-payment. We both have student loans and a few smaller debts that need to be payed off pronto. If it were possible to pay them off by August you better believe we would!

We have been inspired by a lot of other bloggers around the web who are sharing their stories of becoming debt free and living frugally. We already live pretty frugally but there is always room for improvement and we are cutting a few things we do not need to have at the moment. As scary as it is, I think sharing this journey will help us keep on track, and hopefully inspire others to start a journey towards a debt free, frugal lifestyle. We are so excited just to get started, a weight of worry has already been lifted! It's like the first day of a new diet, or something. We are eager to get started and cannot wait to see what the future holds for us financially.

Here are our top financial goals:

1. Eliminate all debt.
 - We want to be out of debt completely. We are working on our final date, still crunching a few numbers, but the plan shouldn't extend past a few years.
2. Buy a home.
 - We would love to own a home and have a place to raise our boys, garden, make art, and live our life together.
3. Spend less time at jobs.
 - This one will be tricky. We need to earn enough to cover all of our bases, but ultimately we do not want to miss out on a single thing in our boys little lives.
4. Have a college savings fund.
 - We want to have multiple channels of savings, one big one being a chunk put away for college for out boys and our niece.
5. Not live pay check to pay check.
 - Not having to worry if every single bill will be payed or if we can afford to go visit family or spend an evening with friends would be so wonderful. Also being able to spend fun money on our babies would be a huge blessing.

We know that these goals are going to take a lot of dedication on our part. We have already taken steps to lowering our monthly spending. We called and re-negotiated our internet/cable bill. We will no longer be eating out except for special occasions. We will be putting every dollar towards our debt in a snow-ball type fashion (meaning paying off the debt from smallest to largest). We are going to become a one car family for now by selling two vehicles that are a burden to us and eliminating paying monthly insurance on them.

As nerdy as it sounds, we are so excited! Having this debt gone will be the start of a fresh life of financial freedom with our boys. We want to be the best examples we can be for them, and also be able to give them the best life possible.

We will be sharing this journey often and celebrating milestones of paying off our debt. We hope you will continue to follow along and support us in this journey!

-Megan & Dan 

21 Week Update - Karate Kids

I am looking around wondering what happened to March and April. The months just flew by and now I find myself looking down at this gigantic twin belly! It really seemed to come out of nowhere, like one day I thought, I look a little more round, to DANG GIRL that is a big baby belly! (Babies Belly!*)

A lot has happened and changed over the course of the last two months. We found out the gender at week 15 at one of our Denver appointments. I spent all of week 16 in Alabama which was a blessing and also a huge challenge. I loved every minute that I got to spend with my family, but being pregnant and uncomfortable and away from Dan was super hard. I am glad I went, but I will never recommend traveling while pregnant! After the long car ride my feet were so swollen I could barely slip on flip flops. Not fun. Weeks 17, 18, and 19 are all a blur but 20 and 21 have been great! Our last two doctors appointments have been extremely positive and we now have two, one pound babies!

The biggest changes recently have been with me personally. For one, my body, but I feel like I am growing in so many ways in such a short amount of time. The process of becoming a mother and learning about my babies has been wonderful. It makes all of the un-wonderful body changes all worth it. I have learned what I am capable of in this short time, and learning to stand up for what I believe in where my body is concerned has really been amazing. I have cried big gross cry face cries at the thought of having a c-section, and been angrier at doctors than I have ever been at anyone, and through it I am finding this amazing movement of women who are challenging the current medical paradigm. I find myself immersed in studies, blogs, birth stories, and photos that show women standing up for what they know their bodies are capable of in the face of an overwhelming amount of unnecessary medical intervention.

Through this process I have also learned a bit about letting go. Although I have come to a place to trust my body and love my growing babies, I also know that mother nature is unpredictable. I will be grateful for any medical interventions that I NEED if an emergency arises. I know so many women who had their heart set on a natural birth or a birth plan and when it came time, changed the plan completely. I have had to let go of any feelings of guilt or shame or control in the process of learning to trust my body, and giving a little shred of trust to the medical professionals who will attend my birth. The biggest piece of guilt I have had to let go of is constantly saying "If I were only having one baby I would do _______" because, hello, I am having two babies! I love that I am having two babies and although I would love to never hear the phrase "high risk" again, I know that I need to do what is best for getting them into this world safely. Continued prayers are appreciated, especially for us to find a doctor that meets our needs both physically and in world view. 

The highlight of the last two weeks has been the kicking. I started feeling the baby flutters around 14 weeks, and have waited and waited for the moment that they would kick hard enough for Dan to feel them. Watching him grow into the dad he will be has been wonderful and I know it is a completely different experience than mine because he isn't as ever-aware of them as I am (at least in the same way). Week 20 it finally happened! I felt a little bit of movement, grabbed his hand and put it on my belly and Baby B kicked his hand! It was one of the best moments of the whole pregnancy. Since that moment these little babies have quickly turned into karate kids! I love every movement, every wiggle, and every kick. It is so life-affirming to have them bouncing around the way they do. The other night we went out to dinner with some friends and while waiting for our table I grabbed Dan's hand again and the biggest kick to date popped right out under him! He told me later that he had fun at dinner but that kick was the highlight of his night. (Mine too!)

Things are finally starting to feel "normal." I want to blog more frequently, because this journey has been so incredible that I want to remember every moment and also share it with all of you! But, until next time...

-Megan

PS: We are having BOYS. BOYS BOYS BOYS BOYS BOYS :D We are having boys.