by Hope
We’ve used the same boarding facility since we got the dogs here in Georgia. They are absolutely amazing. And that has been rewarded with tremendous growth.
Ya’ll would laugh if you heard the owner and my recent conversation about number of dogs. When we started using them, they were a married couple who both worked in the medical field and boarded dogs on the side and bred French Bulldogs.
Here we are 7-8 years later, they’ve grow exponentially, so much so that it’s now the husband’s full time job. They’ve expanded their offerings to include grooming and doggy daycare. And they’ve quit breeding dogs and had two human children.
The owner was recently lamenting their now 7 dogs plus one cat. We both agreed it is too much. (I know, I know you all fully agree.)
Barter
I created their website several years ago in a barter for dog boarding. And now he’s ready to do it again. Score!
I have 3-4 more trips between Georgia and Texas this year:
- March – house on the market and taking Jake (80lb retriever to live with Gymnast now that he has his own apartment)
- May – Princess graduates and the family is all coming to town
- Jun-Aug – housesitting for Princess while she does orientation for her new job (originally this was required because Jake lives with her, but since he is moving to Texas this is just a possibility)
- October – Beauty gets married!
While I don’t need 7 dogs boarded any longer. I will have 1-2 with me. Having boarding time banked for these trips will be super helpful especially for Cali who is my old lady. She prefers to lay in the sun and be fed rather than travel around.
We are finalizing terms. But it’s nice to know that I will have boarding time for the dog(s) should I need it. This is also a great to rebuild my website portfolio as I continue to re-vamp and grow my consulting business again.
Bartering for the Win
Over the years, I have bartered for homeschool tuition, Tae Kwon Do for all 4 of the Virginia kids, competitive gymnastics training for Gymnast, and so much more. If you have a skill that is in demand, this is a great option to get things you want or need without having to come up with money. Life safer for a single mom of 5!
Hope is a resourceful and solutions-driven business manager who has spent nearly two decades helping clients streamline their operations and grow their businesses through project management, digital marketing, and tech expertise. Recently transitioning from her role as a single mom of five foster/adoptive children to an empty nester, Hope is navigating the emotional and practical challenges of redefining her life while maintaining her determination to regain financial control and eliminate debt.
Living in a cozy small town in northeast Georgia with her three dogs, Hope cherishes the serenity of the mountains over the bustle of the beach. Though her kids are now finding their footing in the world—pursuing education, careers, and independence—she remains deeply committed to supporting them in this next chapter, even as she faces the bittersweet tug of letting go.
Since joining the Blogging Away Debt community in 2015, Hope has candidly shared her journey of financial ups and downs. Now, with a renewed focus and a clear path ahead, she’s ready to tackle her finances with the same passion and perseverance that she’s brought to her life and career. Through her writing, she continues to inspire others to confront their own financial challenges and strive for a brighter future.
Housesitting? She’s out of town for three months?
My first job and apartment out of college I had a relative who often needed to “housesit.” Hard to have fun in your twenties with a financially irresponsible relative on your couch.
Yes. She has to go to another city for her orientation for 8 weeks.
I would be housesitting. At the time of this plan, she had Jake living with her so I would have been pet-sitting as well. Now that Jake is moving to Texas, the pet sitting is not necessary. But she has asked me to stay at her apartment at least part of the time since she will be gone for the entirety of two months.
Certainly not couch crashing with my 20 year old daughter for months at a time. Come on. Really?!
This move and adventure is a choice, a well thought out and planned choice. Not me becoming homeless and dependent on others.
Hope,
You can’t really shine this pig.
You are selling the only home you can afford. You have no job and not a good credit score, so you have no ability right now to rent an apartment or buy a home and you certainly can’t afford an Airbnb.
You are depending on relatives to provide a couch and a roof over your head. As it stands now, I fail to see how that is not the definition of homelessness.
You’ve talked about mistakes in the past, but it only seems to cause you to make even bigger, more detrimental decisions going forward. Your house was an asset. Living in your car is not.
This could really put you in extreme peril going forward.
You do not have a history in anyone’s definition of steady employment and have often found yourself in dire straights.
How is this ending better? Will it be like the hottub and you wind up selling your car because you need money again?
I have the exact same job that I’ve had for 18 years…and there has not been a single week in those 18 years that I didn’t earn something. Even if it was very little. I may have leaned toward stupid and I own that with my financial decisions. I’ve always made money.
And now that it’s just me, that money, even a little, goes a lot further!
What?
You just got let go from your contract- twice. Having the same job, means the same employer, not doing the same type of thing at different contract places.
If you’d hung on to a steady job for 18 years, none of this messiness would likely have happened.
Let go twice? As a contract worker for 20 years now, contracts come and go, that is not unusual in the freelance/contract world. I have often worked myself out of a contract by being expedient and very good at what I do.
Do you really know anyone these days that stuck with a job for 18 years? Really?