Monday Medley: Where Have We Been?

I must start off by apologizing to my dear readers, as it has been quite a while since anything new has been posted here at Creating My Kaleidoscope.  Everything is fine, great actually.  We’ve just been very busy with family adventures, frugal living activities, and hustling too.

Celebrations

Believe it or not, the twins turned one already!  As with Mr. Trey, we did not have any type of big party.  Instead, they each got their own little funfetti cake to destroy.  They loved it!  Our final babies are getting bigger everyday.  They haven’t started walking yet, but that doesn’t slow them down at all, and they are so very close.  It has been so neat watching their different personalities emerge.

Summer Fun List

We created a list of fun things that we want to do this summer (Laura Vanderkam gave me the idea).  Last year, we were a bit limited because of newborn twins.  We’ve been very busy making up for a low-key season in 2017.  We have already:

• Gone hiking to a lighthouse
• Gone out for ice cream (using a gift card)
• Visited five different playgrounds
• Gone to a friend’s surprise wedding reception/party
• Spent time with my sister and her new baby
• Went with another family to an airshow
• Did lots of biking, including a special Father’s Day trip down a local bike path
• Had a bonfire and roasted marshmallows

What’s left on the list?

• A trip to the zoo
• Visit the family cabin up in Maine
• Hiking a couple more local trails
• Visiting a splash pad with some friends
• Our first family excursion to an amusement park
• Feed the ducks at a park with a cute little waterfall
• Riding horses/ponies at a friend’s house
• The big birthday party
• A day at the beach
• Movie Night at the Drive-In

What’s on your family’s Summer Fun List?

Frugal Living Activities

As I mentioned, we’ve been busy working on frugal living activities to save us money.  And by we, I mean mostly Mr. Smith.  He has been doing amazing things in our garden.  We’ve already enjoyed some fresh lettuce, beans, and tomatoes.  I’m so looking forward to all the fresh salads this summer.  We haven’t been able to enjoy lettuce the past few years because of voracious bunny rabbits.  But this year, Mr. Smith added a little fence which seems to be working quite nicely.

In addition, Mr. Smith has gone to town with collecting wood for next winter.  We will be nice and toasty when the snow comes back and not have to worry much at all about the heat bill.

Finances

Mr. Smith did some odd jobs for a neighbor to earn some extra cash, with the added bonus of receiving scrap metal as a result of his labors.  Once he has enough to fill up his truck, he will be headed to the scrap yard to cash out his collection of random metal scavenged here and there.

It’s the season for studying for the Bar Exam, so that means I’m back to my biannual tutoring side hustle.  I’m always given a choice as to how many students I would like to take on each session (there are far less students available in the winter).  I considered taking on less this summer, to not overload myself.  However, our finances are headed in a really good direction right now.  I know I can push myself for a brief couple of months to make an even bigger impact on our debt.

One of the twins had a small surgery back in March (don’t worry – he’s doing great).  The medical bills have started coming in and our Health Savings Account is almost empty.  While we certainly don’t enjoy writing out checks for medical expenses, it’s actually not that much of a hit to our finances.  Times have certainly changed!  We still have work to do, but we’ve already come so very far.

Other Side Hustles

I haven’t been spending much time on other side hustles because we have been so busy lately.

I have continued to participate with Givling, an app with the purpose of crowdfunding student loans, largely through ads.  You can play trivia games for free with the chance of winning a few thousand dollars every couple of weeks or just play some ads on your phone.  There are two “Queues” that pay out $50,000 towards student loans/mortgages, one Givling member at a time.  I don’t currently earn anything from this company, but they are helping people.  And the membership is really growing.  In a few years . . . it might just pay off to be in the Queue.  If you want to join, please use my invite code: MV732460

Long-Term Plans

As our finances continue to improve, our goals seem more achievable, and more real.  We continue to look forward to taking the kids on a cross-country road trip in an RV in 2022 (when we turn 40).  Then, it will be time to enjoy early semi-retirement.  The big question for us right now is when we will move to a new home, with more land for homestead activities and more living space for five children.  We assumed that our current home would start to feel too small around now, but we’re still managing alright.  It might make the most sense to stick with our current living situation, if possible, until we come back from our big road trip.

Our plans have always been flexible, with the current focus on improving our financial situation.  But we’re getting closer to the point where we can start making real plans for putting our plan into action.  How crazy!

For the moment, however, we’ve got plenty to keep us busy.  We’re savoring the summertime by enjoying as many fun activities with the kids as possible.  At the same time, we’re putting in the hard work necessary to create more options for the future.

What are your plans for this summer?