School

 I have debated the last 10 years on whether to go back to college or not, when everyone else went to college i got married and had babies, no regrets because i got to see their first everythings, and not have a babysitter tell me about it.  Last spring i decided to go and get a 2 year degree,  i know thats not going to get me far these days, but it will get me where ill be happy. Id be happiest getting to stay home and cook and bake like the early years and not have to worry about the cost of gas going back and forth to town, but thats just not going to happen anymore, our kids deserve better, we deserve better. So a 2 year degree it is. I considered a 4 year and decided against it.  HOW am i doing it? what am i perusing? 

I was lucky enough to get a Pell Grant and a very small scholarship for this semester..........I went back last summer for Summer II and the previous years grant money was available to pay for that with a bit left over for a program, printer and laptop i would be needing. This sememster and next i have a pell again and that small scholorship, and short of a special something or other (like a calculator) it just covered my tuition and books, i did get a small low interest after graduation loan. It will be able to cover a 5th class in the spring and NEXT fall and all the books needed, we will have to find a way to pay for that 5th class in spring 2017 (will be my last semester) but knowing around what it will cost in fees and books well be able to pull it together. 

I am going for a Degree in Business Technology

My summer classes were 2; 1 part in class part online, and the other online,  Intro to computers (I got a B) man that was NOT the same class i took in High School, so much more technology didnt exist back then. My Resume class i got an A

This semester Im in Word-online, my work is fine, my tests im struggeling with and ill be doing good to maintain my B, I will actually be all done with my assignments before midterms 
Tech Math II, Ive never been a math lover but again my grade is an A and its an in class twice a week and homework
Multimedia, this first half is 10key (i have no idea how im doing because she doesnt use blackboard) and its an online class right now, but after midterms i have to go in for the powerpoint half (sad face)
Foundational Comp, totally online, and ive got a high A, Im also ahead, not sure ill be done by midterms but ill still be done earlier than Im suppose to be.  BUT i didnt realize that by this being a foundational comp that it does not count towards my degree, i have to take comp 1 and comp 2, i missed being in comp1 by a point on my test, that is why i have to take a 5th class. 


Spring Semester I want to take these and all online or at least not a 4:00 class again 
Comp 1
Accounting
 Word 2 (ugg)
Proff communication
Spreadsheets (excel)

 This is my short term plan

Who we are

We are a family of 6. The Farmer, his wife, and their 4 kids; 2 girls and 2 boys. The kids are the 4th generation to live on this farm. Ive always been asked "how we do it" but lately Ive been asked A LOT more. Were going into the holidays so I thought October 1st would be a good blog start.  Why do I think you should even read here? In a time that bigger families are strange, we get it done with no "assistance".  My husband does not make mega bucks as a farmer, I only started working 3 years ago as a substitute teacher, and its only part time with no set hours so my income varies. I also went back to school myself, our kids are in activities throughout the year; it all adds up, we always find the money, it always works out, but its not always easy.   You will see some random large shopping sprees throughout the year but its not a daily/weekly/monthly occurrence. I will do my best to be honest and keep a current monthly chart of income, utilities, expenses, and debt. 

Back Story:  You will see we have a large amount of debt (for us its a lot, for others its probably a little)  In 2007 when we found out we were expecting baby #4 we needed to find something bigger than my PT Cruiser, we chose a 2003 Trail Blazer (then 5 years old)  within a year and a half we had to buy a new transmission. less than 2 years after than we had to replace the window motor, and the back AC didn't work. Last year we put in 1000 in repairs, last winter got a whole new windshield, in March put in 1000 in fixing it, in June put in another 2100 to "fix" it, then in Aug it was stuck in reverse a $200 fix.............we HOPED and prayed that we could buy a new car in the Spring, we just needed it to last until Spring, then in early September its (on the way to school) shaking, and smoking, and acting a fool.........and i was DONE, i had no idea how we would pay for a new car, we truly 100% could not afford one BUT I went to the dealership, and bought a new car a 2015 Acadia (not brand new as it was owned by a business in a fleet) but new, the next question was how much was our interest going to be on it? we got a 3.6% interest rate, and all said and done unless we pay it off early will only have about $5000.00 in interest added to the cost.  I am also famous for misreading why God does what he does, I thought well............we had to get a car, that must mean Im meant to look for a more consistent job, even though that was not apart of the plan until our oldest could drive because of after school activities. So I applied for several, and never even got an interview so i wasn't meant to get a job at this time, but my work hours are fine. Well figure out a way to get everything done, its just not as we had planned it out. So, this is our life, and we plan to be (praying) that were debt free by 2016 (feb/march) except for my car that is.