roadschooling

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Roadschooling Update

May 8, 2013 · 4 comments

Over the past few weeks, we have had some great gains and a few setbacks in our roadschooling goals. First the good news. Our oldest son is away at college, and recently received word that there were extra funds in a grant he applied for at the beginning of the year. Apparently when this happens, they distribute funds to reimburse current year expenses.  This is his first year, so I was shocked when I received a check for $5,000 in the mail!  Yes, that’s right.  Five thousand smackers.  Out of the blue.  Can I get a woot-woot?  Since we had already budgeted his tuition into our expenses, this was like found money.

But as is often the case when a windfall blows in, our beautiful stack of Benjamins was all but gobbled up by an unexpected medical need.  With a family of seven, these kinds of things are bound to happen. We were able to put $1,200 away toward our debt, and that’s nothing to sneeze at. But the rest went to pay for these dreaded doctor bills.

*Sigh.*

So anyway, here’s where we are:

Goal #1: Be Debt Free
Original Medical Bills: $8300
Additional Medical Bills: +$3800
Total: $12,100
Paid Off So Far: $6650
Left To Go: $5450

I am thankful for this unexpected income bump, even though most of it went away quickly.  If we didn’t have it, our financial goals would have had some serious setbacks.

Goal #2: Increase Passive Income
My book Operation Dinner has finally been released and is doing well! As a new author, I am thrilled and humbled by all the support you guys have given me. My happiest moment so far was seeing my book on Amazon’s Hot New Releases list!

Say what?

My life is small. I live in middle incomeville and spend most of my time with my kids. The most excitement I normally see is a money making ECB deal or two at CVS. So for me, this is huge. Thanks so much to everyone who has shown support via Facebook shares, Pinterest pins and words of encouragement. I have another book in the works on a different topic, and am working on a few other passive income ideas to help us get on the road. More on that in the coming months.

Goal #3 Pay Cash for a 5th Wheel
We won’t be putting any money away for this until our debt is 100% paid off. For now, we are learning all we can by listening to advice from other roadschoolers, so we make the best decision possible.

Motivation
As with any huge goal, there are times when the going is slow and our hopes are dashed. But we have drawn encouragement by reading the inspiration posts written by others who are doing what we want to do.

My favorite roadschooling posts:

One of our biggest priorities in planning this trip is having a solid educational plan for our youngest who has autism. Over the summer, we have some professionals who are helping us implement a home learning program for him so he doesn’t lose any skills while school is out. These folks will be spending extra time helping us research and set up a roadschooling program for Dylan, so we are certain all his needs are covered.  Since our plan is to leave in June of 2014, we have plenty of time to test the program and tweak as needed.

Finally, we have decided to start a blog to document our trip.  We will begin posting as soon as we buy the 5th wheel, so you can see the modifications and improvements we make, and follow along as the big day draws near.  I purchased the domain 7happyhobos.com for this purpose, although there is no site up and running as of yet.  We will share our travel adventures and mishaps over the 15 months we will be on the road.  Since our kids are a little older, we plan to let them post every now and then too…

All in all, I am happy with our progress, slow though it may be. I can’t wait to share more exciting developments as our departure date draws near!  I leave you with a video from one of my favorite blogs Long Long Way to Tipperary. In it they tell their roadschooling story via Johnny Cash.

Love it.

photo credit: Wandrly Magazine

Posted in: roadschooling

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Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Roadschooling Update

January 30, 2013 · 11 comments

A few weeks ago I shared my big goal for 2014: we will be embarking on a 12 month roadschooling adventure with our children. Beginning June 2014 we will join the hundreds of families across the USA who are pulling up stakes and traveling in an RV for an extended period of time. During these trips, children are homeschooled with lessons reinforced by hands-on experiences at national parks, museums and other first person experiences. We are over-the-top excited about this and have been working hard all month to inch toward our goal.

It’s a huge goal to be sure.  And some would say a little weird.  But for us, it is just what the doctor ordered.  We are longing to have a time of reconnection with each other and create some lasting memories after having a whirlwind of change and challenges over the past few years.

We.  Need.  This.

My daughter is a tween and was initially a bit apprehensive about our upcoming adventure. After all, at that age the last thing you want to do is leave all your friends behind for an entire year and hang out with your mom, dad and brothers. What a drag!

Since she has always had a huge interest in marine biology, we have spent the month discussing travel destinations that would allow her to explore this passion with hands-on learning. She has decided one of the must-see stops is the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Oregon. As she spends time researching other locations and adding pins to our map of the US, she is becoming more and more excited.

(This is our map, with the pins indicating places we’d like to visit)

In other news, we visited an RV dealership last week. There were a few used models we were interested in and wanted to see them up close. My hubby has been doing some research on how to examine and evaluate used models to be sure they will be able to hold up under such an arduous 12 month journey. He wanted to put his newfound knowledge to the test and this was the perfect opportunity. He crawled under it, poked around, looked at the piping and wiring. He fiddled with things, shook things, pulled and pinched and pressed things. He muttered “hmmmm” and “okay” under his breath a few times. He even took a few photos. I really don’t know what he was doing, but I was totally impressed. I remember thinking “I’m really in good hands here. This guy knows his stuff”.

When we got to the car he grabbed his notepad and began feverishly taking notes. I waited for him to finish, then said “Well, what do you think?” To which he replied, “I have no idea”.

I took a second to figure out what that meant.  Really dude? What about the “hmmm’s” and the photo taking and the poking and the fiddling with the parts?

“I was winging it” was his reply.

We both looked at each other for a minute then burst into hysterical laughter. What a pair of dorks we are.

Gosh, I love that man. He really had me going.

Apparently it’s one thing to read about it and quite another to get your hands in there and do the evaluation. So it goes without saying that we still have some stuff to learn. But that’s okay. After our disastrous first attempt, we have enlisted the help of our neighbor who is a retired RVer. He agreed to accompany us to a few evaluations so he could explain what to look for. Thank goodness for the kindness of others. Because for now we are hopelessly and unapologetically green.

*Sigh*

Side Note: if you’ve never been to an RV dealership before, beware the golf carts. These harmless looking things can go about 147 miles per hour if your salesman has had too many lattes. It can be scarier than the gravity-defying Dare Devil Dive roller coaster ride. I may be exaggerating a little bit. But I’m pretty sure this guy had a death wish and I. am. traumatized.

Another exciting experience this month.

I learned that Kimberly, founder of Fulltime Families also had a special needs child, so I immediately sent her an email asking for her sage advice. I was thrilled to be able to speak with her by phone and get some amazing inside information on roadschooling. It was surreal. I felt an immediate kinship with her because she was once where I am now. Mother of a large family including a special needs child, dreaming of a roadschooling adventure. Only she was doing it.  Not only that, she had made it her career to equip others to do the same.  I felt incredibly inspired and even more determined to see this dream to fruition.  It was an experience I will never forget.

Since Fulltime Families is open to those who are roadschooling and those who are aspiring to, Kimberly and I are discussing the possibility of having me write a column for Fulltime Families magazine. I am so honored and excited to be doing this, and I’ll update you as soon as we have the details ironed out. It’s a great publication for anyone exploring this way of life.

The Nitty Gritty
As for real financial progress toward our goal, here’s where we are:

Goal #1: Be Debt Free
Medical Bills: $8300
Paid Off This Month: $1650
Left To Go: $6650

Goal #2: Increase Passive Income
You may remember that part of our passive income to help fund this trip will come from books I am writing. Today my first book Operation Dinner: How to Plan, Shop and Cook Ahead for Easy Family Meals is nearly finished and ready to go on to the editor. I am so excited about it! In it I share all the dinner tricks and techniques I have refined during my 18 years as a busy mom of five.  It covers all aspects of meal planning, strategic shopping and prepping food ahead to simplify your dinner routine, including tons of recipes!

Goal #3: Pay Cash for a 5th Wheel
We will begin chipping away at this goal after our debt is paid off. For now, we are learning, exploring and testing out different models so we are well informed when the big day arrives.  So far, the well informed part needs a little work.  We are hopelessly green, but we will get there…

So there you have it.  Month #1 has come and gone and we have made a few baby steps toward our goal.  We are thrilled!  Next month I’ll have more exciting news to share as we inch toward our roadschooling adventure.  You can read my first post HERE where I share the details of our dream.

Posted in: roadschooling

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