When my husband decided he was ready to go back to school to finish his degree, I was elated. As a graduate of Spring Arbor University, I naturally encouraged him to check out my alma-mater which was now 50 miles from our home in Bronson, Michigan. We quickly realized that commuting 100 miles round trip would take a significant amount of family time away from our two small children (Our daughter Renee was two and our son Jackson was six months at the time).
In a downward market we put our humble two bedroom home up for sale and prepared to move to Spring Arbor. We prayed to break even. A week before classes started in the fall of 2008, we accepted an offer on our house - significantly less than our asking price, we still walked away with $2,000 in our pockets. A huge achievement in the world of real estate!
We loaded a borrowed truck and drove 50 miles to Married Housing on the campus of Spring Arbor University. We crammed our belongings into a three bedroom, 750 sq. ft. apartment. It was the beginning of living on less.
Eric had quit his job in order to finish his education, I had not really worked in two and a half years. Jobs were scarce - I couldn't even get hired at Meijer as a cashier -looking back I thank God! We had no other choice than to live on less. Less space, less groceries, less discretionary spending. It was hard - but it showed me that we (I mean everyone) can really live on a lot less than they think - and be happy. It is a state of mind. It's a way of thinking.
I soon landed a part time job at the University as a secretary. Annual salary: $18, 984. True story.
Two adults, two kids, one part time job. We don't only survive we thrive.
We've never been happier . . . living on less.
