We Built a Life We Loved

August 4th, 2007 changed the trajectory of mine and Justin's lives forever. It was the night we met. He liked my Doc Martins and my SUV... and I really didn't want anything to do with him. However, since my dog didn't want to leave his side, I was kind of stuck talking to him! (Thank you Rusty!)

The night we met!

I was there because of canceled plans. He was there because of a random invite from a stranger. God was there, because He knew something we didn't. The stars had to align for Justin and I to meet, and they did!

We married, had 3 children, owned 2 houses, and made countless friends and memories in Washington. This will forever be the place that we fell in love and started our family.

We have been blessed to spend so much time with our family here.

We are saying good-by to amazing friends.

 

And we've had some pretty awesome adventures!

I will always love the salty sea air of the Pacific Ocean and crisp, fresh air of the mountains. I will forever be a PNW girl.

Mukilteo, WA

Port Angeles, WA

Chinook Pass, WA

Bremerton ferry to Seattle, WA

  

This is a very small... I mean very, very small collection of pictures and people and memories and gratefulness.

We'll see you again soon, Washington. Much love.

My friend Dave.

Let me introduce you to my little friend - Dave Ramsey.

Dave hates credit cards. He hates auto loans. He hates debt. Dave LIKES people not having to stress about money and debt.

We've always had credit cards, and used them. What's the big deal? Everyone has credit cards. We have also always had two auto loans... sometimes two auto loans and a trailer loan and a motorcycle loan. What's the big deal? We can make the payments.

We tried a few times to reduce our debt, but it was all very daunting and it seemed just as easy to continue making the payments. When Justin and I decided to move to Ohio, it made sense for me to be a SAHM once we got there... childcare is for real expensive, people! And, with plans for a smaller mortgage and the very real possibility I wouldn't find a comparable salary there, we would just suck-up the income loss. But that meant we were going to have to eliminate some of this debt.

I had a three year plan. Pay off ALL of our debt!! Let that sink in for a moment... two car loans, trailer loan, motorcycle loan, credit cards. So, we did what our friend Dave suggested.

Our debt was officially holding us back, and that just wasn't going to work for us. We started selling things. We were actually selling so much stuff that my cousin approached me, concerned that we were in financial trouble. And we were! We weren't in trouble because we couldn't pay our bills; we were in trouble because we were living to pay our bills.

Good-bye dirt bike. Good-bye quad. Good-bye Coach handbags that were sitting in my closet. And the moment I knew Justin was really serious was when he chose to sell his motorcycle.

Boy, she was a beauty. She was on the pay-off schedule and we could have kept her. However, he said that the money we could make from selling her would get us that much closer to our goals. So, our tax return paid off the bike loan... and the bike sale paid off another debt. And - just like that - $8,000 in debt... GONE. It was amazing, and I felt like we were breathing fresh air for the first time!

I noticed other changes, too. Our house was feeling a little empty. We'd sold furniture, kitchen stuff, clothes... and it was like our house was taking a nice, deep breath, too! (This was playing in nicely to that book, the Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, I loved so much!)

All in all, by the time I found out I was pregnant with Skyler in June, we had paid off $14,000+ in debt in 2017 alone. Then, with the pending arrival of a new baby, we had to reconsider our move. It was decided that the baby really had some divine timing, because - with our debt pay-off success already - we could justify pushing up our move 2 YEARS, so that I could stay home with baby from the beginning.

This is not our starter home; this will be the 3rd house we've sold, and we've upgraded with each house move. Thankfully, with the current market, we were in a prime spot to sell. The sale of our house will allow us to further our debt pay-off goals and comfortably go forward on 1 income. With that said, here are my home buying tips that I use to ensure a good sale in the future:

1. If you buy new construction, ALWAYS buy during phase 1 of the neighborhood; you pay the lowest price.
2. Buy the biggest lot, the corner lot, the house with the widest front elevation.
3. Everything you add to your house, should be add with resale in mind; even if you're "never" moving.

It's so nice to see that hard work and sacrifice really do pay-off! Years of working 70+ hours a week, commuting 2+ hours a day, and pushing through when we wanted to give up... 10 years after marriage, we are headed towards a simpler life!

So, if you're ready to be brave and tackle your debt... or just turn your direction towards financial freedom, I highly suggest meeting my friend Dave. (Just click on his name!) If you're looking for more support, I suggest joining Jenplans.com's Facebook group. It's a great place to get advice, encouragement, and share your successes with people on the same journey!

I'm going to leave you with my favorite Dave tips!

** There is no boasting or horn-tooting about this post. This is our story, and we hope that it inspires others to dig in to dig out of debt! Living pay-check to paycheck sucks, and you don't have to do it! Meet Dave, follow the steps, get a 2nd job, whatever it takes! YOU CAN DO IT!

Un-Decorating

Hey! Hey!

So, it's getting to be that time... packing up our belongings and moving on to the next house. For those that don't know... this was supposed to be my 20 year house. I lovingly chose her and her lot, we picked her finishes and I monitored nearly every day of her build... sometimes calling for last minute changes - PLEASE DON'T PAINT THE GARAGE DOORS THIS WEEKEND! This house was everything I wanted; my American dream.

But... life changes and, with those changes, we have to be willing participants. I'm going to be sad to leave this house, sadder to leave our beloved little town, but I know that the house doesn't make the family... and the family is what makes the home.

So, we're UN-decorating! We already had to take down family pictures for staging, which is the hardest part for me. With that, I feel like I've already said good-bye to this house; she's no longer mine if my family pictures aren't up.

Something that's struck me as I'm taking things down is how much I really like the things we've chosen to decorate with.

A couple years ago I read The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, and it changed the way I bought things for my house. I used to be super indecisive, to the point where I just wouldn't buy anything, and our house was never decorated. It still takes me a while to decorate, but when I find something I love, now I buy it! It has made such a difference decorating our house with things we love rather than not at all, or settling for things just "work" for what we need.

As I look at this collection of wall decor, I am looking forward to putting each piece back up in our new home! THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE! I don't know where they will fit, but I know that I couldn't leave any of them behind.

The box contains a circular wood frame with a metal tree of life inside.

Oh, and I definitely made room in the budget for decorating the new house! Since we aren't taking our furniture with us, it's going to feel so fresh and put together! Or at least that's the plan! Hopefully we don't end up sitting on camping chairs for too long or I may lose Justin's support! Don't worry, I've already started saving ideas.

Welcome

Welcome to our DETour! I'm Krystle, but I bet you already knew that! I am going to use this opportunity to record our journey - speed bumps included - and I'm inviting you to follow along! (Aren't you so lucky?!)

When Justin and I decided that I would not be returning to work after our move to Ohio, I was excited to have time to get back into blogging. I love writing, and I have missed the creative outlet. I was trying to figure out a good name - the PERFECT name - for a new blog. "Detour" struck a chord in me... because, really, this is the story of our new adventure - our journey - and it didn't hurt that it started with d-e-t, just like our last name! But the travel-y term was quite perfect as we are traveling across the country to build the life we want!

Then I found this quote from Juliann Evans, "If things don't work out the way you wanted, accept it as a divine detour. Trust that what's ahead of you is far better than what you'll leave behind." You guys... I was crying. A DIVINE DETOUR! YES! YES! That's exactly what I'm talking about!

I was never - and I mean NEVER - going to be a stay at home mom! Not because I didn't love my kids, but because I didn't think I could do it! I would surely go crazy, right? (Props to SAHMs everywhere!) I was not - and I mean NOT - going to move to Ohio!! (Humidity anyone??) But Buckeye State here I come!
Sidebar: I really think that God hears the things I say, laughs, and then jumbles everything up for me. (Yes, I just called God out. Don't worry. He's laughing about that, too.)

So, while we may encounter some toll roads, trolls hiding under bridges, and travel delays... it's to be expected and part of what keeps things interesting! We hope that you truck on down the highway with us... it's going to be a fun ride!


-Krystle