Welcome! We started this project together after coming to the realization that we were terrible at saving money… but really good at spending it.
Our money saving journey started about five years ago when a business expansion stretched us a little too thin. Along with all the debt we racked up while attending college, we found ourselves owing over $180,000 in total debt and on the verge of bankruptcy.
So we rolled up our sleeves and made some hard decisions. We put our business on hold and Kati took a full-time job an hour away. Aaron started plotting out debt-pay-off plans and we both looked for as many ways to save money as we possibly could.
We also dusted off that Dave Ramsey book someone gave us at our wedding years ago – a big thanks to whoever that person was (and an apology because I clearly can’t remember who you are). We found his book to be a game changer and also enjoyed his podcast while on the road.
Since that day, we’ve paid off $72,000 and are currently chipping away at the rest. We’ve got one car payment and a couple of school loans to go.
We’re excited to be debt-free in the not-so-distant future, but aren’t waiting until we’re completely debt free before enjoying the life we have. Actually, we’ve discovered that we don’t need stuff or a whole lot of money to live our best life. In fact, we’ve discovered quite the opposite to be true.
We hope you’ll benefit from the lessons we’ve learned and are continuing to learn and we’ll do our best to share our story with you one post at a time.
In the meantime, here are a few fun factoids about us that may help you get to know us better:
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- We’re high school sweethearts. We met backstage in a production of ‘Our Town’ which we were both performing in.
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- We have two boys, ages 11 and 10, who are way cooler than we were at their age. We hope that by living on less and becoming debt free, we can set aside some of our finances to assist them with school or living expenses once they begin transitioning to adulthood. If you ask our 11 year old, that time is now but he is wrong. We’re choosing to believe this won’t happen for many many years. Well, at least Kati is.
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- Aaron works for Mount Pleasant Community Church as the Director of Community Engagement. He’s really good at producing videos and connecting with people. Lucky for him, his job lets him do both of those things.
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- Kati is the Executive Director of Marketing & Communications for Middle Michigan Development Corporation and is incredibly passionate about creating thriving communities where everyone has the opportunity to live a fulfilling life. Three years ago Kati additionally relaunched the coaching part of our business and continues to provide nutrition education support to individuals in eating disorder recovery and those seeking out a more positive relationship with food through her side gig, Around the Plate.
- Our home is our mission ground. We bought it years ago when we thought we would adopt, but God had other plans. From family to college students to our foster kids, our house has been home to many people. We hope to continue that tradition.
Thanks again for joining us! We hope you enjoyed learning some quick facts about us – just wait though. You’re sure to learn a lot more in the days ahead.
All thoughts and opinions shared are ours alone and don’t reflect or represent any of the organizations or companies we work for. This is our personal story.