Happy Holidays

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Welcome! I'm Lauren Maruki. Life has a way of throwing unusual situations my way. Join my husband and I as we work through infertility, adoption, decreasing debt and living, gluten free. I will sprinkle in some traveling too! Feel free to laugh, cry and agree to disagree!

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Starting Your Envelope System

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Now that you have placed your debt in increasing order, lowered your bills and placed all saved and newly found cash on the lowest debt, you can turn your attention to the envelope system.  Learning to save a few bucks a month will prevent a birthday party from throwing you into financial ruin for a month. Since we have followed this method for nearly a year, we now have savings for things that we never thought we would.  We can't tell you how much to place in each envelope but, I have listed our amounts that we save per month. Often Forgotten and Yet 'Fun' Spending: Auto Repairs       $30.00 Auto licenses and tab renewal/taxes     $10.00 Medical Bills       $10.00 Vitamins     $60.00 Dentist/Doctors       $0 Restaurants     $20.00 Clothing     $20.00 Transportation (gas)       $120.00 Drinks (coffee, beers after work and smoothies)       $10.00 ...
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First Adoption Fundraiser!

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I am so excited!  Hubby's cousin and wife brought a new home and they wanted to furnish the home with new items. They are selling nearly everything and Hubby and I get to keep all the proceeds! Hubby and I were over the moon when his cousin suggested giving us all the proceeds back in early June. We were beyond thrilled because we are in desperate need to raise funds to adopt. Once we mentioned it to a few other people, we started to get donations. People want us to sell their items and keep the money. How wonderful is that? We were initially aiming to receive around $500 from the sales, but my cousin-in-love said that we were aiming way too low. She estimates $1500! Well an accountant can go toe to toe with a lawyer, but this is a case close matter. I rather take the $1500 estimate. So wish us luck as we sell all that we can on Saturday, July 16th! We will be one step closer to our first down payment for our adoption!
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Becoming a Stay-at-Home __?__

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I cant recall anything in my past that has prepared me for what seems to be happening to me. I am becoming a housewife. This has not been done on purpose, I must add. Four years of college, 3 years of graduate school, 6 years in the marketing field, and I can not land a full time position. With all the extra time on my hands, I have been preparing meals from scratch, learning to grow veggies on an apartment porch, and reusing broken items around the house. I have been quite busy for the past couple of summers. Now that we have moved  to a different state, I have noticed that my experiences have not been in vain. Many mothers have captured my attention this year as they describe their adventures in raising their children. Some mothers set aside their careers as teachers (often elementary) or other professions to enjoy every moment with their families. Their husband's support is often mentioned in their blogs/postings and to my surprise, they love that their home is filled with l...
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