Wow. It feels incredible to be writing again. The past several weeks have felt like an eternity! BB never left my mind (and I’ve got the 37 iPhone Notes to prove it), and I’m truly grateful to be at the keyboard again with intention and clarity.
There have been a variety of changes for our family lately – all of which came with major financial implications – so I thought sharing would make for an excellent first post of 2020! Plus, a lot of my upcoming content will be centered on our “new normal.” This post is designed to explain just what that is.
The last six months in a few words: a potpourri of fierce trials and massive blessings. I don’t know that I’ve ever had my patience tested to that extent. In the same breath, I don’t know that I’ve ever been this excited about turning a page in the book of life. Gabe and I spent hours trying to write out every possible professional/financial scenario to minimize surprises and stress in the face of big, inevitable life changes. Brainstorming in this way helped slightly, but I still struggled to be in the right mindset to contribute to Beautiful Budget. All of the ambiguity regarding how things might turn out caused me to “press pause” and focus on three things: family, therapy, and preparing for the next chapter. I found peace in knowing that BB would be there waiting for me once I put in the hard work to “start over” in certain areas of my life.
I’ll start with the most emotional ride of the bunch.
I transitioned out of the military.
This wasn’t an abrupt decision or change. Here’s the backstory for those who are interested:
It didn’t take long after having my son in early 2018 for me to realize that the military (well, dual-military) lifestyle was not for me in the long run. Any sort of balance I’d hoped to achieve between being an officer and a new mom quickly exceeded my reach. To be completely transparent, postpartum depression combined with a host of other challenges related to my job (and my husband’s for that matter) created the perfect storm, and I was unable to travel for months on end. Understandably, the Air Force responded to my lengthy travel restriction by prompting a Medical Evaluation Board. There were 3 possible outcomes, all of which I had zero control of determining: remain in service until active-duty commitment was up (2021), separate with severance, or be medically retired.
I embraced the board from day one, but I’d be lying if I said I was prepared for it.
It was lengthy (14 months from the time I found out I was suffering from PPD, and my condition worsened throughout the course of the board).
It was difficult for some of my supervisors to accept.
To me, it was clear as day that leaving the AF was the best move for me and my family, but I had no way of getting into the hearts and minds of the members of the board. I simply had to rely on my medical records and a 1-page personal statement to “defend my case.”
Per usual, however, I worried when I didn’t need to. God was always at work during the process. By late November of last year, I received word that I would be medically retiring from the Air Force, effective 28 January.
Relief.
Surprise.
Joy.
More relief.
…Budget!
Ha! I wish I were joking. Our Excel budget workbook took the limelight shortly after I got the news, and I was able to walk Gabe through the scenario we had previously drafted.
I’m currently enjoying the last of the leave days I earned while on active-duty. My days of putting on the uniform are behind me. It’s still a bit surreal.
What does this mean for the budget?
> Due to the health of our savings/the monthly compensation I am receiving from the military, I am not immediately returning to work
> My break from working is obviously a huge shift financially. Comforts we’ve grown used to like traveling and funding personal hobbies are going to be much less frequent. My change in status also means we have to move our son to an off-base daycare (this is a significant adjustment that I’ll cover in future content!)
> Gabe is the only one contributing to our retirement savings while I am unemployed
> When I do return to work, it won’t be in IT. Cyber has been my professional home for 6+ years, but as you all know…my heart is in financial planning! Starting anew in the financial sector means a pay cut, and a fairly large one at that
> Healthcare for our family is now going to be covered for life by the military
After all of the waiting and the uncertainty…I left the military under the best terms I could have imagined. And now I am affording myself a few months of rest, but not too long because another big change is coming in the spring…
We are expecting baby #2! A little girl!
Like I mentioned above, there were so many unknowns surrounding the board: how it would pan out, its timing, etc. But we chose not to let it dictate the growth of our family.
A sweet baby girl will make her entrance in May, and we couldn’t be more thrilled!
What does this mean for the budget?
> Thankfully, we kept most everything from when we had our son. The new purchases we’ve planned are: cosmetic nursery updates, clothes, shoes, a carseat, and a double stroller.
> An increased baby expenses category for each month (going from $75 to $150)
> Two sinking funds were created: a baby shower and a babymoon
> TWO kids in daycare! …*starts to sweat while typing
> The start of a second UTMA
So far, the advice of “the second one’s easier” is proving to be true! …Well, except for the first trimester this time around. Holy nauseousness, Batman. UGH.
Anyway. So we’ve got a lot going on. Career changes, new baby…
This doesn’t stop us from setting hefty financial goals! This brings me to my final update:
We are saving to buy our first home in 2021.
During my last few months of active duty, we got a nice start on a down payment towards our first home purchase – to the tune of about $4,000. We hope to reach $15,000 by the end of this year.
Um, what? Rae, you don’t work!
Right you are! We are going to use other income streams projected for this year to help us reach this goal. For example, approximately 80% of our tax refund this year will go straight into our house savings HYSA. (If you’re curious about HYSAs, check out my 1-slide description on Instagram!) We went with a HYSA because the savings effort is short-term (approximately 2 years).
What does this mean for the budget?
> When I return to work, it’ll be crucial to return to aggressive savings
> After crunching the numbers, we are NOT going to pursue paying off our cars at a faster pace. Additional funds will be put towards saving for a home so that we have the lowest mortgage possible
And as if this year didn’t have enough doozy elements already… 😀
I’m launching Beautiful Budget as a Limited Liability Company.
Now that I’ve got a LOT more time to devote to my little corner of the Interwebs, I’m ready to press on the gas. It’s time to take pages and pages of notes/ideas as well as my resource investments from last year (camera, editing software, website domains and design) and turn them into the platform I’ve been envisioning since February 2019. It’s time to do more to connect with and help YOU.
What does this mean for the budget?
> It means I get to start a new one! Small business accounting just became my most common Google search 😛
> I’ll have to direct personal capital to BB in order to fund some of the projects I have in mind
> $300 is the cost to establish a LLC in the state of Texas, and registered agents are required (an additional annual fee). My husband was kind enough to pay the $300 as a retirement gift! As for the remaining startup expenses, it’ll be up to me to cover them.
Thanks for taking the time to read about how 2020 is shaping up for us financially. Stick around for upcoming blog posts covering everything from “Two Incomes to One” to “Budgeting for Baby” to “Taking Your Blog to the Next Level”! And of course, check Instagram for daily content; I’ll be sharing my budgeting system with you all in more depth via stories.
See you soon!
