After seven years debt-free (including our house!), we are back in debt.
And this has been the hardest transition of my life. My family went back into debt this summer when we took out a mortgage for our new-to-us home, which also needed a complete renovation (the home had been abandoned for over a decade, and carpenter ants had eaten most of it, but thankfully not enough to classify it as condemned).
And then, while on vacation this year, one of our children had a medical emergency that required us to go to not one but two hospitals while in Florida. And unfortunately, because we are not FL residents, the highest discount we can get is 40% (if we lived in FL, we’d get 75%). And even that 40% discount would still wipe out our Emergency Fund.
I don’t think I have to tell you that we have no desire to wipe out our savings.
And yes, we will be submitting all the bills for sharing (you can read more about that here), but we are still financially obligated to pay. And so we’re applying for both of the hospitals’ financial assistance programs and working out the details.
To say that 2026 has been a year of survival mode for my family would be an understatement. But just like this week in my Personal Finance class, which I teach to the teens in our co-op, when our backs are against the wall, we have to get scrappy. We have to be willing to pull up our bootstraps and batten down the hatches.
We’ve had to make tough decisions this week about what to cut from our budget, like our kids’ in-person Spanish class.
And here’s the thing – this is life. The good, the ugly, and the beautiful. Not a single one of us lives in a bio-dome where everything is always 100% sunshine and rainbows. Sometimes life hits us hard. And no, that is not fun, and if I’m being really frank with you – it sucks. But burying our heads in the sand and pretending everything is alright when it’s not won’t help either. Wallowing in self-pity won’t help either.
So the solution?
As I told the teens in my class, never forget to look up and bring it all to the foot of the Cross. Bring it all to Jesus. And then – get to work. (If you need help in this area, I actually wrote a devotional all about bringing our finances to the Lord.)
I share this because I know not everyone is struggling right now with a suffocatingly tight budget, but I do know someone outside my family is. And I want you to know that you aren’t alone and you certainly aren’t helpless.
Yes, it may mean we have to make really difficult and uncomfortable sacrifices. Trust me, I did not want to have to cancel my kids’ Spanish class, but I also have to live within the reality of my now very limited budget. But it’s okay. It’s all temporary. And yes, more budget cuts are coming, and they won’t be fun either.
So if you find yourself in a year of survival mode like my family, I challenge you this weekend to pull up your bootstraps, batten down the hatches, and review your finances. It’s not fun, but it’s necessary.
So, in order to survive this year of insanity, here are some of the things that we’re going to make sure we survive financially:
1. Tracking All Medical Expenses
With a baby on the way and a massive medical emergency, our medical bills are through the roof. So I’m using both my tax spreadsheet and my maternity spreadsheet to track all of our medical expenses to make sure that 1) we get properly reimbursed from our Healthcare Sharing Ministry and 2) that we can write off the expenses on our taxes if the totals are more than 40% of our AGI (which, as of right now, is the case).
I also know it’s overwhelming in seasons like this, when you have so many medical bills, documentation, and everything else coming at you at once. So I recommend creating a place in your home that can house this information. For me, I have an accordion folder I got on Amazon that I use to store all the baby-related expenses, and I have one for my son’s emergency. This is where I have all the documentation needed for visits and follow-ups, along with the expense information. It’s one less thing I have to think/worry about, and that works for me in this season.
2. Meal Plan
Groceries are one of the many expenses that have gone up since we moved. The area we live in has a slightly higher cost of living, which, honestly, we didn’t realize until after we moved. That slight rise in costs is affecting many areas of our life, including groceries. I’m struggling to keep the grocery budget in check, but I’m working the tried-and-true method of meal planning and prepping what I can.
I’m using two of my favorite meal plans on repeat (the crockpot one and the budget-friendly one) to make planning simpler and to make sure I have what I need on hand to make these meals. With dance, baseball, and a child recovering from an injury (and being pregnant), I need all the help I can get to make sure dinner ends up on the table, and we don’t have to order takeout.
3. HYSA Advantage
If you don’t yet have a high-yield savings account, today is the day to get one! We use them for almost all of our Sinking Funds and especially for our Emergency Fund. Being able to set money aside in an account that earns high interest has been so helpful over the years in growing our money without increasing our contributions. The best part is that the money is liquid, so we have it when we need it, and there’s no penalty for using it.
4. Increased Life Insurance Coverage
Okay, so this one isn’t about savings because we had to increase our term life insurance coverage now that we have a mortgage again. I share this because I think this is one area that many of us forget to review when we face major life changes. But the reality is, you don’t want to end up in an even worse situation if something were to happen to you or your spouse (or anyone whose income you depend on) and you’re unable to pay the mortgage.
So if it’s been a while since the last time you reviewed your life insurance policies, I encourage you to do that this week! We get our term life insurance policies from Ladder Insurance.
5. Side Hustle
Yep. That ol’ tried-and-true method of the side hustle is making a comeback in my family’s life. Both my husband and I are working hard to pick up side gigs and sell off things that we don’t need. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe in becoming a slave to the hustle, but I do believe that the hustle can get you through a really tough season in life. So don’t be afraid to spend some time this weekend purging and posting things to sell (yes, this can take time, so make sure you’re being patient and Google the best tips and tricks for selling quickly on Facebook Marketplace). If you need to, pick up some side work. Babysitting, cutting lawns, handyman stuff, walking dogs, whatever you can!
6. Conduct an Expense Audit
When you’re in financial survival mode, eventually you run out of painless things to cut. That’s where we are. We’ve already made the easy adjustments, so now we’re looking at expenses we genuinely value and asking, “Is this something we can afford in this season?”
That’s why we made the difficult decision to cancel our kids’ in-person Spanish class. We love the class. It’s valuable. But right now, keeping it would mean taking money away from something that has a higher priority.
That’s the part of budgeting that no spreadsheet can make easier. Sometimes the numbers force us to choose between two good things. Cutting something doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth the money. It simply means it doesn’t fit the reality of the budget right now.
What to Do When You’re in Financial Survival Mode
If you’re in financial survival mode right now, start with one thing. Pull up your bank account, look at the numbers, and decide what needs your attention first. You don’t have to solve the entire mess this weekend. You just have to make the next wise decision.
