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Show Wednesday, March 1 7, 2004 Q J EKwewn Famrally By Maureen Spencer Express Writer One Vemal couple admits-their commitment to living debt free came from a great deal of fear. That fear followed a "heads up" reminder about the frailty of depending upon Fife to be stable that had the intrigue of a made-for-television movie. Carrie and Roger admittedly began their life together far better off than many who marry. Carrie had a college degree that she had already paid the expenses for and was working in her profession. Roger had a great paying job in the local oil industry. Between them, they owned a car and had no outstanding bills. Their only debt was their modest and attractive little home in a middle mid-dle class neighborhood. Budgeting didn't seem to be a particularly necessary element of their life. With one steady bill per month beyond the normal utilities, food and gasand two incomes-they incomes-they basically spent what they earned without incurring additional indebtedness. As their marriage progressed, Carrie discovered herself to be expecting their first child, a happy event for any couple committed to each other and wanting a family of their own. Roger 's excitement level matched her own. It was decided that after the baby arrived she would no longer work. Now that her leaving had been established, it was impossible to reverse their decision due to the nature of her job. The morning came when their daughter was born. Such an exhilarating exhila-rating moment. Mother and baby were fine, and dad went to work prepared with the grand news. Arriving at his job, Roger noticed one man in particular had also arrived. In this corporation one person per-son had become synonymous with presenting lay-off notices, and this was him. Within a short time of arriving, Roger was told he was one of many who were being laid off that day. Roger was ultimately able to remain with the company by changing chang-ing to a less desirable, traveling extension of the firm. "Things had been so good in Vernal," Roger recalls of the beginning begin-ning of the downsizing of the oil industry in the area. After the crisis w ith his job, hundreds of men and women in the area were given the same news and most had to leave the area. Carrie and Roger's family had "dodged the bullet" this time, but their entire lifestyle changed from that moment forward. They knew without doubt that they must do everything in their power to put themselves in the position posi-tion that they never had to fear losing los-ing their home and that they had prepared to see themselves through future financial shocks with savings and storage for physical needs. Roger and Carrie were now in a household committed to remaining debt free. It must be noted here that this couple is very real, and that their experiences and financial solutions shared here are real. ..they speak candidly of their private financial life among friends. But to be identified identi-fied in a public newspaper forum made them uncomfortable. In order to be able to share the things that they feel may help other families, it has been agreed that their identities be withheld and the names Carrie and Roger be given. Setting up a budget became their first priority. Roger received two paychecks per month, as do many employees. It was decided that one paycheck would be used for their monthly living expenses and house payment. The second check would be banked to be used as a future house payment. It should be noted that the banking bank-ing option of the second check was made when savings interest was higher than the interest on their home loana far cry from today's financial world. Using this "double payment" strategy, the family paid off their home in eight years. "We would have paid it off in five years," says Roger, "but we had to buy a vehicle. When the house was paid off, the budget remained. A dedicated and careful use of funds had been well-established well-established by then. Every expense, plus savings, was accounted for on a monthly basis. "We always felt that we could lose Roger's job any time. We were Ihj3ss ft live debtt-ffiree P . iff A T1 .tl 1A The entire family helped to build an An organized file of payment receipts and budgeting is essential to this family's wise use of funds. Blue ribbons from the County Fair are a bonus for this home-maker's home-maker's resolve to learn to can her own fresh fruit and to purchase pur-chase the remainder of her needs at sale prices, afraid. We didn't want to move our family away from our close-knit family and friends in Vemal." The recognized fear of losing employment, although not a crippling, crip-pling, out of proportion type of fear, has been a strong motivation for the couple. It is just a respected possibility possi-bility for which to prepare. The family ultimately consisted of three children, and the number of bedrooms ratio to little people and adults created a new scenario-having to purchase a larger home, or making the existing one adequate. Roger, who had taken building trades in high school, then sharpened sharp-ened his carpentry skills, electrical and plumbing abilities, enlisted the help of family and friends, and remodeled some of the interior of the home and added a master bedroomutility bed-roomutility wing. It took longer than if they had contracted it out, and it used a lot of otherwise "leisure" time. They saved labor costs and they saved by purchasing items needed at sale prices. They saved by removing the brick from the old exterior wall, cleaning the bricks and reusing them on the new exterior wall. This strategy made the addition look as though it A W M Ma Sf I LLs 4 ... I t v. i I . i Jl3 V3; rrVvtS addition on the home, progressing ! ilnzzz A tribute to this thrifty homemaker are her home made cutwork curtains, cur-tains, country-style window casings and handmade window seats. 1 4 1 "' m i I ' Bricks, salvaged from the existing siding, were cleaned by hand and re-set on the new exterior as an additional way of conserving family funds on the remodeling and addition project. had always been there, and although it cost many hours, it cost no dollars. The perfotaping and brick installation instal-lation is all that they contracted out. The longevity of quality is another anoth-er means they use to conserve expenses. The final tie between the old and new parts of the house was within 116 of an inch, a fitting tribute to their labors. Carrie had always wanted to have an older, country style window casing cas-ing in her bedroom. For her new addition, she taught herself how to cut, stain, varnish and install her detailed trim design. She really wanted to dress these beautiful windows with white, cut-work cut-work treatments-a pricey option at best. She went to the library and "inl as funds became available. i . ' i i i . 1 in i.'.t i LL borrowed a book showing cutwork patterns, adapted them to the style she wanted, used her sewing machine to satin stitch the design, cut out the areas necessary and she had elegant, cutwork curtains far more detailed than the commercially commercial-ly available styles. The electrically heated home had a wood stove which the family used exclusively for its economy until recently, when it became easier for the mature couple to have the "luxury" "lux-ury" of an installed furnace, eliminating elimi-nating wood stove related labors. Roger installed the furnace-which they bought at about half the original origi-nal price. This couple believes in teamwork. Roger is claustrophobic in tight spaces, so Carrie maneuvered under the floor joists in the 18 inch crawl space helping to install the new fur nace ductwork. Carrie refused to use the spacious cellar, which they dug out themselves beneath their home spiders and bugs named the problem-until Roger installed a cement floor and nicely finished sheetrock walls and ceiling. The entrance to this sparkling storage room, adequate to stand in with a little room to spare, is wide enough for sheetrock and about two feet across. The dirt came out through this opening, the cement, cinderblocks and sheetrock went into the room through it, and the couple built it together. It is in this well-planned subterranean subter-ranean room that the family has another natural extension of their commitment to living debt free. They raise a garden and fruit trees, providing a variety of healthy foods to store. But, "When green beans and other foods come out 4 cans for $1, I shop!" Carrie says, acknowledging that overall savings in time and cost are both considered. Additionally, they save on the food bill by purchasing pur-chasing in bulk when items they frequently use have good sale prices. On the budget, $10 each two weeks was allowed for gas. "When I ran out, I'd walk," says this frugal homemaker. After several years the record keeping part of their "budgeting" became lax. Good spending habits had been formed. Carrie saves receipts for payments and checkbook check-book records. About five years later she sat down to double check their expenditures and discovered there was $3,000 for which she had "no clue" as to the nature of the expense. "It was a real eye opener to be sure that I wrote on the checks what it was for, to keep track of where the money goes," she says. Furniture has been bought used unless it was an item that would receive hard use. It is then that they again balanced quality and long wear over price. Clothing for the family frequently was from thrift stores and yard sales. Carrie cringes at the growing trend of newlyweds outfitting a new home with time-payment furnishings furnish-ings and a new car or two in the garage, also on payments. People can work together to make their lives debt-free, they believe, pointing out the neighbors who shared a piano for children's lessons, les-sons, others who share motorized yard equipment and household tools to help one another, homemakers teaching each other how to can and garden, families sharing childcare for "nights out" and sharing home repairing and building expertise. Roger says it takes time to be thrifty and they both agree that families fam-ilies should "take care" of what they have, pointing to a beautiful end table that they had been given as an example. Originally it had a thick, dark brown stain. Time and children later, it was marred and for most would have been on the street for trash collection. Roger took time to reinforce and refinish it, revealing a beautiful mitred work along the edges. It claims a deserved place of honor in their living room today. Roger says that they're at a point they would like a truck. They are evaluating whether they want to buy a new one with warrantees. They balance that against the use of the truck, which will be to drive to the mountain. "Do we really want to scratch up a new truck," he asks with a grin. He has taught himself and learned from friends how to make significant signifi-cant repairs to his family's vehicles, thus saving large amounts of money throughout the years. By choosing how they spent their available funds, they have been able to invest, to purchase land and build a private business and to save for retirement. They have been able to participate in their children's educational educa-tional expenses and support a child in two years of church service. By example, they have prepared their adult children with the skills and knowledge to live debt free themselves. Carrie has returned to working in her profession now that the children are all gone from home. Many of this family's ideas for debt-free living are outlined on page B4 of this issue of the Vernal Express. Community Calendar March 17 Free tax help from AARP Tax-Aide Tax-Aide through April IS. Phone for appointment and required documents. 789-2169. March 18 Annual Boy Scout leadership recognition dinner and program. At Vernal 1st, 5th and 9th Ward Chapel, 250 North 200 West 6:30 p.m. TOPS meets in Conference Room of Vernal City Building 1 1 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Gwen Peterson, 789-8356. Open house 1 1 :30 a.m. Basin Symphony Rehearsal 7 p.m. Vernal Middle School Band Room. Greg Rau, 789-4438. March 19 Community dance at Golden Age Center, 155 South 100 West, 8-10 p.m. every Friday night. Kay's Band provides the music. Uintah School District GED test March 19-20. For questions, contact David John or Elaine Gardiner, 781-3100 781-3100 ext. 1013. March 20 Annual USOMATA Silver Tea at St. Paul's Episcopal Church. Performances 1-5 p.m. Combined with first annual Silent Auction. $5 per person, $10 per family. Afternoon of stringed music. Boy Scouts Scouting for Food drive for local food pantry. Conducted in the morning. Annual Uintah County Farm Bureau banquet. Western Park, 7 p.m. Lt. Governor McKeachnie and new CEO of Utah Farm Bureau Randy Parker to speak. Girl Scout cookie booths Saturday, March 20, at Basin Sports, Wal-Mart and the Vemal Elks Lodge. Pruning demonstration presented by Master Gardeners of Uintah County. 10 a.m. at 876 West 200 North. Public Welcome. USU Extension sponsor. Uintah School District GED test March 19-20. For questions, contact David John or Elaine Gardiner, 781-3100 781-3100 ext. 1013. Community Hikes Dry Fork Flume Trail. Meet at 10:00 a.m. at Basin Sports, 511 W.Main. March 22 March 22 and 23, The Big Fix Discount Mobile SpayNeuter clinic. Milt's Ace Hardware, 690 W. Main, Appointments, 781-1818. Call for fees and instructions. March 23 Vernal Area Chamber of Commerce, noon, Golden Corral Restaurant. Ute Proj.-DeNile McKenna speaking. March 24 The Big Fix Discount Mobile SpayNeuter Clinic. Roosevelt-Stewart's Roosevelt-Stewart's Thriftway, 245 South Highway 40, parking lot Appointments, 435-823 0225. Call for fees and instructions. Free tax help from AARP Tax- Aide through April 15. Phone for appointment and required documents. 789-2169. March 25 DinoSewers Sewing guild meets the fourth Thursday of each month. 7-9 7-9 p.m. in the USU Extension rooms, Uintah County Building. Newcomers welcome. TOPS meets in Conference Room of Vemal City Building 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Gwen Peterson, 789-8356. Open house 1 1:30 a.m. Basin Symphony Rehearsal 7 p.m. Vemal Middle School Band Room. Greg Rau, 789-4438. March 26 Community dance at Golden Age Center, 155 South 100 West, 8-10 p.m. every Friday night Kay's Band provides the music. March 27 Current Topics Rummage Sale. Held this year at Western Park. All donations go back into the community for charitable expenses. Largest rum mage sale each year in Vernal. Uintah County Library quilting class, 1-5 p.m. Beginner's Sampler block. Annual Vemal Area Chamber of Commerce Radio Auction. March 30 Vernal Area Chamber of Commerce, 12 noon, Golden Corral Restaurant. Molina Health, Kirk Olsen speaker. March 31 Free tax help from AARP Tax Aide through April 15. Phone for appointment and required documents, 789-2169. To place Hems of pablk interest oa the Commuaity Caleadar, nail to the Venal Express, P.O. Box 1000, E-maiL editor veraaLcoa, or call the Veraal Express at 789-3511. |