The Frivolous, the Frugal, the Wise-Stewards, and the Clueless

It's that time again....
I have an 8th grader this year, and it's October...

So, it's time for:

I blogged about this 6 years ago, too, when it was my oldest's (and my) first experience with Reality Town.  I decided to volunteer at it whenever I have a child in the 8th grade - so, I volunteered 3 years ago with Kyle, too, but sadly, there's no blog post to reference.  I did it again yesterday for Haylee, as well.

 

Reality Town is a program that provides students with a hands-on simulation in which they make lifestyle and budget decisions, as they take on careers, salaries, families and associated responsibilities of the adult world.

Students come to Reality Town dressed up and are given a career and salary based on their current GPA. They are also given a "life scenario" with a family situation and the assignment to pay all the bills of the month. They are expected to live within the means of their monthly income.

At the end of Reality Town, students [are suppose to] reflect on the experience. Did they save or lose money? Is this how they'd really live? How does education correlate with income? This program is a great way to teach students the importance of how the choices they make NOW can affect them LATER.  It also gives them hands on skills in budgeting, math skills (although they let them use calculators), and determining priorities.  Six years ago, the students actually practiced the skill of check writing to pay for their expenses, but now they just "pretend" they did or use their "invisible debit card" and jot down the expense in their ledger and keep a running balance. (This is not offered at all schools, we are really lucky to have this program at ours.)

If they run out of money, they have to go to "Financial Counseling" or visit the "Supplemental Income" booth where they can get a part-time job that would realistically work with their current schedule.  They can also join the military (and get some more income), but at this Reality Town, they had the military people all doing MANY push-ups at one end of the gym to make it [kinda] the real deal.

That "Just my Luck" booth you can see in the background was required for them to visit.  They spun a wheel, and a scenario came up; got a flat tire, furnace broke, someone gets sick, get an inheritance check, drop your cell phone in the toilet, get in a car accident, etc. that they were face with - just like real life!

Haylee's career was a Music Therapist.  (What?  How did THAT happen when she doesn't even practice her piano???)  Her "spouse" did not have a job because he was a disabled veteran with one leg.  They only get a couple hundred dollars from the Army due to his disability status. (tough luck!)  They have two children; an 8 yr. old and a toddler.  It was super fun for her....until she started to get stressed with everything she had to buy on her finite income.  ;)  Ya gotta love the reality checks!

I worked at the "Property Taxes" booth in this years' Reality Town.  They had to buy their housing first, then come to me and we figured out what they would owe in property tax based on their house/condo/trailer/apartment/parents' basement.  (The higher the value of their housing, the higher their property taxes).
We weren't very far into the experience when I notice one guy was already lying down on the park bench that was set up in the middle of the "town."  We joked that he's already decided to be homeless and bypass the cost of housing and associated taxes!  ;)
These "adults" who came to me and were renting apartments or who lived in their parents basements did NOT owe anything in property taxes - when I told them that, they'd first be surprised, but then acted pretty glad about that little fact.  But, then I informed them the reason WHY was because they didn't OWN it.  And then they didn't look so thrilled anymore.  ;)

Here's the "consumers" who I interacted with:

The Frivolous
I honestly was surprised that we didn't have more "adults" buying THE BIGGEST/NICEST/MOST EXPENSIVE house that was offered.  I think I only had ONE person who bought it, but there was another "Tax Agent" at my table who was also helping, so she may have had some, too? 
But, we still did have some who were buying too much house for their income.  Towards the end of the "experience," I did have some come back to me to get a "tax adjustment credit" because they had ended up downgrading their house after their account got into the negative with all their other bills.  By doing so, they were able to get $25-40 back as their taxes went down, as well.  Although, when one "man" left my table, he was still a few hundred dollars in the negative, so he still had some shaving of expenses to do.  Good luck with that, Sir.  ;)

The Frugal
I had two different "men" come to me, who were both "well-to-do." 
The "Engineer" had only bought himself a trailer house, which only cost him $25 in property taxes.  As I looked at his income, I was a bit perplexed, and then I said to him, "Did you get the trailer, so you could have a lot of money leftover?"  He just gave me the "you got it!" smirk. 
*Sidenote:  this is the same boy who kept raising his hand to ask Matt questions last year, when he came to Haylee's class to speak on "Career Day."  One of the most entertaining questions was, "So, if I get a hold of any checks, can I just start writing them for stuff?"   He was also asking questions about what "robbery safeguards" are in place at financial institutions!  ;)  This boy's thinking about HOW to get money!!*

The "Orthopedic Surgeon" didn't even buy a house - he was in an apartment - which resulted in $0 property taxes.  He was beaming when he heard that news!  I questioned his decision (he's my neighbor, so I can razz him, right?) and he said he just wanted to be close to the hospital so he can make it to the emergencies in a timely manner - AND SAVE all that extra money!

The Wise-Stewards
There were a few "adults" who came back to visit me towards the end, after they had paid all the necessary bills, and realized they had money left over.  They discovered they really could've bought a bigger house, they just didn't want to "chance it" at first. 
So, one "consumer" decided to move out of his parents' basement and buy a 20 yr. old 3 BD/2BA house.  (SMART choice!)  So, he now had to pay property taxes....but he says it's totally worth it!
Another "consumer" was able to ditch his original trailer house to a 20 yr. old house, as well.  He said that was a relief!
And, another, who was feeling pretty rich, upgraded from his 20 yr. old house to a 5 yr. old 3BD/2.5BA house.

Now, I asked them (using my "motherly wisdom") if they were sure they didn't need to use their money for something else.  They said they didn't. 
What about your donations?  I asked them. 
Already donated. they replied.
What about your Savings?  I countered. 
Already got a bunch in Savings. they informed me. 
What about sending your wife to the Spa. I reminded them.
Done.  they said. 
OK, then, I guess you've managed just wonderfully!

The Clueless
There were A LOT (too many!) who opted to live in their parents' basements.  It was the lowest housing option available, after all.
Why were they choosing this?
In this Reality Town experience, $500/month rent was charged for living in your parents' basement (and $0 property taxes), but I don't think that reflects reality.  In reality (and the other volunteers there around me were all discussing this, and have made the same observation), I think "mooching" is what is happening more frequently than rent paying is!
Anyway, in Reality Town, they could've had their OWN place to live for just $150 more per month.  THAT'S TOTALLY WORTH IT!
I asked several of the "adults" if it was OKAY with their parents if they lived with them.  They all said, "YES!" without even thinking about it.
 
(Ha!  They're clueless!  Unless parents, these days, don't want their children to grow up and be responsible!??)

One of the living-in-your-parents'-basement "women" is actually in my ward.  She assured me it would be OK with her parents.  So I told her she better do all the cooking, clean the toilets, mow the lawn, and wash their cars.  She said she was paying rent, so she didn't need to.  ;)  haha.  (see what I mean by clueless!)
I texted her mom (my friend) afterwards:  "FYI, your daughter's planning on living in YOUR basement with her family.  haha."
To which she texted back, "Haaaaa is RIGHT....I don't think so!  I guess we're making life a little too cooshie for her.  I need to crack the whip." 
I'm thinking she better make other plans.  ;)

So, if you're in the market for a Music Therapist in the future, give Haylee a call - her bank account will thank you!  ;)

(And it will keep her out of my basement!)

Keep Calm and Cruise On

After entering our stateroom for the very first time, and being hit with a wave of.......a smell that should only belong in the bathroom,

  (the shower curtain was discovered as the culprit - it hung right next to the toilet, which apparently had caught a lot of "pee spray" from the previous occupants of the room!),  

we had a wonderful week on the Fowers Family cruise!

Here's a sampling of our "yearbook" (weekbook?):

Port 1: Puerto Vallarta

 {Note: Contrary to what this may look like....we are NOT drinking at the bar!  Well, kind of.}  

My brother, David, and us both got the "non-alcoholic drink card" (unlimited virgin pina coladas, strawberry daquiris, "Miami Vice's," "Bahama Mamas" etc. that we HAD to get from a bar).  Without giving you an exact daily number, let's just say we tried REALLY HARD to get our money's worth each day!!  ;)

Port 2: Mazatlan

Port 3:  Cabo San Lucas

The Crown Princess 

AND....interestingly enough, it was WAY easier to get my 10,000 Fitbit steps each day on the cruise...without really even trying!

It turns out, if you don't have to work your desk job for 6 hrs. a day, you get a lot more steps - and there's no last minute running around the block at 11:50 p.m!  :)

It also helped that you walk up 5 flights of stairs to get breakfast in the morning.

Then walk the same 5 flights back to your room to change into your swim suit.

Then walk to the middle of the ship and up 7 flights to the top deck to be by the pool and catch some rays.  

Then walk 2 flights down and over to the the drink machines to fill up your water bottle (and to the bars to get a "sunrise cooler" smoothie).

Then walk to the middle of the ship to watch a movie on the big outdoor screen.

Then you walk around the Buffet, the Pizzeria, and the Grill to judge who has the best lunch options, and then walk the whole outer edge of the ship trying to find a window table to eat at.

Then you go back to your room because you forgot your a) book, b) water bottle, c) sunscreen, d) pen

Then you go around to all the hang out rooms/areas around the ship, on 3 different decks, to see if there is an open table to play cards at.

And then you walk up 3 flights to your room to get ready for dinner.

Then down 4 flights to the dining room.

Then you walk in and out of the dining room a few times to go to the restroom during your 2 hr. dinner, from the constant water you drink.

Then walk to the very front of the ship for the evening entertainment in the theatre.

Then back to the middle of the ship and up one floor for the game shows.

Then down a couple decks to the lounge where you dance the night away.

And then, finally, walk back up 4 decks and to the back of the ship to your stateroom to retire for the evening!

Oh...It was fun while it lasted (which is never long enough!) but now it's back to reality.  boo hoo.

And we've decided (I think, but I'm not convinced) we'll have to try to be "responsible" and take a sabbatical from cruising for the a while......until the next great "opportunity" arises!  ;)

I'm In The Money!

Several months ago, I could not get my checking account to balance.
My check register said one amount, and THE BANK said another amount.
THE BANK said I had $145.00 more than my check register said I had.
Could it be TRUE?!?

I went back through my check register and re-added, and re-subtracted all the deposits and debits for the previous several months and did not find any errors - I STILL ended up with the same balance that I was showing in my check register.

(These kind of discrepancies almost make me go BONKERS!)

Something my friend, who used to work at a bank, once said came to my mind; "The bank balance is right!  The bank's not going to make an error."  (Something to do with scanning all the routing numbers, account numbers, and using high-tech calculations.)
So, going off of that.....fortunately, the difference was in MY FAVOR - and I just added that amount into my register.

Cha-Ching!

THEN tonight, again, as I was going through my checking account, I found the balances were OFF again!
THIS TIME, the bank said I had $375.00 more than my check register said I had.
It couldn't be TRUE twice, could it?!?  I couldn't be THAT fortunate, could I?!?  My friend says THE BANK isn't wrong, so it must be my money.

So, again, I double checked, and triple checked all the addition & subtraction I had done in my register over the last several months since the last "incident."  And again, I STILL ended up with the same balance I was showing in my check register.

How could it be?

I started to really wonder if the "Christmas Elves" were secretly padding my account.  I've heard of that happening with other people before.

How exciting!  Cha-Ching!

But, I pulled up my online banking and carefully looked through the list of transactions, and saw no "mystery deposits."  THE BANK would have to show these even if it was an anonymous donation, right?

(AGAIN, These kinds of discrepancies practically make me go INSANE!  I'll spend hours on it trying to figure out the error.  I like the Math to work out just perfectly.)

Should I just add the extra money into my register and let it go?

No.  I HAD to figure it out.  It was after hours, so I couldn't call THE BANK - I would have to figure it out on my own.

I did have one check, still in my possession, that I had written out, but hadn't actually given it to the corporation I was paying, yet.  But, it's amount did not equal $375, so that wasn't the answer.......

.......but it DID get me thinking.......Were there other checks in this same situation?  Checks that I [unknowingly] still had, or the corporations still had, or had been dropped, taken, lost, forgotten in a pocket somewhere?

Frequently, I will write out my tithing check sometime during the week, and then I set it in a certain place on my desk, ready for Matt will pick it up on Sunday, so he can submit it with his tithing/donations check when we go to church.  He keeps all the receipts, so when I asked him if he has submitted all my checks, he went back and looked through his receipts.  He found there were "gaps" of time where there weren't any checks from my account.  Strange, because I wrote a tithing check EVERY month.

Long story short, we scoured my whole desk; lifted up the computer keyboard, the mouse pad, computer tower & monitor, the lamp, the speakers, went through files and stacks of papers, etc.

AND we found THREE checks that were "hiding."  Checks that had somehow fallen back behind the computer equipment and were out of sight.  Including one dated back in July from when I first discovered my "bonus" $145.  

So, THE BANK really was right.....my checks just hadn't ever cleared.  But, they WILL when we MAKE SURE to give them at church on Sunday, and my account balance will be quite unexciting once again.

So, unfortunately, the FANTASY of the "Christmas Elves" is over.  It was good while it lasted!  ;)
Instead it was a case of inattention, distraction, and disorderly confusion.

The Day of Awakening

You gotta get through 18 3/4 years of the [back breaking, heart aching, mind going crazy, blue-in-the-face] daily grind FIRST, but it finally comes.....it's the day when your child realizes AND admits JUST HOW GOOD HE HAS IT!  (and always has had it.)

We got this letter from our missionary son, Ryan, this week:

The letter was partially spurred on by him receiving some family photos we had taken before he left on his mission this summer.  They finally came back from the photographer, so I sent them to him in a little album:

We were kind of surprised to have our letter addressed to us in such a way, "My Eternal Forever Family" - such an upgrade from the usual, "The Brenchley's."  ;)

Then the content of the letter provided even bigger "revelations" to us:
"I am so grateful for what a great family I have!  The pics are just too precious!  Maybe it's the great color scheme or all our great smiles, but The Pictures just glows every time I look at it.  I took the album to church with me Sunday to show to some families and it got passed around to a couple of the other sisters in the ward.  Everyone who saw it was all, "Oh, what a Beautiful family you have!"  The other missionaries around the house were all commenting how much younger my family was.  (They're just jealous because their family grew up and isn't as cute as my family!)  I love you all so much.  You are all one of the main reasons I'm serving a mission.  I KNOW the happiness I have knowing my family can be together forever and I want nothing more than to share this message with others, and have them have the same Happiness I have!  I Love You all so much!"

(I think I want him to stay with this current group of missionaries who refer to us as the "YOUNG" family amongst the group!  ;)  In fact, when Ryan was telling his companion that his parents went on a 20th anniversary cruise, his companion pointed out that he's older than Ryan's parent's marriage!  His companion was born a few months before we were married....and he's the 4th child in his family to give ya an idea of the age difference in their parents!)


So, basically, now Ryan thinks we really are great!
(That's why we send them away!)  ;)
One child down, four to go!

A Sure Way to Have a Whole Month Fly By Without Even Realizing It

If time is ever moving too slow for you - just dragging on and you're wondering HOW you can make it go faster.......just GO ON A CRUISE.

Because it takes a WHOLE WEEK of pressing preparations before you can even leave:
Laundry
Writing up lists
Shopping
Making an instructions guide for our children's caretakers
Packing
Accomplishing THE LIST
ON TOP OF the extra hours at work that I had to pick up for others in trade to get the cruise week off, and Matt had to work to get all the things done that were needed for deadlines that would come up while we were gone or very shortly after we returned.
PLUS, add a daughter's birthday and party in there with my annual girls' shopping weekend in Park City on the side....

....and pretty much I was going non-stop for that first 8 days of the month.

THEN we made it on our [20th anniversary] cruise!  Aaaaaaaaaaah!!!

 The Allure of the Seas, Royal Caribbean

Relief.

No Responsibility.

Restful.

{Haha.  Matt took this "selfie" on the first evening.  

I was so worn out by the time our vacation actually started, I fell right to sleep waiting for the show to start!} 

 Recreational.

{Yes!  There is a operational Carousal on the ship.} 

Rejuvinating.

 Refreshing.

Royal Treatment.

from our awesome waiters, "Jeff" & "Lito"

 Romantic.

 Rewarding.

Sadly, that week went by way too fast.

Side Note:  My #1 tip for married couples:  Get Away Together (alone) often! (anything from a date night to an extended vacation)  There's really no substitute.....but that's a whole other blog post for another time.

And then we came back home.  Here's another adjective beginning with the letter "R" to describe that experience:  Rude Awakening. 

Not only was is COLD, but I had to now cook my own food, pick up my own towel, wipe my own nose......Oh no!!  

  
(It's been pretty much back to work non-stop again)

So, on MONDAY, I worked my shift all day and had to go to the grocery store for all the, "Mom! We're out of (fill in the blank with anything & everything)! items the kids bombarded me with upon my return.

On TUESDAY, I worked my shift all day and had to catch up on paying bills.  What in the heck was the current status of our bank account?!?

On WEDNESDAY, I worked my shift all day and did the miscellaneous "office" stuff...and finally decorated for Thanksgiving!  With a side of planning our ward's Christmas party.

On THURSDAY, I finally had a day off work, so I got around to unpacking all my luggage.  I also tackled cleaning the stove which appeared as if a 10 gallon pot of an assortment of foods & other stuff had exploded all over it in my absence.  I also slid on in to the Post Office in the nick of time - 4:56 p.m. - to send off this month's missionary care package (a blog post for another time) for Ryan Elder Brenchley.  (It's that time again, already?!?)

So, there's another week that's gone by in a FLASH.  It's November 20th already!?!?!  That means practically the whole month is gone!  And then Thanksgiving week always goes by fast and after that, November's over.  I really can't believe how quickly it went.  Here I am left reeling.

There you have it.
Prep week + Cruise week + Catch up week.....
How to lose a month in 20 days. (but what only seemed like a few)

For Some Must Push and Some Must Pull

.....as we go marching up the hill. 

{Name that song}

Listen HERE for a hint.

On Saturday, we noticed we actually had a day with hardly anything on the calendar AND we've been having warmer than usual temps, so Kyle had suggested we hike to Flag Rock.

Sure!  Why not?!?

Except when we tried to drive to the starting point, the road was still closed for the winter.

So, we improvised and found another of Farmington's many trails:  the Davis Creek Trail.

It is in the mountains, so it would be quite an ACCENT!  Lots of UPHILL.  So, Matt & I wondered if our younger children would be able to make it....???  I just said, I could take them back to the car when they'd had enough and wait there for the others to finish.

{Ryan was absent, off doing his High School thing with friends, attending the State Bball tourney in SLC}

Well, it turns out, we shouldn't have even worried about them!  The children went up the trail like gazelles!

WE ARE THE ONES to worry about!

 We are the ones who were begging for rests and telling them to wait for us.  And holding each other up. 

(And when I say "we" - it's really like 70% me, 30% Matt!)  :)

My calves were ON FIRE!!!  The angle the hill was forcing my feet into were killing them.  I guess that's why we're suppose to stretch before beginning any physical activity?!?
The thought, How far I've digressed, went through my mind about 43 times.

I never wanted to be one of those moms who don't ever participate in activities (sports, boating, races, swimming, games) with the family - who just sit on the sidelines and watch - so I was making myself do it!

But, my calves!  Ouch!  My knee!  Oh!  My hips!  Ugh!

At one point, Haylee took my hand and pulled me along.  Matt tried pushing me from behind, but then decided if he went in front and I hooked onto his belt loops, he could kind of "drag" me.  ;)  But, his not-quite-a-year-post-surgery-knee was not handling it the best, either.

 (I was kind of disgusted with myself.)

We saw a sign post indicating that we still had 2/3 of the way to go to reach "Pretty Valley" and I thought, Where's the chair lift when you need it?!?

I got to a point where I could see this view of dear ol' Farmington, 

and I pronounced, This is "Pretty Valley" enough for me!

And I turned around and went back down the mountain and waited for the rest of the brood in the car.

(The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak!)

I had already hiked for an hour, and they went another hour (they made much better time without me) - luckily I was prepared with a book!

I heard later that Matt kept trying to get our children to stop and go back [using me as his excuse] "because mom is waiting."  

To which they [correctly] countered back, "Mom is fine!  She has a book!"

They found an awesome rock - and had to get on top of it, of course!

Apparently, scaling the mountain was not enough effort for 5 yr. old Brookelle, so she thought she should weigh herself down a bit more by collecting rocks along the way and putting them in her front pockets!  What?!?

That was nothing!  

Easy Peasy!

(Way to show me up!)

When can we come back?!?

 (Whoa Nelly! Not so fast.)

Matt & I were both rubbing our knees on the car ride back, then zonked out on our bed when we got home.

A Couple of Math Equations

1.

 +

 +

 +

 +

 +

 =

A much needed [Winter] BREAK in Hawaii last week.

2.

 {It's the wait-until-Mom-gets-home-to-finish-Science-Fair-project-that's-DUE-the-NEXT-DAY-syndrome}

To find out how I feel about those things, read HERE.

+

 +

 {I haven't got a clue!}

+

 +

 

{Why is unpacking such a daunting task?}

 +

 +

=

A RUDE awakening to my harsh reality!