Like a lot of people, I never really imagined I'd be starting a GoFundMe for my own family.

My wife and I both work hard, we're raising our kids, paying our bills, and doing our best to build a good life for them. Things are stable for us now, and we're grateful for that, but it hasn't always been that way.

Over the years, a combination of everyday expenses and periods of reduced income caused our debt to grow. I went nearly a year without consistent full employment, and my wife also had a period when she was unable to work. Those weren't the only reasons we accumulated debt, but they certainly made getting ahead more difficult.

Today we're carrying about $30,000 in debt. We're paying it down, cutting back where we can, and looking for ways to bring in extra money. We're going to keep doing that regardless of what happens with this fundraiser.

The reason we're trying so hard to get out from under it is pretty simple: we want a home of our own.

Nothing fancy. Just a place that's ours, where our kids can grow up and we can make memories as a family.

Any money raised here will go directly toward paying down our debt. I initially set the fundraiser at $10,000 because even asking for that much felt like a huge amount. Reaching it would make a significant difference, and anything raised beyond that would continue going directly toward reducing the debt.

The less we're putting toward debt and interest every month, the more of our own income we can start putting aside toward our first home.

We're not looking for someone else to fix everything for us. We're going to keep working at this either way. We're simply hoping that maybe a little help could give us the push we need to start moving forward.

If that's $5, $10, a share, or even just some encouragement, we're grateful for it.

Hopefully one day, all those little steps lead us to a front door we can finally call our own.

Thanks for reading our story.