Maci Dismuke

Pay it Back, Pay it Forward

Twenty thousand dollars is so much, and yet so little. With a minimum wage job here in Texas, it would take a little over 2,797 hours of work to make that much money, excluding taxes. And yet, it also can pay this month's mortgage, or take you on that vacation you’ve been promising your kids for years. Or pay off some student debt. It can go a long way to say the least. But the price of life, the amount it takes to raise a child, doesn’t hold a candle to twenty thousand dollars. According to USDA.gov, families are projected to spend an average of 233,610 on a child from infancy to age eighteen. And if you factor in college, you’re looking at at least one hundred thousand more. So, with this in mind. Is twenty grand all that much? It is. Of course it is. But I want it to actually feel that way. I want to feel the impact that 20,000 can have on a community. With that in mind, let’s focus on the community that impacted me - everyone that I would consider family.