Trim the Fat

If you've listened to just about any of our other podcasts, you know we are proud Dave Ramsey principle supporters and advocates - but that goes beyond our owners to the rest of our team too! Check out our Production Manager Jonathan's Debt journey in Trim the Fat - this week's edition of the Hoel Roofing Podcast!

Transcript

Hey, guys!

Welcome back to another episode of the Hoel Roofing podcast. Today we have Jonathan Holzback here, one of our team members and he's going to tell us a little bit about himself and get to know him a little bit better. So, Jonathan, tell us a little bit about yourself. Hey, guys. What's up? Jonathan, Holzback, Production Manager here on the team and, joined the team in September.

Well, late September, technically, born and raised here in Rush County and, proud to be employed now, back in the county. A little bit of background - I have three kids. Lena. She's our youngest. She's a year. Levi, he's four, and then Liam is six. So, but anyway, love them to death, they keep my wife and I busy and so.

So, yeah, that's a little bit about my family life. and then she stays home with the kids, so she stays busy, especially keeping them out of trouble. But, so what brought me the Hoel roofing remodeling? Just, honestly, is a family environment. And just being able to be closer to my kids, give time back to them.

So, that's a huge thing, because I was spending three hours a day on the road. and that was five days a week. So you can add that up 15 hours a week. And now I'm able to give that back to them, because time is short when they're this little. Yes. No, I like it that you're right down the street.

If you got to run home, grab some lunch. Forgot something. You're right there and then you're you're close. And if Krystal needs to stop by, she can stop by. So that's great. how did you meet Krystal? so we actually met on Match.com. so I was in Florida at the time, and I willingly did not sign up for Match.com.

I had a friend that created a profile for me and said, oh, by the way, here you go. And I was like, fantastic. That's what I want to do right now in my life is meet somebody, but I'm super glad that she did. so it's one of those things that was not sought after, but it was welcome.

So we met on Match.com. she was in Miami at the time. I was in West Palm Beach, and doing a couple different things. I was doing some mission work with an organization called Haitian Christian Mission. She was at a church down there as a children's director. And, and so that's kind of how our paths crossed.

And then we got married about a year later, and the rest is history. I do like the story that she tells that she texted her friend and said, ‘hey, if you don't hear back from me in an hour, like, this is where I'm at. and come find me.’ Yeah. So what I remind her is I did the exact same thing.

Like, here's my pin drop. This was my last known location. If you don't hear from me in an hour, I've been murdered. Yep. So. But no. first time we ever met. We like. It. Was like our stories had never been apart. And so we literally just, started out walking on the beach in, like, 12:00. We're like, we probably should go now.

That's awesome. Now, did you guys stay down there for a while or did you move? I know you lived in Tennessee for some time, so. Yeah. So, while we were dating, we were in Florida. so we got married in August. this August coming up will be ten years, and. Which is crazy to think. you know, it's one of those days.

That or one of those times in marriage that you're like, I don't know if I can make it another day, let alone ten years, you know? So. But no, it's been a wonderful journey together. So we, got married, and then the next week, after our honeymoon, moved to Tennessee to help our friends Michael and Stephanie, plant a church there.

So we moved. We were newly married. sold everything furniture wise. We had. And, just moved to Tennessee knowing God would provide. Yeah, and he did. And that was a really cool story, behind all of that. But, it's that was a journey then, we when Liam was almost one years old, we made a decision.

It was time to get back to family. Yes. It's hard being away when you have small children. Even if you have a community, it's not the same as your family. So, that's how we felt when we were in Tennessee. Like, we loved it. But we need to get back home because our kids are only little for so long, and you want them to be around grandparents and everything.

So I totally understand that. I know you said that you grew up in Rush County. Krystal did not. I mean, she comes from a whole different background. She does. what does she think about living in a small community like rush film? So, funny story there. Actually, when we were going to make the decision in Tennessee where we were going to move, we had two options essentially at hand.

One option was to go to Florida, back to her family. One option was obviously come back to Rushville. Yes, she was all about coming to Rushville and I was all about going to Florida. So, because I love the the temperatures down there. I just love being able to go outside year round. Yes. The ability to go to the beach any time, like there's always something to do outside.

And, I love little town of Rushville, but I also enjoyed Florida at the same time. but Krystal absolutely loves it. Since the day she, came up to visit for the first time, I can remember, you know, I was a little nervous because she was flying up here to see. I was like, this could make or break things for us, essentially.

because the reality of us moving back here was strong at that point, so. But no, she's, taking the bull by the horns. Loves it. She, absolutely loves to be able to go five stoplights to the grocery store instead of 25 minutes to the grocery store. That's two lights away. Yeah, well, in that atmosphere, I guess if she wanted to move back here, she's probably been there, done that.

She's like, I've had the heat. I don't want to do it. and it is nice, you know. Yeah. All four seasons here. It's everybody knows everybody, which is nice. And I know, you know, a lot of people. And so that makes it if you need something, you can call them. They're just a phone call away. So. Absolutely.

so you guys are doing the Dave Ramsey thing as well. So, let's talk about how you got into that. What got you guys, that fire lit, like, hey, we've got to do this and we're going to buckle down and do it. Absolutely. So, this is not our first time doing the Dave Ramsey, process.

And so we I will say it like this. We have dabbled in it. Yeah. the first three times and now this fourth time. Really, what lit us, fire under us was we were just tired of being paycheck to paycheck. Just being tired of being that, chained to the lender. Like the idea that, hey, we make great money, but where's it all going?

Where'd it go? Yeah, exactly. So we're just tired of that. And the other thing, too, is we want our kids to be able to have a legacy. Yeah, and we don't want them to be in debt. And so being an example for our kids. Yes. that's what's driving us now. it takes a lot of time, a lot of effort.

It's so worth it, though. There's nothing greater feel. There's no greater feeling than paying off a debt and knowing it just, you know. And so, or it has literally changed our life. We've made a lot of sacrifices with a lot of different changes, still have a lot of sacrifices we can make. And, I think that, if anybody's listening that has dabbled in it.

Yes. I would encourage you, like, go back, look at what you can do differently, you know, and sit down. The one thing I love about it, too, is it's unified. Our marriage in a lot of ways, because now it's open the conversation to talk about money, where before we didn't we didn't talk about it at all. Yeah, I would spend it all.

She would yell at me for spending it. That's how it went. So it was brushed under the rug and go, go away. And then like, oh, you know, if the bank will take care of it and then we'll figure it out. Yeah. You know, so, but no, basically just being tired of the same old, same. Yeah. Every single time.

Now tell us about some of the sacrifices that you have made to get to that debt free, where you want to be. Absolutely. So one of the biggest ones, we just recently, we took advantage of the equity in our van. we had a brand new van that we bought, as a young, stupid couple, like, just like, oh, we got the best vehicle we got, and we've got kids, and we don't want it to break down.

Exactly. And so our town and country that we had before actually broke down two weeks before Levi was due. And, Krystal and I were both like, you know what? That's it. We're just going to buy something new. Like, we're tired of all these problems. Well, it wasn't that we were having problem after problem. It's just that van was having problems.

Yeah. And so we let that mindset get into our mind was like, oh, the only way to fix it is new, you know? And so we drove that for a couple of years. Recently, two months ago. Just sold it, and actually bought a 12 year old van and took that equity and paid off loans and paid off the car.

It's now debt free and that may not seem like a huge thing to a lot of people, but here's what I learned in that. Like a lot of people hold their identity in cars and clothes and whatever it may be in our identity, until you wrestle that and you deal with that, yeah, you'll never be satisfied. Well, it's the contentment thing.

Like you have to be content what you have now and just be happy like you can't, just because you go out and buy the next shiny thing, that's not going to make you happy, and it's going to cause more problems and make you more unhappy. That's right. But people don't realize that and they just keep doing it. Doing it.

a lot of people use, they call it retail therapy. Well, then when a month goes by and you get the bill for that and then you're like, oh, I shouldn't have done that. Yeah. but I think now it's hard too, because you have Facebook. Instagram, like everything's right in front of you. Used to you had your neighbors and you could see what they were driving.

And that's how you saw. Yeah. Keeping up with the Joneses. now it's literally you to people that you don't even talk to. You see the things that they have, and then you get kind of like, man, I wish I had that man, I want that. but yeah, until you deal with that and become content with, oh, it doesn't matter.

Like, you know, I have a nice truck. However, if I have to drive a transit van, like it has a radio and I. The AC works, but I can crank down the windows to like, I don't care. That's not the whole point of having a vehicle, is to get from point A to point B exactly. Yes, it is nice to have a nice truck, but that's not what that's not who.

That's not your identity. That's not who makes you who you are. That won't make you happy. Yeah. And I think the one big thing that I've learned over the last several months is your identity is not in material things, but more importantly, like you have to have a mind shift. So, you have to change your mindset because if you're constantly thinking, how can I get to the next best thing goes back to that contentment.

it takes a lot of sacrifice, and that means working long days. That means baling hay. That means. Yeah. so one thing that's interesting about me is I'm a deputy coroner. Now, I don't do that necessarily for the money, but because it's not paid very well, however, it helps like that just paid off a little bit more debt.

And that gave us a little spending cash for vacation. And so, it's just finding ways that are not normal. And when the American dream is to go home at night at 5:00 and be there all night long understanding that that's not going to change anything. Yeah. And so finding ways for Krystal to make money. So she started cleaning different places and, she cleans homes.

And so trying to find I'm always symmetry, you know, so just finding those unique ways to make extra money. Yes. I mean people, you got to think outside the box to, kind of an even. I guess you really don't even have to do that. You just have to be looking for those opportunities. let's talk about your junk hoarding, Jonathan.

Yes. So that is one unique thing, like about me. Like I'll be driving down the road and someone has something on the side of the road that I know I can sell on a yard sale. I'll pick it up, you know, because it's a couple dollars towards my debt journey. And, you know, it's one of those things. Now, do I keep everything?

No. Absolutely not. But my garage will look like a junkyard for a while until we have that yard sale. And because to them it's trash to somebody else, it's a treasure. Yes. You know, there's an old saying goes, you know, one's junk is another person's treasure. And it just it's not a matter of it being me picking up stuff on the road.

It's more, to the fact that that's going to help us reach our journey. Yeah. And like, if you look at the whole pie at once in your expected, how am I going to eat this pie? all at once. But, you know, paying off those small bills, eating one slice at a time and then you look up and then the whole pie is gone, like, absolutely.

So I mean, that's I think people, struggle with that too, is they don't know where to start. They don't know how they're going to do it. And they look at that huge number and they're like, this can't I can't do this. It's never going to happen. Yeah. And it goes back to one big thing is trimming the fat.

So looking at taking a month of your spending and literally going through line by line by line, where did I spend $5? It may just be $5, but it's still $5. You know, it's just another cup of coffee. But how much was that coffee. Yeah. So figuring that out and I know for Krystal and I, we told it up one month is like $1,500 and drive thrus.

You know, that's $1,500 a month that we could have been spending elsewhere. getting closer to our destination quicker. Yeah. and that was that was really one of the months that really kicked us in the ass and that in a good way, like it lit a fire under us saying we can't do this anymore. Yeah. And so that's when we started our journey again.

As for time, but just trimming the fat to looking at insurance rates like we just yes, we bought an older vehicle. But the great thing about that cheaper insurance, we still have full coverage, but we have cheaper insurance. So that trims the fat there. We're looking at cell phone, plans that are different. Maybe it's not the norm because everybody has Verizon around here.

But you know what? There's nothing wrong with cricket or there's nothing wrong with another plan that's cheaper. And that has helped us to be able to trim the fat on our budget and in ways that don't require extra work, but also help spur us along that much quicker. Well, in people it doesn't have to be forever. You don't have to drive that van forever.

You don't have to go without forever. But in order to get where you want to be, you have to, trim the fat you have to get rid of. You know, when we were doing it, we had flip phones, and that's how we, lowered our cell phone because we didn't have the data on there. Just small things like that.

Like you don't have to if you have to sell something, it doesn't mean that you can't ever get it again. You just have to get out of that hole and then when you're out of the hole, then you can be financially wise and go buy something again. But do it debt free. Don't go into debt to buy it.

Yeah, exactly. And that's one thing that I appreciate. Being able to work for you guys is seeing the the reward is going to be there. Yes. And because you guys have worked so incredibly hard to get where you're at and a lot of people just look at you guys and I was like, oh, it must know. It just be easy.

Yeah. but we when we first got married, we were bailing hay. I was cleaning places and, both working full time jobs, like, not sitting around watching Netflix and hoping that it would happen. Like, you have to do something about it and I think that's important, too. We got to realize that what influences a lot of people to not work is what's right in front of their face.

So yeah, again, going back to that social media influence, you got to be able to put that down. Yeah. You got to be able to say my identity is not in social media. It's not in binge watching Netflix. Yeah. Now there's there's a time and place, right. Yeah. I mean yeah, it's we all have our series that we watch or we all have, you know, our one go to item that we, we like to enjoy on a Sunday afternoon.

That's different when you've worked as hard as you can that week. And it's also okay. I think for me, one thing I've learned is, yes, we want to pay off debt. Yeah, but it's like you said, it's not going to happen overnight. And so one thing I've just really kind of wrestled with, even just recently, is I didn't feel like we were getting there fast enough.

But then I looked back and I'm like, Holy crap. Like, we've paid off way more than I thought. Yeah, so far. And it's just realizing it's a journey. You didn't get in debt overnight and you're not getting out of debt. Yeah, right. So, taking time to make memories with your kids, like, they don't. They sacrifice when I'm gone until 10:00 at night or baling hay or painting or whatever it may be, wherever I'm working.

But then they get to reward that, too. Yeah, they get to have time with us making memories. Well, and the great thing about kids is they don't need a big, grandiose like gesture. Like if you just throw them in the truck with you and go somewhere and get them, you know, a frosty for a dollar or something, you know, just small things like that.

Kids, kids, remember the time that you spend with them, not the crap that you buy them. Yeah. so I think it's hard for some people to realize that. Absolutely. People try to buy love. And what I've recognized in just my kids is like, you can't buy their love. Yeah. You know, their love for you is going to be there regardless.

And what they really desire and what they want from you as a parent, even though, yes, you have to work, but they want time spent. Yeah. And not just time spent but quality time. So every time I'm home, like I'm trying to make a point to build Legos with Liam or go outside and ride bikes with Levi, or I'm trying to make a point to give each of them time.

So not because I have to, but because I want to, just so they look back and they're like, yeah, dad worked a lot, but he still gave me time. Yeah. And that's good. that you, you're realizing that, because you look up and they're ten, you know, so it goes by fast. It does. Absolutely. tell us about how you got into being a deputy coroner.

So a little bit, before I went to Florida, I was in the medical field in different, facets. So I was a CNA at one time, and it worked alongside of nurses in the medical field and mission field. and so that kind of threw me into that interest. I started my college career thinking I was going to go into nursing.

that just ended up not being for me. And so I've always had kind of that background. but then I've also had an interest in the funeral industry. And so I thought this would be an opportunity for me to see the different side of death that a lot of people don't think about. The unnatural side where, you know, grandma is at the nursing home, you know, she's 96.

They're expecting they're expecting em. but what you don't see is the suicide or the vehicle accidents or, you know, just. She didn't wake up one day. Yeah. You know, and so that's a different side of death. I didn't know if I could handle. And so when the opportunity came about, I decided that to try that, to see if it's something I could do for a long term.

now, it's not something that I planned to pursue a career in any time, but it's a way that I can serve my community. And I mean, it takes I personally could not do that. So, it takes someone like that, like you that can handle that, that can, like, put on that face of like, okay, this is my job.

Like, this is something that I have to go do. because that is, that would be a tragic time. And then you're interacting with the family. So, we need someone that can do that. So, Absolutely. And then interacting with the families is the hardest part. Yeah. You know, making that phone call, if they're not in town, making that phone call, Mr. so-and-so, Mrs. so-and-so, I'm sorry to inform you.

Yeah. you know, and everybody handles it different. I've seen where it didn't faze them, you know, because the shock had really gone away. Yes. then I have had the opposite of that, where it's a media meltdown and rightfully so. You know, their their world has just changed. Yeah. but even in that moment, I've also had family members tell me, you know, thank you so much for how you handle that.

Yeah. And that's why I do it. It's not the gruesome side of things. Yeah. it's more of the service side of things. So serving the community, serving those families in that time. Now, do they, train you on, like, do they give you how do they go about that, like, for you to become, to be able to do that?

Like, what kind of training do they give you? Yeah. So you actually had to go through a 40 hour class, and test out of it. So it's similar to, like a nursing board test or something. You know, like a CNA test. You have your state licensure that you have to have in order to do that. so there's Indiana State Coroners Board.

They have a training every, twice a year in Indianapolis. And, they have classes. It's continuing education. so it's a it's another way for me to kind of keep up on just the educational side of life, as well, constantly learning, you know, new tactics, new, new. Yeah. situations. We come across, how to handle those.

So which and I think that would help you, like, deal with interacting with people. if they're family member like, you don't know how to act when someone dies. So. I mean that that helps you in everyday life. Anyways, something like that. So, you know, kind of. Yes. You don't have the right words to say, but, you know, kind of which direction to go into.

So most definitely, I think one of the biggest things that I have learned that applies to everyday life is every word matters. So, for example, we're trained to say so-and-so died, or they are dead. not they are gone because they are gone implies they may be coming back. Yeah. Where they are dead means it's over.

And so, but and just understanding in everyday life that every word matters. So when we talk to people, every single word matters. Yes. And that I mean that's true. I mean what you say to your kids, what you say to your spouse, like, that matters. What how you're communicating with them, what you're saying. So I mean, that's kind of like, again, it's teaching you like stuff that you can use.

between you and Krystal, you and the kids. customer so that that's nice that they do that and they, I figured they didn't just throw anybody random. Yeah. There you go. No, no. And so because there is a legal side of it. Yeah. So understanding the legalities and, working with the law enforcement so we have certain duties, law enforcement has their duties before we can remove a body from a scene.

And so it's really important that not only do we have our stuff taken care of, but we make sure to work together. Yes. In making sure the family is assisted in the best way possible. That's great. so let's circle back to the, what's something that you love about Rush County? the one thing I love about Rush County is just a small hometown environment.

So you mentioned that earlier. Everybody knows everybody. Yes. And, that very much can be a blessing and a curse. Yes. because, you know, a lot of people think they know you and assume things about you that aren't true. Yeah. or they talk about you in a certain way. That, again, is not true. but the the one thing I love about the county is, you know, you see it at fair time.

all the county supporting all those children for age. I am a for h, club leader. And so just being able to see the community to be able to pour into those children, also, you know, in the case of a tragedy or, catastrophic event and how our county will pull together as there's many people in the county, you may never know, but if you need something, they're always going to be there.

Yeah. And you can't, if you're living in a big town like Miami, like, it's so there's so many people, but they're not. It's not a tight knit community like it is here. So, I'm glad that you didn't move to Miami, Jonathan. And then you came back here. we're glad to have you on our team, and I.

I really appreciate, you work for us because you're doing what I was doing, and it's nice to have, you doing that and doing an excellent job doing better than what I was doing. So I'm, I'm really glad to have you on our team, and I'm just, excited to see, I'm really excited when you guys can get your debt paid off.

And just to see that happiness and relief that, you guys will get from that. And I'm excited to watch your kids grow and just excited for your future at roofing. let's end it with tell us, like a fun fact or something quirky or. I mean, you have so many stories, Jonathan. You gotta think of something.

Oh, man. random fact or just. I mean, it can be anything but just something that's like. You have stories for days, Jonathan, I do, I have stories for, like, Charlotte gave me a heads up. Which one should I pick? No. let's see here. what? well, fun fact, so I love to travel. And so one thing in high school was actually, blessed with the opportunity to go with Indiana all star as a band, to, 12 different countries in Europe.

And so tour that and, that was only possible because of the support of the community. We did a lot of fundraisers for that. it was an expensive trip. Yeah. And, so because of the community support, I was able to attend that. And that was that's eye opening, you know, because you get to see places out and out of this world that, that's not in Rush County.

There's a bigger world out there. Yeah. And it's it's so even when you travel the United States, you see how different it truly is, just from East Coast to West Coast or down south, up north. but then when you go to another country, especially a third world country, as you know, you've done that to, how, how different it is.

And then you come back here and you're like, we are so blessed to live here, literally. And that's why I was having a conversation the other day with somebody, just the things that we take for granted every single day. And, you know, I get, as a parent, I get kind of frustrated because my kids are like, well, I don't want pizza.

you know, I'm like, well, there are people literally starving. Yes. Not only in this nation, but across the world, you know, and they would be thankful for a slice of pizza. Yeah. You know, and not only would they take that piece of pizza, but they would probably divide it to make sure other people had it. Yeah. You know, and but one thing I learned being in third world countries is people are so much happier.

Yeah. Like literally their happiness doesn't hinge on keeping up with the Joneses and all of that. it goes back to that whole identity thing, and they don't have that stress of, I gotta have the next the new iPhone, and I gotta pay my bills and I gotta, I mean, granted, I'm glad that I have a water bill and electric bill and all that, but, they don't have that weight on them to pay for a big house just to impress somebody.

Exactly. So, yeah, that is, truly eye opening when you see that, what instrument did you play? so I was on the drumline during marching season and then pit percussion. So mallets, drums, cymbals, all the fun stuff. I was, paying any more for a saxophone guy? Oh, really? Oh, no. My brother played saxophone, but.

Yeah. Perfect. Well, appreciate you coming on today, Jonathan. And, we're super excited that you're on our team. And, we just appreciate all your hard work. And we're excited to see, where are you and Krystal take the debt free journey. Absolutely. Thanks so much.