PAYCHECK TO PAYCHECK

Course in life lessons

The struggle to make ends meet in Centre CountyYoung family balances parenting with college classes

Chris Rosenblum

HOWARD — Eli and Elizabeth Halterman straddle two worlds, and the reason just learned to walk.

Both 22, the Haltermans go to college, study for tests and aspire to careers. They’re also married and parents, balancing their coursework with caring for their 1-year-old son, Liam, and living independently on a tight income.

If all goes to plan, Eli will become an accountant and Elizabeth a registered nurse, and they’ll begin to pay off $40,000 in student loans.

But for now, because of an unplanned pregnancy, they’re learning life lessons unknown to most undergraduates their age.

“We’ve both grown up,” Eli said. They were high school sweethearts from the Bald Eagle Valley who played collegiate sports — football at Clarion University for him, soccer at Milligan College for her.

At the end of their sophomore years came the shock. After soul-searching, they knew they could neither abort nor give up their child. One choice led to another. In July 2006, they wed.

“I guess after a couple of months we wanted his mother and father to be in the same house together,” Eli said.

They moved back to Bald Eagle Valley and settled in a cozy, second-floor apartment at the end of a quiet street in her native Howard. Left behind were sports, youthful ways, old travel dreams — at first missed, then dismissed, as they looked ahead.

“That’s life,” Elizabeth Halterman said. “You can’t fret about it.”

He enrolled at Lock Haven University to study accounting, and she took a year off to have Liam and work in a Bellefonte doctor’s office. This fall, she’s in the nursing program at Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport.

About $14,000 — two-thirds of their expected income for the eight-month school year — will come from refunded portions of their student loans that would have paid for their room and board.

During last summer vacation, Eli worked two jobs to earn almost $1,200, interning at the Bald Eagle Area School District’s business office but also cleaning stables.

For cleaning a doctor’s office on Saturdays, they hope to earn another $1,200. They’re also counting on about $1,400 from jobs during holiday breaks and an estimated $3,500 from state and federal tax refunds.

Some of their monthly expenses they must pay — the $400 rent that includes water, $80 for electricity, $180 for car and renters insurance and $125 loan payments on a 1999 Nissan Altima. Their income qualifies them for low-cost health insurance through the state.

By choice, they shell out $90 for cable TV, $80 for cell phones, $13 for satellite radio and $12 for a video store membership. But otherwise, they live modestly. Wedding gifts and yard sales furnish much of their home. Their Saturday checks are set aside for textbooks, a birthday party for Liam, Christmas and any emergencies.

And in this age of credit, they pay cash. Always.

With no cards, they take out bills from envelopes earmarked for household supplies and gas. That way, they watch their spending and stay out of debt. They even have a “fun” envelope for occasional treats such as dinner out.

Eli thanks Elizabeth’s father for his financial advice.

“He has always pounded into our heads: You live within your means,” he said.

So far, the Haltermans also have balanced their time wisely. They squeeze in their studying and assignments between classes or late at night.

“Our goal is to try to do all our work when he’s sleeping so we can spend as much time with him,” Elizabeth Halterman said.

Before heading their separate ways to class, they take Liam to Elizabeth’s mother nearby — a lucky break, and they know it.

“We wouldn’t have enough money if we had to pay for day care,” Elizabeth Halterman said.

To cover big items, they’ve sacrificed little ones.

Both have put off dental checkups. Because of rising gas prices, which have made their transportation envelopes slimmer, Eli limited himself to one Clarion football game this fall. Neither the steaks he enjoys nor the clothes shopping she loves fit into their budget now. She sold off treasured purses online.

This Christmas, they decided not to exchange gifts.

“We definitely have to watch every penny we spend right now,” Eli said.

It won’t always be this way, they hope. Eli will graduate a year from now; Elizabeth in spring 2009. Together, they dream of years to come, of earning more and rising in life. Until then, they rely on their religious faith, hard work and careful planning to see them through their temporary crunch.

And if they’re ever feeling down, the little guy toddling around reminds them of their true wealth.

“I think God has really blessed us since we chose to do the right thing,” Eli said.

Chris Rosenblum can be reached at 231-4620.