Vow to Dream

Rachel unlocked a new level of motherhood by laying on the kitchen floor with her toddler while she was in pain and refused to be consoled.

Rachel and Ray share a big life change since you heard from them last.

Rachel and Ray are back after a winter break to talk about new year vibes, resolutions, goals and core desired feelings. Did you set any 2019 resolutions? Do you still remember what they are in February? We're vowing to dream ALL YEAR, not just in the dark, cold days of winter. But hey, if a new year gives you a fresh start and new energy, then leverage it to create action!

Today we're talking about the B word... budgets! Rachel and Ray tried all sorts of budgeting methods (including NOT budgeting) before they finally found something that works for them. In this episode, we're talking about their lightbulb moment, challenges along the way, and walking line-by-line through the categories and methods that work for them. Send your tips and ideas to hello@vowtodream.com or @vowtodream on your favorite platform and they'll share them on a future episode!

It's the craziest shopping time of the year. How can you navigate gift expectations, keep up with social events, and maybe even travel home for the holidays without totally blowing all the financial progress you made this year? Let's dive in!

Raymond joins Rachel at the gym for the first time in four-ish years... so, how'd it go? We're diving into what exercise looks like for us, things we've tried over the years, what keeps us motivated and moving, and how we're keeping healthy over the holidays. We'd love to hear your tips and tricks! Shoot them to us @vowtodream on your favorite platform. 

Our Halloween decorations are put away, our Christmas decorations are pulled out of the garage... :) October and December are our favorite months, so what is November good for? In today's episode, we discuss our excitement and challenges for this time of the year and a little bit about how we plan to make the next seven weeks great.

It’s Rachel’s birthday! We’re walking through her 30 by 30 list--30 things she wants to do before she turns 30. Do you have a bucket list? Goals you’re working on, meaning dreams with deadlines? Send them to us @vowtodream or using #vowtodream, we want to see what you’re dreaming up! And if not, what are you waiting for?!

If you needed a piano fixed... would you know who to call? Lauren and Raymond at Sharp's Repair have unusual but fascinating jobs. They own their own business tuning, repairing, transporting and restoring pianos. In this week's episode, we learned about how piano restoration is a dying art and why young people who choose to master it will have a job for life.  Please note, this episode contains a few adult expletives. 

There was a big thunderstorm Oct. 10, 2014. It was cold, dark, wet and not at all the beautiful fall weather Rachel and Ray dreamed of for their wedding day. But it didn’t matter! In this week’s episode, Rachel and Ray are diving into four lessons learned in four years of marriage with a whole lot of humor and adorable Rachel-Ray-ness.

What do you think, is there any merit to personality tests? Is there any merit AT ALL to the free ones online? Rachel and Ray find out and dive into their results in this week's episode. Want to join in the fun? Take the test at 16Personalities.com, share your results with us on social media (don't forget to tag @vowtodream so we see it!), and tell us if it's legit or not.

Stress has taken a serious physical and emotional toll on us over the last year. We can’t avoid it, so how can we get better at it? In fact, can it actually be good for us? Find the full show notes at www.vowtodream.com and connect with us @vowtodream on your favorite social platform to tell us what you think. Vow to Dream Facebook Vow to Dream Instagram Vow to Dream Twitter

Are you wanting to change careers but not sure how to actually do that? Feeling like your current job isn’t quite right, but not sure what to do next? We get that. Ray recently made a drastic career change and has never been happier at work--but it didn’t happen overnight. In this episode, we dive into what steps he took to make a change, how he decided to take the leap from something safe to something unknown and why he’s excited about the future. Find us on your favorite social platform @vowtodream and tell us your story if you recently made a move or you’re struggling to take that step.

We met Jordan and Sam Page three years ago when the stars aligned at Rachel’s workplace. They’ve been inspiring us ever since. At that time, Jordan and Sam were new(ish) back in Wichita after living elsewhere for school… and they knew it was temporary. It was only a matter of time before they figured out a way to hit the road. That time came almost a year ago when Jordan secured her dream job, which allows her to work from anywhere with wifi. They started researching tiny homes on wheels, bought a used school bus and got to work. Nine months later, their new home is finished and it’s time for them to hit the road. We had to grab them for an interview before saying goodbye. You can follow their journey on Facebook or Instagram @PagingAdventure. We can’t wait to see where Addie the Adventure bus takes them? And of course, you can find us @vowtodream on your chosen platform. Let us know what you think or what YOUR big dream is!

How many marriages end in divorce because of endless fights over where to eat dinner? We have no idea, but we’re guessing it’s a lot. We have to eat, but why does it have to be so stressful? Our eating habits have drastically changed over time. There was a season where we ate at McDonald's every single day, and now, Rachel won’t go near one. If you fail to plan your food you plan to fail. It will wreck your diet, budget and attitude. The cubicle cincuenta will be a real thing. Listen in on today’s episode to learn more about how Rachel and Ray have navigated hangry weeknights. What ideas do you have? Share them with us so we can share them with the show. Reach out @vowtodream on every social platform or hello@vowtodream.com. We hope you’ll subscribe and leave us a review on iTunes or Facebook to help us get started! Mentioned resources: Whole30 Blue Apron Hello Fresh Real Plans Freshly (referral link)

Three years ago we were drowning in credit card debt. It felt like we were never making progress on our balances and the totals kept going up instead of down. We kept asking, “how did we get here? How can we get OUT?” Things felt like they were totally spinning out of control. We were paying our bills but we didn’t have a strategy in place to make our money work for us. So we figured out a way to take control and make our money work for us. So, over the last twelve months, we paid off over $12,000 in credit card debt. (Grab a free PDF of 5 Resources to Help You Pay off Debt here.) But to be totally transparent with you, we still have a ways to go. Hey, judge us if you want, but if you’re here you can probably relate. Maybe you have more, maybe you have less, maybe it doesn’t matter how much you’re carrying around if you haven’t been successful in getting rid of it. Or maybe it’s a different kind of debt, and that’s okay too. Debt and financial anxiety is a hot topic at Vow to Dream because it’s the number one thing that keeps people from dreaming. That’s why we put together the five resources that helped us get started on our debt free journey and exactly. Here’s a hint--it started by figuring out a budget we would actually look at. Grab it at www.vowtodream.com.  We would love to hear what you’re struggling with so we can share our experiences and ask other listeners for help. Maybe we can find an expert to come on the show and help! Connect with us on social media @vowtodream on your favorite platform or send us an email to hello@vowtodream.com and tell us what you’re struggling with. Would you also hit subscribe and consider leaving us a review to help us get started? It makes a BIG difference in our ability to share the show with people who could benefit from hearing it. Resources: 5 Resources to Help You Pay off Debt Dave Ramsey, Total Money Makeover Financial Peace University Learnvest One Number Strategy Rachel’s skincare business Map Your Progress YNAB: You Need A Budget (referral link)

  Welcome to Vow to Dream, where we understand the struggle IS real. We’re Rachel and Ray, midwest millennials navigating work, relationships, money and where to eat dinner. We’re thrilled you’re joining us for our launch episode. We know how hard it is to dream when it feels like debt and anxiety are controlling your life. That’s why we’re here--to make sure that we and you never stop dreaming. Vow to Dream is our creative project to document how the struggle IS real for millennials and what we’re doing to overcome it, or at least survive it. We’re sharing more about our debt free journey, career lessons and changes, how to make friends as an adult, what we’ve learned about marriage so far, and inspirational stories about big young dreamers. You can find us @vowtodream or @rayapollo and @visionaryrachel on your favorite social platforms or send us an email at hello@vowtodream.com. Connect with us and tell us you’re listening! We would love to hear what you think of our launch episodes and how we can help you in the future. We hope you’ll hit subscribe, stick around and leave us a review to help us get started. We’re grateful and honored to have you on this journey with us.