here's a bit about me

My name is Melissa Mittelstaedt (pronounced Middle-Stat), easier said than spelled. It is my married last name so I’ve only dealt with it for seven years, thank God. My sister-in-law, on the other hand, no wonder she’s so smart. Her last name growing up contained half the alphabet.

I am the owner of MelissaMitt. I am a budgeting expert. I am a certified sign language interpreter. I am bilingual, thanks to some amazingly patient and kind members of the Iowa & Minnesota Deaf communities, incredible teachers, out of this world mentors, supportive classmates, and top-notch colleagues.

I grew up on a farm in Winchestertonfieldville, Iowa (name that movie anyone?). I graduated with 44 kids in my class. I was either #3 or #4… (I can’t remember if I have been lying to myself for the last [ahem] years about graduating Top 3 of my class.) I have degrees in Business Administration and Sign Language Interpretation/Transliteration. If you want to know the difference between those two words, I’d love to chat. I could talk interpreting all day… don’t test me on that one, you might be sorry. I got my undergraduate degree in Iowa. I went back to school to become an interpreter in Minnesota; I got my associate’s degree in interpreting (they didn’t have a master’s option and I wasn’t going to pay for another B.A. dammit!).

Other than budgeting and interpreting here is a list of things I love in no particular order: baseball (okay, maybe that one is first), traveling the world, playing volleyball, dancing, signing in my car (NOT karaoke), my cat Linus, my turtle Leo, interior decorating, trying new restaurants, paragliding in the Swiss Alps (petrifying but O.M.G), being on a lake, driving Gma’s pontoon, playing darts, going to the salon (they make me fill like a bad-ass queen in Minneapolis. Shout out to Benjamin and Annabelle!), high-end vodka (yes, I budget for that)… I could go on and on. I’ll stop there for now.

PS: you may notice that I left people off of this list. It’s not because I don’t love them, it’s because I love so many of them!

My husband and I bought an RV (it's a Fifth Wheel for all you camping nerds out there!) and started traveling around the US. It has been our dream to be snowbirds since we were married seven years ago, and now we are, thanks to debt-free living!! We still call Minnesota home, but we love our life on the road. New places to visit, new restaurants to try, and... ahhhhh, the warm weather. One thing that has been harder than I thought, finding buds to hangout with. I need to find a 30-something camping club (but not with tents, those kind of people are way too serious about nature for me!). If you have any insider info I'd be forever grateful!

I’ve held various jobs over the last fifteen odd years. I have worked in service industries, in education of all levels, in interpreting agencies, in video relay service, I’ve worked a 7a-4p, 9 to 5s, freelancing from 4a-midnight. I’ve loved it all. Now is the time for a big transition.

I started MelissaMitt because I struggled with money early on in my career. It had this power over me. I wanted to be free and found a path that has been working for the past ten years. If I can prevent anyone from 10 years of agony… hell yes, I’m in.

Here’s to you!

~Melissa

Profile picture credit: Benjamin Rodich, Stylist

#budgeting #budgetinglife #freelancers