Hello KassSammons,
Thanks for reaching out to Apple Support Communities. We see you have some questions about using shared calendars, and we'd like to help. The following link may be able to assist, as it walks through steps with using shared calendars: Send invitations in Calendar on iPhone
Schedule an event without blocking your schedule
You can add an event to your calendar without having the timeframe appear as busy to others who send you invitations.
1) Tap the event, then tap Edit.
2) Tap Show As, then tap Free.
For Mac: Invite people to events in Calendar on Mac
If you don't see the setting/feature you're wanting in either link, we'd recommend leaving feedback about it here: Product Feedback
Regards.