Debt Free Coundown

I pasted this from my old blog so I can update it here.

2006-06-17 - 12:52 p.m.

To be or not to be Debt free

$29,721.22 in debt we couldn’t believe it, and that was not counting our mortgage loan. How did we get that much in debt? Is this common I thought? Most people have two car loans and smaller loans, most people had credit cards I didn’t want to be like most people!

I was tired of scrapping for money even for a soda, being scared to answer the phone, not being able to go out and eat at a restaurant cause we didn’t have the money, putting our vacations if any one credit cards. I hated it.

Right before Christmas I was at a flea market and found these children’s book I knew was classics from being a library tech for years. I bought these books for $5.00 cleaned them up did some research on Ebay and sold them for $137.00! With that money I happily bought my husband for Christmas a satellite radio to use on his long trip to work each morning.

During one of his trips he listened to a show called, “Dave Ramsey” he went out to get the books read them, and then introduced me to Dave, I was hooked too. Can we go through life without no debt? Wasn’t it the norm to have credit cards and debt? Can we retire really comfortable on just what he makes now?

We were 40yrs old, was it too late to start? We did some calculations and were amazed that yes we could do this, and so much more. The thought of not having no more bills to pay to have a nice chunk of savings money for emergency warmed this moms heart completely. All a mom wants is a home and security for her family. I want to feel safe. Hubby wants to be a good provider for his family this seemed like the ideal plan.

While everyone was doing the quick rich schemes of buying an old house and fixing it up we started paying off our debt and stop making any new ones. We didn’t go on vacations, we used our bonus or any extra money we got to pay off stuff, we changed how we got taxes back so we wont be paying the governent to use our money instead we got extra each month to pay off our debt. After three months we looked back and saw what we had done. One major loan was gone, both cars were paid in full! I can’t believe the cars are ours!

By the next month we had caught up on all the other smaller bills that were overdue and we had $1000 in savings account just sitting there. No one was calling us for over due bills, I actually enjoyed answering the phone now hahaha. >

Right about the same time before Christmas a property development offered to buy our $150,000- 75 acre ranch. We loved our ranch we had lived in it for a few years now, we had high hopes for it.

However with the cost of trying to maintain it and hubby already working full time and I was a full time stay at home mom it was hard to do and we were stretching just to make our $1200 monthly payment with all the other bills. After a few years we were only paying the interest of the loan. It didn’t feel like ours.

For months we had heard them bulldozing around our property on a 400 acre neighbor ranch. I knew deep in my heart they had sold out to developers. We dreaded the small one acre property’s popping up around us and loose dogs everywhere and people wondering into our property.

Sure enough one day they came to us wanting to buy our property. They offered us a really good amount of money. Enough to pay off the current ranch and put down on another, we talked about it and I started hitting the local websites for another ranch just in case we decided to do this. We then looked at our current bills and was surprised to see our debt. We prayed about it, we talked some more, we had been reading Dave Ramsey by now and listening to his shows he made us realize it was just material the land and the house it wasnt the only one out there, we could downsize we could find another place it was ok. We could let go.

In the end we did do it, we downsized and found this beautiful 15 acre property near other farmers and homesteaders with the same amount of acres as ours. I don’t mind neighbors I just want them to be like me, and not have party’s every weekend and radios blaring every day. Our neighbors raised goats and chickens just like us they were great!

It had two houses one for us and one for my parents that I promised when I was younger I would help take care of them, I am so glad for the extra house too cause God works in mysterious ways. My mom had got cancer that year and they were able to retire and we were able to help them out being so close I could help keep an eye on them. My beautiful mother passed away this June 2007 but I am so happy she was able to live in our little cottage house for awhile and enjoy it picking her beloved pecans. Now we are helping take care of my dad and I am so glad he is close by, we help take care of each other.

I loved the neighbors the 60 plus pecan trees, the barns and outbuildings, the water well and canal and city water!

We were able to pay $100,000 down on our mortgage of the $165,000 loan and get a good mortgage rate so our mortgage payment went down from $1200 a month to $600 a month!

The savings account money just thrilled me I wanted more! Now each month hubby and I go to the computer and eagerly put down the new balances for our loans and watch our debt go down. I can not wait for the day that we can call up the Dave Ramsey show and scream like all the others before us, “WE ARE DEBT FREE!!!!!”

I can’t wait to call my credit company up and say GOODBYE! I can’t wait too tell a clerk who offers me a credit card, “No thanks I am debt free and loving it! hahaha


Update: Its been 11months now and I have updated a bit on this page. I have to admit it has not been easy, there has been days where I was crying cause I am disgusted with our carpet or in embarased cause my company has to sit in a sofa that it slinks down when they sit cause the springs are broken. I envy people going on vacations or shopping just for fun and I can't. In the long run its going to pay off. I keep thinking in my head about the ants and the grasshopper story. I am so blessed that I have a hubby that is patient with me and is on the same goals. At the same time we are teaching our kids and we are hoping they too will learn these new money saving skills as they grow older. We dont want to teach them bad money habits. thank you Lord

Update: Jan/2/08 Its been 2 years now and 1 month coming up in Feb- Gosh what can I say its been two long years but yes we are still doing the Dave Ramsey thing and we have strayed a few times, we have gotten plenty frustrated when the cars break down for the 8th time, when we have to pay for broken appliance or have to call in a plumber or someone else because we couldnt fix it ourselfs.

Stressed out we finally took some money and headed for the beach this end of summer for a much needed mini vacation weekend with the kids. After losing my mother this June its been a heart breaking long summer. We took over my fathers utility bills where he stays at on our property so he wouldnt have to worry about it and i was afraid he might forget to pay it and it would go off on him my mom used to take care of that, At least this way I know he has a roof over his head, food to eat and warmth or coolness in the house. We also pay for his cell phone line so we can keep track of him its attached to our plan. This however slowed us down on paying for off our debt. My heart filled with love for my husband when he agreed to do this without even blinking. Am I lucky or what to have such a loving caring spouse who helps me take care of my parents.

My dad in turn though has helped us with the farm so much helping me keep the property clean and fixing up the cottage that is going to be ours someday. We wouldnt have been able to fix it up for years if they didnt move in. Anyways we are almost at the end of our journey. My husband is blessed to be working for a company that gives us a yearly bonus sometimes. We have been holding our breath to see how much we are going to get to pay off our tractor loan to be debt free. I just heard yesterday we are going to get it, how much we wont know till end of Feb so we are waiting. Meanwhile we will need a lawn mower tractor before spring . The good thing is our emergency fund is up to $2,000 now.

Feb 21, 2008

WE ARE DEBT FREE!

I make one final payment today for my daughters braces and our tractor payment is on its way it took us 2years and one month but we are finally DEBT FREE!!!!!

Once we pay off our tractor we are finished with baby step 2 and on to baby step 3 which is doing a 6 month emergency plan, then the other baby steps which I will list later.

Plus we are saving up for our Alaska trip in July for our 20th annivesary trip. We have to take July because its when my husbands mother can watch the kids for us. I will let you know what happens next month.

March 2008

We are on baby step 3 now saving up our emergency fund for 3 months. I didnt buy myself a new sofa but I did buy a used one at my favorite flea market for $35. Its big enough for me and the kids to lay on together it will do for now till I get the one I really want. We went thrift store shopping for clothes for me and the kids we needed clothes for Church we have started to go back to church because we feel so blessed. I bought two new shirts for my husband to wear and 4 outfits each for me and the kids. We did look around at other stores for clothes but we just dont like the style they have out this year. 60's look.

We decided with summer coming around the corner we are not doing the Alaska trip instead we hope to take a weekend trip to San Diego for our annivesary then later in Oct maybe take a Disney world tour in Florida with the kids. Havent decided if we are driving or flying.

Sam

Another Year of trying to lose weight

Well I had seen a picture of me from my uncles camera the other day and I was in shock and almost turned to tears. I looked horrible sideways. You might say well most people look horrible sideways :) well.... Most people think they are overweight when they are not. I know for a fact by looking at my weight, heights that I am over the healthy limit is a nice way to put it.

So starting Tuesday I started to exercise at the gym again and I bought some healthy foods, snacks for us at home. I made mini bags of snacks which is shown above. Some bags have low cal yogurt pretzel, low cal figs, rice cakes. I did over 10,000 steps yesterday I was going to do some home exercise but I was just really sore.

I looked up my old email address and found an old place I used to go for weight loss stuff. Its really improved through the years its called "Sparks Page" http://www.sparkpeople.com/ I can add my weight, food, exercise logs into it. The best part is its Free!

This morning I walked with my sister and did over 5000 steps. I have to do 10,000 to maintain my weight and if I want to lose I need to go over 10,000.

Wish me luck

Sam

Frugal Unit Studies

Frugal Unit Studies

Here is a list of my favorite Unit Studies Sites. I love Unit Studies and use them a lot in my Movie Unit studies. Please feel free to add some that I have missed to the comments page.

What are Unit Studies?
Has a great article on it:

Love at home: http://www.loveathome.com/homeschool/frugal.htm

Homeschool world: http://www.home-school.com/Articles/phs18-kymwright.html
EHOW: http://www.ehow.com/how_2142035_develop-homeschool-unit-study.html
Fun Schooling great list of what to do: http://happyhomeschool.familyclassroom.net/Archives/Geography/Country.shtml

Chat groups on Unit Studies:
Here are some Yahoo group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Unit_studies/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/unit_study_collaborative/

Main sites for Unit Studies:
Unit Safari Christian based: http://www.homeschoolingonashoestring.com/unit-safari.html
Directory of unit Studies: http://www.thefourwheelers.com/units.php
About.com State Unit Study: http://homeschooling.about.com/cs/unitssubjgeog/a/susindex.htm http://homeschooling.about.com/od/unitonline/Online_Unit_Study_Directory.htm
Homeschool Mom: http://www.thehomeschoolmom.com/schoolroom/unitstudies.php
Easy fun school check out their email newsletter too: http://www.easyfunschool.com/IndexUnitStudies.html
Unit Study site map: http://www.waldsfe.org/UnitStudies/ussitemap.htm

Pay sites for Unit Studies:
Everything Homeschooling: Monthly Thematic Studies! http://www.everythinghomeschooling.com/
High Lights of Homeschooling: http://www.hshighlights.com/

Videos/Media for Unit Studies:
Expert Village: http://homegarden.expertvillage.com/videos/homeschooling-unit-studies.htm
Youtube example Electricity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dmzzZsC-kM