Debts December 31, 2013 until present

December 31, 2013
Sewer collapse loan  $7,091.93   8.9%

Truck loan $7,535.62   3.69%

Car loan  $9,903.01    2.49%

Money/lock Studio $4,240.68

House loan $97,915.08  3.36% Pay off in less than 2 years Christmas of 2016 when hubby retires at 65, he is now 63.

Wow look at that above statement.  What a dreamer!
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It is January2016 and we still owe $72,996.00 on the house and a myriad of smaller bills.

January of 2017  we did remodel the kitchen and dining room which increased the value of our house by about $35,000   but took on many little bills.  This is frustrating and I am working hard at getting better with my money.  Our House is down to $61,139.00.  So that is great news and we are getting there.
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January  of 2018 we owe $47,766.90 on the house. We still have a myriad of other bills but they are getting smaller and I am getting smarter!  I want to see this house loan be the only thing we owe money on by 2019.

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January of 2019 we owe $29, 902.88 on our house and we did purchase a new car in Jun of 2018 due to me not being able to drive a stick safely.  We owe $20,340.00 at 0% interest.

So I was pretty tickled about being able to reach the goal of having everything paid off except the house.

I am going to work hard to get the house paid off and some other bills that I accrued  at Christmas.  This won't take long and then try and be really smart about staying out of debt and adding to savings.
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January  2020  The house was paid off in November of last year and We still have a car payment and a small home improvement loan. We are selling our large house and downsizing. Let's hope by this time next year we are truly debt free and in a good place.

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January 2021

Well I did accomplish one major goal this year and that was to downsize and buy a smaller house.  It was a real struggle as the real estate market took a nasty turn and we purchased a house that was 1/2 the size of our old one but also about $65,000 more expensive, putting us back into a mortgage. Plus we added debts with the house purchase.  I do not regret this as the old house was 65 years old with a load of expensive problems.  The yard was steep and the yard work was never ending.  Water is extremely high here and our water bill could run anywhere from $350.00 to $400.00 a month in the summer. Hubs fell a couple of times while mowing the steep back yard.  He has a Parkinson's type condition with tremors and his balance is not the best.  Something had to be done.  We are on one level now.  Our utilities are less than 1/2 what they were in the old place.  Our yard work is minimal.  We will have a garden and flower pots but no large flowerbeds like we had before. We have no large trees around our place so virtually no raking.  We did over 100 bags at the old place plus truckloads of trimming at least twice a year.  We actually pay a little over $500.00 less a month to maintain this house and that will certainly add up over the years.

My goal this year is to get rid of all smaller debts but the house loan, which I hope to be able to lower by $25,000.  We will see.  I am a lot better at saving money than I used to be, and I need nothing.  

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January 2022

It was a bomb of the year as far as the house was concerned,but this year I plan on not letting that happen.

We traveled a lot and I spent my money on travel that I could have put toward the house.  I do not regret it. I would do it again.

Hub's condition will continue to get worse and I am not going to sit in this house and pay down the debt without him experiencing the things he wants to in life.

But I am going to be a little more reasonable.

We had deaths at the end of the year that racked up some bills.  Dad's funeral alone with the trips and hotels, and food was well over $1000.00 in October

The deaths of my niece and nephew also cost around $1000.00 in Nov/Dec but I do not regret the help I gave my nephew and would do it again.

We also purchased a new to us pickup truck that can pull a trailer for hub's 4-wheeler that he paid cash for this fall. Our truck that was paid for was a stick and I was having trouble driving it with my arthritis. I almost booked it in the middle of a busy intersection trying to shift when my right arm was in a flare. Safety first and we traded in our old truck for an automatic.  We got way more than the asking price for our old truck, probably because it had such low miles and of course brand new tires and was well taken care of. We also got a really good deal on the new one that was a lease return.  I think we just got licky.

Do I regret this?  Yeah a little but move forward, onward and upward my friends.

5 comments:

  1. Wow Kim! Good for you. Remember (and repeat when necessary), slow & steady. Just keep plugging away. Again, congradulations.

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  3. Well done Kim.
    People have a sort of 'knowing-doing' gap when it comes to debt.
    They know what they have to do, but fear doing it.
    The fact that you are conscious of it, is great.
    And believe it or not, you now have the habits for wealth accumulation, piece by piece, week by week.

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  4. I love your blog. Please tell me where you just began as I very much would like to know. Any help would be appreciated.

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  5. Since the credit card loans (sidebar) have high interest, would it be sensible to tackle those before increasing principle payments on the house?

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