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Archive for July, 2020

An update

July 23rd, 2020 at 03:43 am

I was able to bring down the mortgage principal balance to $158,902.45 this month. I doubt very much that I'll add any more money to the principal this month and August may be a bit too tight. Come September, I am hoping to do more since I'll be working by then.

I finally came up with a bare bones budget ($3670). We have enough savings to cover our bare necessities for at least 12 months and 6 months of mortgage payments for our rental properties. I will continue to add money to our savings in smaller quantity as our priority right now is to pay off our four walls and continue with my retirement contributions.

I also continue to stock up on can goods, toiletries, rice and beans just in case. No directives yet as to how our state will reopen schools in September. Our school district promised that we should know by August 4th. Let's see what happens.

Porch

July 18th, 2020 at 02:41 am

Porch has been replaced. The final cost was about $4,400 with $2600 was labor. We are happy with the result. Husband painted the porch beams today since we did not replaced these. They were in excellent shape. Here are some pictures of the end result. We still have to paint the trellis and landscape a bit.







Mortgage/Home renovations

July 15th, 2020 at 03:20 pm

Home renovations:

Central AC complete installation-$10K
This is a welcoming "want". We are attempting to make our lives more enjoyable as we no longer have to sacrifice so much in life.

Front porch deck replacement- $5K
We decided to use "trex" decking material. It's more expensive but extremely durable.
This is a "need". We uncovered a badly constructed porch frame and an electrical receptacle just hanging under the decking. Frown

This will conclude home renovations for a while. We want to do a few more things but minor in nature.

Total: $15K paid in full using cash

Mortgage Payoff Extravaganza:

We took half of our savings to pay down our mortgage quite a bit. We added smaller sums and we are making tons of progress. We shaved 156 months from the life of the mortgage. Hoping to be mortgage-free at the end of 2024.

Comparison

July 3rd, 2020 at 02:15 am

This month is the beginning of a new financial goal for us; mortgage principal pay down. I've formulated a plan to meet this goal in 5 years, but hopefully in less time.

If we were to pay our mortgage with no extra principal payment, we will pay $192K in interest at the end of the 30 year term. With our 5 year plan, we will pay $56K in interest. Hopefully, we can crush this sucker in less time but funding retirement and taking a one week vacation is a priority as well.

I am definitely inspired to reach this goal before my 55th birthday.