At our absolute worst (sometime in 2008), we had approximately 305,200 of debt. And then came the spreadsheet...the spreadsheet of life :P. I created a budget and we stuck to it. We got serious about our finances in June '08 and haven't looked back since. There's been a number of car mishaps and stupid mistakes along the way, but as of today we owe 254,555. That's over 50k in debt GONE!!!

** Just to clarify, I'm counting principal paid to mortgages as well. Mortgage refinance has caused our loan amount to actually increase since we started, but now we've got a MUCH better interest rate and a 15 year shorter term so we really started making progress in the last year.

I keep trying to figure out how much will I owe tax wise for redeeming a series hh bond that was openned by my grandfather years ago. Upon his death he had my name written in as owner. I redeemed the 3 bonds (5k each) and the deferred interest (about 2250), but I'm wondering how taxes work. Do I pay taxes on the full 17,250 or just on the deferred interest?? Just trying to prepare for 2011 tax time!! Any help is appreciated!

So I'm taking to this new way of debt payoff. In the past I always left a very small cushion in my checking ($100-200) and then I would throw every last dime at my debt assuming that a large cashflow would absorb most of the damage if an emergency came up. That was stupid. It left me stressed all the time!

Now I save up all the money and then some in my account and throw it at the debt when I can pay in full. I do end up paying a bit more interest in the end, but peace of mind sure is worth something! I've currently got over 1k sitting earmarked for my student loan. Friday's paycheck will be very nice to us, and I'm currently estimating we can have the student loan paid off at the end of January. Woohoo!!

I'm hoping to have my $210 check late next week! That money will be put to good use finishing up the giant hole in our master bedroom ceiling. I wanted access to our attic and I thought what better than to also get a cathedral ceiling in my bedroom at the same time! :P So yeah, that's one of T's gifts to me for my birthday. Yep, my birthday was 3 months ago but that's another story. I actually don't mind staying in the spare bedroom for now. It's almost like a vacation haha. I had originally put aside 500 for the job, but T's telling me he thinks it'll cost closer to 1k because insulation was higher than he expected. So with this 200 that'll put us up to 700, and I'm hoping I can find someplace in our budget to get the rest of the money. We'll see..

Once our mortgage is deducted next Thursday we will officially be over the 50k mark!! The breakdown is...



The above numbers might be a little confusing since there were two refinances thrown in there (which actually made our mortgage go up for a time) and multiple car mishaps.

My grandpa left me a bond which helped tremendously, but the other 38k was blood, sweat, and tears!! Now to hit that 50k milestone and keep plugging along until I pay off my student loan (I'm planning for less than 6 months?!)

So ever since I started getting serious about paying off debt I've become more and more focused on what *really* matters in my life. When my daughter was born it was the final tipping point for me to realize that stuff is just stuff and I honestly don't care about any of it anymore.

My current home is small. 1250 square feet with a 300ish sq foot mostly finished basement. We have 3 bedrooms and 1 full bath (no half baths). I always thought I needed a bigger home. I was a little ashamed of our house and what people might think. But over the years I've come to appreciate it's size. It's still not our perfect home; I really need a half bath on the main floor and the layout is less than ideal. Our master bedroom is Way too big. Our main living space is not open enough between the kitchen/dining room/living room. There's a lot of awkward, not very usable space.

I love the idea of the tiny home. You come to realize it's all about the layout and design of the home and not the square footage. I'm always reading about the tumbleweed tiny houses and other people who build their homes from scratch on trailers. It's so refreshing to see people not consumed with money, status, and showing off. While I can appreciate the tiny home my ideal home is probably more like 1500 square feet and a ranch. A large open kitchen/dining room/living room, 1 full bath, a laundry room, and 3 small bedrooms. Maybe my opinion will change when my daughter gets a bit older?? Or if we decide to have one more?? I don't know; I think I've finally reached a good point in my life where I know what truly matters to me. Now if only I had known this back before we bought our first house we would've made sure to go to a good school district and get a house with a nice sized yard and room for a useable garage for T. Ohhh well, hindsight is 20/20!! Luckily we've got a little while before G starts school..I'll keep daydreaming in the meantime..