This is my first entry into my first blog.

I have a simple goal. Pay off our mortgage as fast as I can and try anything/everything(within the law that is) to accomplish this goal. My two children, age 12 and 16 have "volunteered" to help...they don't know about having volunteered yet. I will break the news to them this evening hope they don't rebel too much.

Our mortgage is HUGE. Moving to and living in an expensive area of the country, where half-a-million dollars will buy you a "fixer upper" (really!) is a challenge. We were lucky to have bought our fixer-upper just over a year ago, because there is no way we can afford this house at today's price.

Good thing I don't have a "real" job. I'm just a stay at home mom and it's been wonderful. What's more wonderful is that both my children are basically on autopilot being raised! I have some time on my hands to work this new venture.

My plan: Save by tightening up on all the things that have loosened up over the years, such as eating out - a big weakness with me. Clip coupons, shop at Sam's and Cosco for everyday type items. Pour over our bills and look for things that we don't use much (such as telephone premium service) and cut them. Clean out my storage...there's a LOT of work there as we moved from a house with over 4000sft to a house about half the size. Good news is, some of this cleaning out should translate into $$$. Sell a few things on eBay...kind of like following the $20 to $5000 challenge. Enlist "donations" of things to sell from family members...who would end up throwing these things away in the end...which they do all the time...we can instead share the money.

The house:
So far, in the last year, we've gutted the kitchen and dining room and re-built both rooms. They turned out beautifully. It was hard to live without sink and burners for two months, but it was worth it in the end. I never thought I'd be sick of BBQ! Just like the houses, contractors are also ridiculous in terms of cost. They sure do think highly of themselves around here! Hence, we did the work ourselves...with the help of a plumber who worked the necessary plumbing and gas line work (ended up saving a FORTUNE). So, now we have left to gut and rebuild the three TINY, TINY bathrooms, three bedrooms, hallway and basement, tear down and re-build the deck, re-roof, re-grade the yard and landscape...should be a 5 year project....how depressing...upside is, the house should be a knockout when we're done.

THE number: We still owe $405k and change. We pay $1000/month beyond the interest payments for paying down the principle. My goal is to send in everything I can SAVE towards that principle. This goal is to be realized without touching the regular amount of money we pay ourselves each month into our 401k, roth IRAs and college funds.

I realize that this may not be the best way to grow our net worth, but I am willing sacrafice that for some peace of mind and own the house we live in outright. Money never did buy me happiness but it will buy me some piece of mind. Besides, there is works in DC right now to limit how much mortgage interest we can deduct and $405k is ABOVE the proposed limit.


This week's goal:
- plan menu for the next 7 days and go shopping with list in hand.
- paint the baseboards in garage (to be used in dining/living rooms)
- prepare 20 things to list on eBay (mostly clothes the kids outgrew)
- find a solution to our high phone bills, which I've been meaning to do for a while.


Mortgage amount: $405,760
November's principle: $1000 (hope to increase this number in December)

Please excuse the errors in grammar. English is not my first language and I find it difficult to keep proper grammar from time to time.