Since I have had some large vet bills and last month's $1,000 A/C repair bill for on my rental property, I decided to reduce my monthly extra mortgage payment from $1,200 to $800 this month. I need to make my maintenance/dog/auto fund grow back to a more comfortable $3K level. It shouldn't be too hard unless I can't resist going ahead with all of the projects that are floating around in my head for my property.
Extra payment: $800
New mortgage total: $28,138
Pay-off time at $1,200 extra/m: 1 year and 7 months
The weather is a little cooler now and I could be painting and building steps and putting up gutters and buying more water collection tanks, and.... No. I don't need it yet. But every time I get a $10 off $100 coupon from Home Depot, I want to BUY more stuff! The only things I should do out there don't involve money. I already bought the paint so I could do that. I also need to put up address signs so that the building inspector can find the place for my final inspection. If you remember, the last time I called for the final inspection (I think it was last May or June), the inspector said he couldn't find it. I guess he doesn't know how to use Google maps. I will try to make it as easy as possible for him this time since I want to pass the inspection and close the permit until I am ready to add electric to my barn-shed later on.
My nephew is visiting my sister in California for the next week and a half. Last weekend I took him to get a free haircut from the high school hair cutting class. It turned out pretty good. Then to test out Allegra allergy medicine with the cats at the shelter. It worked! After an hour, there was no reaction. Then to the thrift store to buy two dress shirts because he grew out of his except for his white one and I want him to have other color choices, plus, I am hoping my sister will take some senior photos of him while he is there so that we can include them in his graduation announcements.
His Monday flight was delayed an hour and then 10 more minutes, and then 10 more, prompting me to call Southwest to make sure he wouldn't be stuck in Denver overnight if he missed his connection. The airline replaced the plane for his flight which improved the time to only 1 hour late and he was able to make his connection without incident. My brain is decompressing while I have this break from being guardian of a human being. I'm not totally off-duty though. I added minutes to his Tracfone, scheduled a windshield replacement on the truck that he drives, just sent in his college registration fee and we will be filling out his Federal financial aid form by Skype this weekend. We keep moving towards the college goal little by little.
5 comments:
Bless you, Daizy - you are doing all you can for your nephew, and working so diligently for his success. Sweet boy - he's fortunate to have you and your sister. I love my nephews and I can't imagine them not having their mom, though like you I'd do anything I could for them. I think you're doing a great job :)
Praying for you from Texas,
Lee
You're doing so much for your nephew. You're one of the good ones, Daizy.
And good on you for continuing on the mortgage pay down! You're really close!
For what it's worth, we paid of the mortgage in 2013...and then decided to take out another one this year due to opportunity costs. It certainly feels better being mortgage free, and maybe that's the bigger goal. But people might do somewhat better financially by investing the funds instead. As always, your mileage may vary.
Thank you, Lee, for your kind words. I often wonder how he would have turned out if his parents were still here. One thing is for sure, I know him better than if I had just been his aunt. I am grateful for that chance.
I have often debated taking out a second to remodel the kitchen and bath. Then life gets too hectic and I put it off. I found that investing the money instead of paying down the mortgage was too stressful for me because I watched the market and couldn't stand when it tanked. I went with the advice of not investing if I wanted to use the money in the next 5 years. I decided I could pay off the mortgage in 5 years or less and it was a guaranteed win every month. Very motivating!
Just stopping by! You are amazing to take in your nephew.
Being mortgage free is the most liberating thing we have ever done for ourselves.
The market can go up and down- but we will always have a roof over our heads!
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