October Mortgage Update

My whole life I've found pleasure in pushing myself to reach goals. Show me the goal and tell me that it can be reached, and I'm on my way. Even better, when it's something I know that God has handed our family.

In school that meant never settling for less than 100% on an assignment, quiz, or test, but after college graduation, it has shown its face best in my weight loss journey and debt payoff.

For three and a half years we puttered through mortgage payments. We were never late, but we had no ambition to pay off our thirty-year loan in less than thirty years. Then, this February, right as I reached goal weight, God gave us a new goal in the form of a class our church offered: Financial Peace University.

There are steps to follow, and our current step is "Pay off your home early." In three and a half years (40 months) of just making our mortgage payment, we paid off 9% of our mortgage. BUT Since this February, in the last eight months, doing extra side jobs, selling everything we can get our hands on, and budgeting with purpose, we've paid off an additional 17% of our mortgage! (see pie chart ^ for visual high five)

We have $63,900.00 left to go, before we reach this goal, but PROGRESS.

Actively working towards being completely debt free isn't a goal most people prioritize, and once we reach this goal, we aren't sure where God is going to have us put our money. When you owe someone money, your present and future earnings are already obligated to pay for your past. Every month, we are obligated to hand the bank about a fourth of our income to pay our mortgage. Just think of what that un-obligated money can do in His hands when we no longer owe it!

What's He going to have us doing in our thirties? Adopting, giving extra, traveling? We're not sure, but paying a mortgage? Nah.