You may remember on my anniversary post how I said we are completely debt free. Well... I'm not lying. Brian and I have paid off our mortgage and it is such an AWESOME feeling. We also don't have debt anywhere else... we have managed to pay off our cars in full a few years ago, we never carry a balance over to the next month on our credit card, and we were both fortunate to not have any student loans from college. Thanks Mom and Dad! (and scholarship people)
You may be wondering how in the world did they do that in under five years?
Well, if you know Brian, you would know that he has an Excel spreadsheet for EVERYTHING, and I mean EVERYTHING. So, naturally for him, we have a spreadsheet of our yearly budget and an updated monthly cashflow. As a result, we always know how much money we have coming in and how much we have going out. We pay ourselves first (very important) and stick to our budget throughout the year. We haven't lived outside our means and try not to spend money on things we don't need. Luckily for Brian, I don't particularly like shopping and we normally choose the cheaper options for most things. Yes, we still manage to do things we love... like travel... but we stick to our set budget and spend money more on the "experiences" rather than fancy dining or resorts.
Since buying our house in June, 2008, we have always done an automatic payment that was about 1.5 times our actual monthly payment. Once we finished our cashflow for the month, we would see how much extra we would have and dump that in to our mortgage (rather than giving ourselves time to spend it on other things). Some months it may have been nothing extra while other months it was a lot more. Just depended on what was going on in our lives at the time. If we ever received a monetary gift or bonus from work, that money also went towards our mortgage.
With the extra contributions we have been able to pay, guess how much we have saved in the long run... about $150,000! Yes, if we had paid our monthly payment for the full 30years, we would have spent $150,000 more on interest. That is CRAZY! It is such a load off of our shoulders, especially with 3 kiddos coming in our near future.
I'm no financial advisor or money expert, but I do know that it takes some discipline and organization to accomplish. Brian and I set this goal a long time ago and believe that if you set your mind to something, it is achievable. I give our parents credit as well, as they taught us about money as children and the importance of saving. We are so proud of ourselves and now have a little more financial freedom. Instead of a mortgage payment every month, we will have extra cash to spend on babies and of course use it to continue saving. It feels so good :)
PS. Shout out to my followers! I can't believe I have over 30,000 views and 150 followers. Thanks everyone!
6 comments:
Wow that is crazy! We have an excel spreadsheet but we still always go over :(
Congratulations! That's amazing!
I love spreadsheets thanks for sharing. It's encouraging to know a Goal like this is possible within a relatively short goal
That is AWESOME!!! My husband and I are debt free except our mortgage! We follow Dave Ramsey's baby steps! We are currently pregnant also (but only with one) and hope to have our mortgage paid off in a few years! I am so happy for your guys....best feeling to have that taken care of and not worry.
Wow, you're such an inspiration! Having paid all of your debt in 5 years is really an achievement for both of you. We all know how hard it is to be in that situation but with your determination to pay it all, it become possible. I thought that I already hold the record for paying debts in the shortest time (mine was ten years), but you definitely trumped my record! Anyway, thanks for being open about this. This is one good reason why people shouldn't be depressed in facing their debts.
>>Jaden Allred
$150,000. Wow. That right there is enough reason to quickly pay for it rather than take it slow and let the interest pile up. Good for you! Now you can save up for whatever you want to do in the future, or maybe start the fund for the kiddos when they grow up. Congrats, and good luck in this new chapter! Cheers!
Paddon+Yorke
Post a Comment