"I back to dreaming and thinking that we could possibly live debt free, 

totally debt free. "

Our only debt is our mortgage at the moment so we are one debt away from our goal. 

It happens to be a very big step but it is still only one step.

So what are we doing today as a tiny step to achieve this goal?

Good question! We are eating at home, growing food, looking to sell items we no longer use or need, finding ways to make possessions last longer and making do with what we have!
Specifically today I did some surveys on Pure Profile, I usually cash out $25 a month.
Ysterday I was on My Opinions and I'm daily on Rewards Cental but am yet to make a redemption from them, but I am close to being able to redeem $100, about which I am very excitied. So excited that I'd like to turn that into shares!

This gets me to my new confusion. 

Do we continue to follow Dave Ramseys Total Money Makeover or do we follow Scott Papes Barefoot Investor plan? I would like to be investing now, especially after reading the barefoot newsletter last Friday, and not slogging away attempting for our 2nd year to build a fuly funded emergency fund. It just isn't very fast or sexy or fun. I want action, achievement and a sense of progress and I'd like to be buying some shares.

I'm really just thinking out loud.

We follow the Dave Ramsey plan as we, my husband & I, have not been wise with our money in the past. I read and enjoy Scott Pape's stuff, its Australian and relevant and is often about current issues, an he writes well. Do we really need to follow an experts plan or could we follow our own? We do follow our own to some degree anyway, but could we sit down and write out a plan for ourselves an goals that we'd like achieve and set about achieveing it. Do we have the courage to tread our own path?

Anyway, we are off to pick wild blackberries for jam! Yum!

New Direction!

We have been plodding alon gand have decided to go a slightly different direction in our debt free journey.

We moved house in January, and have settled in nicely. Finances are starting to settle down, things have been fixed and interest rates have dropped so there is some wiggle room. More when we can get a full months wage.

We have been attempting to build an emergency fund and it seemed overwhelming. Consequently we have made little progress. I started again in May to build the fund. It is currently up to $878 and I have 2 items on ebay that finish this week end. We are hoping to hit the 1K mark this weekend.

Our new plan has been inspired by TV shows that feature budget makeovers and house transformations, which look so simple & easy. But we have renovated before & found it expensive, so many things to buy and absorbing.
Our house is functional but not beautiful and we believe that we would be better off putting any extra cash on the mortgage and make the house pretty later. That is the basis of our new plan and I think it is a winner.

How to get there?
1. Build our emergency fund of 10K
2. Have a buffer amount in our offset account.
3. Throw all extra cash at the mortgage.
4. Keep up the house maintenence & repairs, but delay all else.

Here we go!

I am excited about this & hope to get the EF done by Christmas 2012!

ITEMS THAT LOSE VALUE!

Just read a great blog about "de owning", a comment said that items devalue anyway, forget what it cost me!

How much have I spent only to discard it some time (often not much) later, I want some money back.

I was also part of a church & mistakenly took the whole giving thing too far, way too far!

I have not yet recovered my heartspace from that time. The mistake was in my understanding, I just took things far too literally & did no critical thought myself. I do try & think for myself these days.

In our moving I have been clearing out & going through everything we have. I have passed stuff on. I have 6 chairs on ebay & my sister is buying one couch, though my husband may change his mind on that. I don't have much of value anyway, but I don't have much to show for all the $$ spent either. I'd like to recover some funds or something.

3 weeks to moving day, there are more chairs now than we have ever had.

But I gave away a bag of clothes, kitchen items, some fish knives and a water filter.

I think I'll just make up my mind item by item, I hate policies.

A New House?

Yesterday we looked at a house & then made an offer, then our best offer!
We are putting it on paper tomorrow, Sunday, with a couple of hundred bucks.
The house is the perfect size & is older, 80's, so we don't have to treat it precious.
It has an ensuite, large living area, and an office (4th bedroom) for Todd. Perfect.
Best of all it is on more land with a lemon tree!
I didn't sleep well in anticipation...of them accepting our offer.
Who'd of thought I would be excited about an older house but I am.
I do like my sleep so, roll on Sunday.
Purchasing this house would see our mortgage drop by 70K and leave us in the quiet we are accustomed to with loads of space for our hobbies & boys to play and grow.
I"d imagine that initally out mortgage repayments will not change, we have an annual review & it would change then. I believe that to be not that long after settlement anyway, thinking about it.

The kitchen is not pretty, or large. We'd need to replace the oven & cooktop, needs that here too!
So long as it works we can do that at our leisure!
The water tank is huge & DH is pretty happy with the shed arrangement.
We would buy a ride on. We would do that once the contract was unconditional, well, that's what I think.
I am enthused to have a garage sale & sell a few items on ebay.
It is an energy boost to me to have something solid to work towards.
I also think I will direct Christmas funds to the new house.
I was thinking of painting, opeing up a rear exit, and which room the boys would have while my body was trying to sleep last night. I had things to plan and imagine.

Happy Saving!

new Day!

Well we went & looked at the 2 ugliest houses I can recall seeing. They shall be the bench mark of things to avoid in a house! I think we have decided to rent for the time being.

Today a friend was here & left with 2 pot plants. That is 2 less things we have to move! I am keen to see how we can do this as smoothly as possible as I got myself quite stressed last time.

We have been paid a little this month with more to come, hooray!

happy Saving!

Today the house sale is unconditional!

That is it! Sold, done and waiting to move out & onto our next adventure.

This evening we are meeting with somone about an idea, which sounds promising & 'll detail more if it pans out.

Still hoping for income to pay the tax & BAS for the month & quarter. We also need (would like a lot) income to pay wages for the workers, us!

Good news is that we have enough to get through November. Sometimes the is only one news item!

Happy saving.

The house SOLD!

Well just when I had given up & begun my garden plans our house sold.
We got a big chunk less than the listed price, but we decided to sign and move on.
The purchaser is wrapped, which is great & certainly eases our pain, in some weird way.

What to do now, well that should play out over time...I hope.

I'm not sad or anxious but am now aware of tax implications and need to nut out some goals with DH and talk to the accountant.