No, I haven’t crossed over to the dark side. Yes, I still think there’s incredible value in being mortgage free. But for the past few months and into the foreseeable future, we pushed pause on our debt payoff plans. While I initially expected to feel a lot anxiety about this decision, I’m surprisingly resolute. Because … [Read more…]
Somewhere in the swirl of a pandemic, long overdue protests, and a slew of personal ups and downs, we paid our taxes. We also made a really exciting discovery during the deepest financial dive we do all year. A money milestone that I’ve been pursuing relentlessly unfolded: we could pay off our mortgage. But we … [Read more…]
I hate my mortgage. If you’ve read my blog at all, you’re probably acutely aware of how much it eats away at me on psychological and emotional levels. You also probably know that I can be the queen of frugal, even if it makes things downright awkward. So why in the world would this frugalista … [Read more…]
Last year was a good year for our mortgage. More accurately, it was a good year for making strides toward getting RID of our mortgage. Not only did our principal dip below six figures for the first time; we also managed to put one of the highest amounts of money toward our principal ever. Thanks … [Read more…]
Productive decluttering. Declutter productively. Less waste. Waste less. I had all sorts of flowery ideals and aspirations written out in a notebook. My plan was to simply transfer it into a blog post, slap a title on it, and call it my goals for 2020. The problem is that none of those visions were concrete … [Read more…]
One last big money move of the year. I was going to say decade, but I decided to take a little pressure off you. Pressure off me? It’s your money, Penny. I know that’s what you’re thinking. It is my money, and ultimately, it’s my decision. But like most things in life on this blog, … [Read more…]
There’s no sense in burying the lede: Our mortgage finally dipped below six figures. Specifically, we now owe $99,884. And I can’t stop smiling. Mathematically, very little has changed. Technologically, it was just a few clicks and a single payment. Mentally? Psychologically? Emotionally? That is another story, friends. We all know that money is never … [Read more…]
Earlier in the month, I thought it would be fun to celebrate summertime money wins. I reached out to the community, and I was floored by the number of people who had money wins to share. Then, a reader reached out to me to let me know that the money wins post was actually linked … [Read more…]
We’re halfway through the year! I’m not sure if I should be looking for congratulations or condolences. There’s nothing quite like the calendar flip to July to make me think long and hard about what I’ve done with my year…and what I have left to do. First up is an exploration of my goals for … [Read more…]
There’s no such thing as stupid questions. But I’m pretty sure I’m about to ask one. When should I pay off my mortgage? We’ve been homeowners for a while now. In fact, we were just awkwardly introducing ourselves to new neighbors down the street (I later found part of a stick in my hair, don’t … [Read more…]