Hello! I will begin this post by saying I am so so so sorry if any of you have been checking back and waiting to hear what our "plan " is! Wow, it has been a very busy month since I last posted but I am here and ready to tell you what our idea is....
This plan to live a more simple life has taken many twists and turns. Some things have changed greatly while other's will remain a constant. I will start with what will be the main focus and the constant throughout this journey.
*We have realized an aggressive savings plan is necessary! This will take anywhere from 3-5 years depending just how "aggressive" we are with it. It could take less or more then this time frame..probably more :) What does aggressive savings look like to us? Basically putting as much as possible into a savings account that is strictly going towards our future "smaller home" ideas. Those are the ideas that will probably change allot over the next 5 years but the savings plan will be the same. We are currently working on this. We are laying out our plan , to make sure we have enough to live on. We don't want to live so tight that we cannot eat properly or enjoy our life now. But we will put away as much as we can and see what happens! This is exciting. Doing this, requires great patience, vision, and commitment. We both have to remind each other that even though it will take a while, there is an end goal in mind that is going to be great! Also, we have to be on the same page. That is why I have put off posting this. It has changed allot...and well we both had to talk many times about our different goals and ideas and then bring them together to unite one common plan we both can love. That took some time :)
I put the savings part first because this really is the MOST important part. Without the funds , we cannot do much.
Our goal from the start was to free up fincances. To down size as much as we believe we can possibly do and then be able to pay for most of a new home with cash. We would like to save enough to at least begin the home building process and maybe pay as we go. Save along the way. Or pay for as much as we can and then take out a smaller loan that we can pay off sooner.
*The Plan: has changed very much. At first, it was to find and buy land soon. We went to see some land and we love it and it is selling for an amazing price right now because the builder/ owner wants out of the project. We are still discussing if we want to go with this land. We have not placed a bid yet and we have some time to decide. We have allot to take into consideration. If we buy this land, we could sit on it for the time that we save enough money and then start building. It is in a nice community but we have to think about if we would want to live there for sure. The good thing, if we don't want to live there in 5 years then we could try to sell the land. Allot of pro's and con's to consider.
So,we may buy the land and then hang on to it, save the money, when enough is saved start the building process and either take out a small loan to pay the rest off -that can also be paid off in a few years....or if we have enough cash then pay for it all cash. With building a much smaller home , if we do it right it could be built for under 100,000. There is just so so much to consider, discuss and think about. So as we go along and the plan changes, new things come up, or we finally decide what is the right path I will be sure to post! Much is up in the air right now.
*What can we do now to save?: When we realized we would not be building or moving for close to 5 years, we thought "what can we do now to cut down on our bills?" . We will be refinancing the house in a year or so , so hopefully that will bring our mortgage payment down some. Also, we have taken steps to cut down on our electricity costs. Simple things , such as making sure if we are not in a room the lights are off. Sometimes we leave fans running all day and no one is in that room so now we make sure to turn them off. I try to do dishes only when the dishwasher is really full and we need them washed. We will be upgrading our dishwasher to an energy saving one in the next year. Our most urgent need is a new washer and dryer. It is very very old and uses allot of water and electricity. So for now, I do laundry on Saturday or Sunday . One day a week as to save. We do not let our oldest son fill up the bath tub to the rim anymore...only about half way. That was taking up allot of water. Small changes that can make a huge impact! I wanted to wait and see if it changed our bills much before posting..and it did! Our electric bill was around 80.00 when it was well over 100 before! Hooray!
So, even though we have a big picture and goal in mind, we can do things now to help. There are other options for energy saving in the home we are looking into. We already have the energy saving light bulbs and fridge so that helps.
*Remembering the goal: It is important as time goes on and we live our lives, that we do not forget our end goal. We love our home but it is more then enough room for us. Also, I miss the country and peace and quiet that brings. We want to be able to have a home built and build as much of it as we can (that will help save money too!) for the best price we possibly can -to avoid a large and heavy mortgage payment, and to live more simply.
I am already so pleased to see the changes we have been able to make and how it is effecting our lives in a positive way. We have even cleared out some more "things" we do not need and take boxes of clothes, toys, and other items we just do not use anymore to local charities. It is refreshing to clear out the home and to also be giving good items to people who could not afford them otherwise. It is a process of simplifying and giving back. A process that really keeps on giving :)
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