Mortgages

I just have to share this website:

--->Mortgage Extra Payment Calculator

It's pretty amazing.  You can fill in the stats for your own mortgage....like loan balance, interest rate, duration of term, and date of first payment.  THEN...you can type in how much extra per month you want to put towards your mortgage.

For our stats, by paying $100 extra per month on our mortgage towards the principal...we'd pay if off FIVE years sooner and end up paying about $24,000 less in interest.  Pretty crazy.

Our mortgage is our only debt.  And we don't like debt.  I especially don't like paying interest.  Sooo... we do pay a little extra per month.  We had been doing $50 per month extra but we are motivated to put even more than that if at all possible.


Mortgages can be beastly.  We thought our 20% down to avoid the PMI (Mortgage insurance) was pretty good though Andy Stanley would tell you to put 30% down payment on a house.  But many put little or no down on their homes making their monthly payments already very high. I would make a terrible loan officer because I'd convince too many people to hold off on the loan and make absolutely no money haha!


Anyways..... if $100 a month seems unfathomable for you to come up with try just $10 extra.  Not a huge amount (2  or 3 coffees maybe) but for us we'd still pay our house off 7 months early and save $3,000 on interest.  I'm a believer in the little things adding up!

Happy Money Saving!!

An epidemic

We've been doing something pretty odd over the last year and a half.   It may be unheard of.  Few people do it anymore.  We must be pretty strange. 



What you ask?  We've been saving up to buy something. We'd like new furniture for our living room to replace the 1980s hand me downs we have.  They're wonderfully comfortable but have seen better days.  But, really, we don't NEED new furniture.  So it was an easy thing to say..."in the next few years we'll get new couches".  No, we didn't put it on a credit card.  We didn't do the "NO interest for a year!" or whatever the stores advertise these days.  That's because that "old" concept of not buying something if you don't have money for it really does pay off when you want to live debt free.

Perhaps my favorite pod casts to listen to are from Andy Stanley, a Christian pastor at Northpoint Community Church.  A recent series I listened to was called Recovery Road.  Part 5 was called The Spending Crisis.  It was fascinating to hear how our nation's thoughts about debt have changed over the decades.  Debt used to be a bad thing.  Now it's a sadly normal thing.  America used to do layaway.  Now it does loans and credit cards. I highly recommend the pod cast series (and any of his pod casts for that matter!) They can be downloaded on their site or on a podcast app. A friend of Andy once told him...

"There are two kinds of people in the world.  There are people who make interest and there are people who pay interest.  You need to decide which kind you want to be and reorder your finances around it."

It was reassuring to know that we aren't the only "crazy" people who do perhaps "extreme" things in order to live debt free, honor God with our finances, be generous, and not carry the weight and burden of debt on our shoulder.  The four main points in the pod cast were:

1. "You can't have everything you want."

2. "You can't even have anything you can afford."

3. "You have to live on a budget."

4. "When the money runs out, you have to quit spending."  

Definitely download the pod cast!  I devour them.  They are like my equivalent to soap operas and bon bons as a SAHM.  Naps, drives in the car, etc.  I sneak them in when I can!

The saddest part is that the new generation (and my generation) is growing up thinking that debt is normal.  You want to go to college, you get a loan.  You want a car, you get a loan.  You want a house, you get a 100% loan on a house that you really can't afford.  You want those shoes, put it on a card.  You want to take a trip to Hawaii, credit card. How did it become such a mind shift?

Wouldn't it be a wonderful thing if our youth were taught about money management and living within their means?  About being content with things they have, not putting hope in things but putting hope in Jesus. About treasures in heaven. About alternative ways to paying for higher education. That living within your means is not just possible but a virtuous and freeing thing? That less can really be more?

Now I know there is stuff that comes up in life that sometimes requires us to take on debt.  Surgeries, emergencies, unemployment, unexpected hospital bills, etc.  I'm not talking about those things.  I'm talking about the intentional debts that we take on.

The hardest debt (besides home loans) I've seen is something disguised as "FINANCIAL AID".   I know college is expensive.  Really, I do.  BUT...is it worth getting a degree at a school you can't afford just so you can drown in debt while you want to get married or raise a family? I've had several moms tell me they could never stay at home with their kids for a season b/c they have too many school loans to pay off.  How can we encourage our kids to have a different financial future?

For our own boys, I would NOT encourage them to go to a private college if the degree was available elsewhere because I see that as a waste of money.  I would encourage them to save up for college.   Mateo and Alex already have savings accounts for the occasion.  Maybe start at a community college and transfer. Scholarships and grants help.  Having a part time job helps.  If you have to get financial aid...using it to pay ONLY for tuition seems like a given, but it isn't.  Many go shopping for clothes, shoes, and other "non academic" items without thinking about the implications of interest they will be paying on those items.  Above all the micro decisions made about money, I want this verse to resonate in our hearts as a family....so much to learn from this still.. 

"Honor the Lord with your wealth,
  with the firstfruits of all your crops; 

 then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
    and your vats will brim over with new wine."

Psalms 3:9-10 

Andy Stanley's motto of "Give. Save. Live." is one we love for how to use our money.  Give (tithe, donate) first, Save (put money away) second, and Live (off the rest).  Love it.  



I'm done now.  I don't know why, but I feel the burden of other people's debt and I want to fix it.  Not sure what that means, but maybe in a former life I'd have been a Dave Ramsey wanna be. 

Spend less to work less....

So dinner is in the crockpot, laundry is in the washer, and my tot is napping...so that means I get a few minutes to sit down at the computer! Yipee!!

My heart continues to ache for people that want to stay home with their babies but don't think they can. Like I've said before, there are plenty of people who don't have that desire. But for those that do- and who aren't the only bread winner of the family- this is what I have to say:
YOU CAN STAY HOME WITH YOUR BABY IF YOU WANT IT BADLY ENOUGH!

Pray pray pray!!

But I'm NOT the type of person who would tell you to pray for a lump of money to fall from the sky so you could continue your current lifestyle. No, I'm the kind of person that would tell you to pray to God and ask for his wisdom on how to manage your money differently. All knowledge and wisdom come from our great God and He is ultimately the one who will give you the discernment and self discipline to make the cuts you'll need to. Yes, lots of self disciple needed.

Now maybe your husband (or wife... plenty of SAHDs now ;) is a brain surgeon and you quitting your job isn't the biggest deal. But for most of us- our spouse probably has a regular job.

I decided to check out a couponing book from the library and the author, Stephanie Nelson, wrote this on the first page (that's as far as I've gotten, hehe):

"In 1995, my husband and I made the decision to downsize our lifestyle so that I could stay home with our boys, a two year old and a new baby. My quitting the corporate world meant our income would be cut in half, so I knew I was actually taking on two new roles: stay-at-home mom and CEO of our family budget...."

Boy could I relate! Since Aaron and I had very similar incomes, me quitting my job would literally mean cutting our income in half. Fortunately for us, we had been planning on this for a while- so it wasn't quite as harsh a transition as it could have been.

So what I'm saying in all of this- is....how bad do you want to be at home with your kids and what are you willing to give up? Are you willing to live in an apartment instead of a house? Are you willing to go to Goodwill?
For some reason the idea of being a professional budget advisor person appeals to me, but I don't think I'd land a job in that area b/c I would be a little tough on people. If they were buried in money problems, I'd probably tell them to sell their house b/c living in their current house would not allow them to leave within their means. I'd probably advise them to stop buying coffee at Starbucks (b/c I believe the little things do add up). Maybe I'd tell them to consider buying used clothing, mow their own lawns, buy a bag of potatoes instead of buying boxed potatoes, etc.

Take heart! There are books galore and websites galore on ways to manage your money. God is big. Read the book of Proverbs. We are to be discerning and prudent in how we utilize our resources....realizing that all of our money and resources are from God anyways. Though 2% of me misses having a "career", the other 98% of me is so glad to be at home managing the household and taking care of my boys (the big one and the little one ;)

Here are some things I've written about in past blogs to sum up. It really all comes down to spend less...in order to work less!

1. Try coupons to save money with toiletries, food, and entertainment.
2. Shop second hand.
3. Don't keep up with the Jones'.
4. Lower your standard of living.
5. Do more things yourself instead of paying others (food prep, yard work, etc.)
6. Make a budget with your spouse and stick to it.
7. Pay off debt and stay out of debt....only spend money that you have!


You can do it!

Budget Smarts

I am back to e-blogger! The thing I liked about Xanga is no longer available- so here I am.


Saving Money #1

I've decided to write about budgets and saving money for a while. I find the topic very important. It's very near to my heart. I'm not sure quite yet WHY it is, but it is. I see so many people hurting financially. I hurt with them. I see so many moms that want to stay home but can't. My heart breaks with them. Of course there are plenty of moms that DON'T want to and I can see why. Believe me. I can see why someone wouldn't want to do that, hehe. But for some reason, I do. And many other women do, too. Yes, there are moms who are the sole provider or are single, etc. But there is a small part of me that thinks that more moms (that want to) could stay home if they made some changes in how they used their money.

For me it isn't that hard b/c I've always been a saver. When my sister and I were kids, we would get Christmas money from Grandma. I would save mine. She would spend hers. I don't know why, but part of me is naturally frugal and a saver. I'm being honest when I think that's just how God designed me.

When Aaron and I got married, we set up a computerized budget not long after. It was good and really interesting to see where we were spending our money. You can categorize your budget however you want and there are a lot of options. Some of our categories are groceries, gas,savings, eating out, utilities, toiletries, rent (then mortgage), etc. Some new categories we've added recently are a BABYSITTING fund b/c it really is nice to get out of the house just the two of us a couple times a month and since we don't have family in town, we have to pay a sitter. We also added a hospitality fund for hosting things or bringing food to events so it didn't seem like a burden and was more of a privilege. I got that idea at a women's conference recently.

Regardless of what categories one chooses, the important thing is to know how you're spending your money. Look at your income, then allocate money to bills and different areas accordingly. If you do this, you aren't spending money you don't have. It can keep you from falling into the trap of our country and going into DEBT!! I hate that word. Debt really is restrictive. If you want to be a SAHM (Stay at home mom) or just want to stop being mastered by your finances, get out of debt ASAP! Start a budget!

Take into consideration that I am ultra conservative with money at times. Not always, but in some sense, yes. Which is good b/c Aaron works hard to bring home a paycheck every month and I work hard to spend it wisely! And when I was working and we lived in our apartment, we tried to live off of just one income in preparation for having a baby and save as much as possible. God has really blessed us us.
That said, If I had a debt to pay off (college, car, credit card, etc.), I think I'd rather go without certain things (like cable, smart phones, nice clothes, new danskos, a trip to Japan, etc.) and put that money towards the debt. I know, I'm WEIRD!! A very low percentage of people would actually do this. But what if....... people really did this??

What if we lived within our means?!?! Imagine what could happen. Interesting concept. More to come. This is one of my favorite verses in regards to how God would have us use our money:

"Honor the Lord with your wealth. With the first fruits of all your crops; then your bars will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine." Proverbs 3:9-10

What does honoring the Lord with your money mean? Could be different for each person. Not something I can tell you. But I think I know what it looks like for us right now and we continue to pray to be wise stewards of our resources and money.