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Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Our Journey to a Mortgage Free Home: #1

What do you do when you want to be a homeowner, but you don't want a mortgage?  
You get ready to get creative!

Let me back up, several years ago we moved to the state we live in now from a different state.  We owned our home in the state we moved from, so we put it up for sale shortly after moving. When we sold our home, we essentially broke even after our mortgage was paid off, which didn't give us anything to start over with. That was okay though, because we had decided that we never wanted another mortgage.  We were so glad to not be paying a mortgage on a house in one state and rent for another in another state that we didn't give much thought to the monumental task we had set before us!  Since we had nothing to start over with, we had to get creative if we wanted to be homeowners again. 

Our creativity started out looking like this ... 




... a burned-out house and a grown-up lot.



 We did a lot of praying and with the help of a dear friend putting in a good word for us with the owner (someone else was interested in buying the property too), we were on our way to home ownership again, this time mortgage free.  We paid $3000 for a little less than an acre of land and this burned-out house.

Let me say from entry one of this series that we give God all the glory and praise for the help and helpers He provided for us along the way.

So, what did we do with this mess ... that's what I'll share in the next entry!

Until next time,
She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

Sharing 43 years' experience of frugal, prudent living and pantry building 

My second blog:  From This Heart of Mine, where I share my love for God and His Word through my personal Bibe study.  Physical preparedness is important, but not near as important as spiritual preparedness.  Join me over at From This Heart of Mine and study God's Word with me.

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Dehydrator

Dehydrator Teflon Sheets

Dehydrator Cookbook

Food Saver Vacuum Sealer

Herb/Coffee Bean Grinder

Manual Food Chopper

Pressure Canner

Canning Supplies

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24 comments:

  1. Wow! I can't wait to see what you did next. A lot of work will be my guess! You have come such a long way since buying your place. It must be good to look back on. I think a lot of people will be inspired by this! xxx

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    1. Thank you Annabel. It was a lot of work ... stay tuned ... the journey continues.

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  2. Wow, I am looking forward to your story!
    Was just looking at my mortgage info today. I have kept mine because we need the tax write off. But sure would like to not have it. Something to think about.

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    1. Laurie, we miss the tax write off, but the comfort in knowing that we don't have to worry about not being able to make the mortgage payment during seasons of financial difficulties is worth it to us.

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  3. Patsy this is better than my mystery books. So like the way you are thinking on the mortgage issue.

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    1. Judy, having had a mortgage and not having a mortgage, I can say that even with all the frustrations of living in a constant construction status to some degree, we definitely prefer not having a mortgage!

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  4. Can't wait to read your journey! You guys are brave to take on such a large project.. Nancy Gonzalez

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    1. Nancy, it's been a long work in progress ... which is still not completed but is very livable!

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  5. Love this! Reminds me so much of how we ended up with our house and land. When we started we decided that we didn't want to go in debt for any of it. First we bought our land from a family member on a land contract for nearly nothing. AFTER we paid that off which didn't take long at all. We saved up and bought a sawmill, cut our own timber and built our house. Anything that we had to buy for the house we saved up and paid cash for. A lot of the stuff we traded around and got. Now...we live in a 3200 square foot house and we have less than $18K in it and it is completely paid for. Although it is not completely finished, I sleep better at night knowing that we don't have a big mortgage payment to worry about. Also during the time that we were building it, hubby lost his job and went back to school at 40, so if we had a mortgage at that point we probably would have lost it all.

    Have a wonderful and Blessed day
    Kristie

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    1. Kristie, that's what we've done, except for the sawmill. FYI, ours is not completely finished either ... it is still a work in progress!

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    2. I can't wait for your next post!
      Kristie

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  6. Oh boy, I am looking forward to this series. Thanks for sharing.

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  7. So glad you are going to continue this series. I can't wait to hear the rest of the story. Cindy Norred

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  8. This is sooooo inspiring! I admire your lateral thinking (and obvious hard work). I can't wait to for the following posts in this series.
    Janine

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  9. oooh, this is gonna be SO interesting!

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  10. WOW - look forward to reading this adventure!
    I love not having a mortgage any more. We never had enough interest for tax write-off anyway.
    Can't wait to follow your journey.

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  11. Oh this is exciting! Can't wait to read more!

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  12. Wow! I'm really looking forward to more.

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  13. what an awesome topic! I love all things financial and can not wait to see the process!!! Thanks for doing this series!

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  14. Can't wait for the next 'chapter'!

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  15. Pasty I am looking forward to hearing the rest of the story. Our house has been paid off for many years & has been such a blessing through illness & income slow downs. I think your way could help my children & grandchildren. So thank you for sharing. Carolyn Ray

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  16. Wow, Patsy! I am going to be following along reading your story and progress on your home with eager interest!!

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  17. Looking forward to your next post, Patsy.

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