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Archive for December, 2015

Update on Flooding and Completed Goal

December 29th, 2015 at 08:43 pm

I went ahead and sent another $150 to the Roth, so I have officially completed that goal for the year! Woohoo!

Flooding is starting to get real. Roads are closing in all directions, and people are evacuating. The local airport had to drive their planes on the highway to higher ground yesterday! Talk about a weird sight. Hundreds of farmers are moving equipment and thousands of tons of grain to safety. Historic buildings are trying to get out all the artifacts and antiques. Our bridge which connects two states was closed today for only the 2nd time in history. The nearest crossing would be an additional 3+ hour drive on a good day. Many people including my brother-in-law who work across state the line are having to live on the other side until the waters recede. We are completely cut off on several sides at this time due to flood gates being shut, and one town is flooded into an inaccessible island. Scary stuff. Waters are not suppose to peak until Friday or Saturday, and are predicted to raise over 4 feet by midnight tonight. In 10 feet most or all local levees fail, and several towns will be completely destroyed. We are suppose to stop at another 9.1 feet. So it's going to be very very close. A few levees are beginning to slide, and people are on watch 24/7 to sandbag potential gaps. If anything this has really brought the small community together.


No need to worry about me, My house is 10 miles from the river so I am unaffected besides traveling. But it is a weird thing to watch possible history in the making, and not be able to do anything except wait.

Row Your Boat & Pics of my Builds

December 28th, 2015 at 03:29 pm

Prayers for my area would be appreciated. It's been raining nonstop and they are predicting the worst flood in a 100 years. I live right along a river, and several towns are expected to be underwater this week. People are getting evacuated, including some of my family. They have two days to pack up and get out, before the levee is predicted to fail. I can't imagine how sad it would be to know you'll be loosing your house in a couple days and there is nothing to stop it.

Still hoping this rain will stop before anymore damage is done.

I added the $350 from husband's bonus to the Roth. Still waiting on him to decide how much to send to the truck fund. Hoping we can finish it and the Roth off before the new year.


We actually completed the workbench! It took just a few hours.



Although it doesn't look like much it's quite large. It's 4.5' long, and 3' high. Which is the maximum size that could fit in the space. It gives us just enough room to hold the saw which has been laying in my dining room floor for over a year, and the new toolbox I got husband for Christmas.

I'm in an organization kick, so it was nice to be able to pick up all the random tools that were spread throughout the house and give them a home. Also the bottom shelf gave us room to stack all our bigger items, rather than just piled up on the floor. I'm thinking of adding a cute curtain to the front, just to hide the clutter better.

Husband got me an office chair for Christmas. It's bright orange which adds a pop of color, and matches perfectly with my fox themed office/dining room. I have orange art all over the walls. Several people have asked what the finished desk looks like.



I wish I had taken a picture of the front of the chair. It has a pretty quilted pattern on it, and it's very comfortable. So much better than sitting in a wooden chair for hours a day. (Yes I do use 2 computers at once. lol)

I haven't built the wall mounted shelves I had planned on. I'm still undecided if that would be too cluttered, or if the desk will even stay here permanently. So for now, we are considering just getting one of those cube shelves for the dining room, which can hold some of our books, decor, and excess stuff.

2016 Goals

December 21st, 2015 at 03:22 pm

2016 is full of uncertainties.

We are really wanting to do a home addition next year which is going to cost upwards of $30k+. But it's not set in stone yet, especially with our recent unexpected expenses. Getting a loan for that amount is no problem, and the payment will be easily managed. But I do not feel comfortable having so much debt at one time. So the remodel will probably depend of how much debt we can knock down in the next few months.

So for now our 2016 will be:

1.) $1,000 in Animal Fund
2.) Pay off Computer
3.) $7,000 in Roth
4.) Pay off LOC
5.) $2,000 in Truck Fund

Animal fund is the biggest priority. Considering I have a $500 windfall coming in the next few weeks, and I have quite a few kids due in the spring it shouldn't be a problem. There will be no more fencing or housing expenses to eat up my profit this year. It's all done.

The computer needs paid off. It's a 0% loan, but it's consumer debt and it needs to be gone before we add anymore payments.

Still want to continue adding to the Roth. My goal is to add $2,500. The same as it was this year.

LOC is up again from the furnace and fencing. But the furnace was going to be considered as part of the remodel, so we may just roll this loan into the remodel loan when the time comes. We will still try to pay it down as much as possible beforehand. Any we pay down or save will give us more wiggle room in the remodel budget.

Save another $1,000 for a new used car. Husband had his heart set on a truck, but if we are serious about the remodel we won't be able to afford both. We are going to continue to save for it, and most likely he will purchased another used jeep which would be half the price of a truck.

Overall we want to save for the necessities, and pay down what we can. In a perfect world we would also start putting back some cash for the remodel. But we will have to wait and see how it goes first.

Christmas Is Coming

December 21st, 2015 at 03:04 pm

Had a good mini vacation visiting family this weekend. Finished up my Christmas shopping. Really hoping my credit cards with Christmas and our recent home expenses will be completely paid off by next week's paycheck. The truck fund is so close, and we still have husband's bonus to decide what to do with. So thinking we will finish that up, and probably finish the Roth as well. No way the animal fund is going to be completed. Which I am okay with since I had the big fence expense this year.

Time to start thinking about next year's goals. I will make another entry soon with details.

How Far We've Come

December 14th, 2015 at 07:14 pm

Despite seemingly slow progress on our house, I thought it would be fun to post what my husband and I have accomplished or replaced since we purchased it 3 years ago.

Outdoor

Patched and painted goat house
2 platforms for goat house
Window in goat house
3 raised garden boxes
18'x21' animal shelter
3.5 acres of fencing
Raised stone flower box
New 200amp electric to the house
Cut down 2 trees
Painted wood windows
Roof
7 windows

Indoor
All electrical
Hot water heater
Hot water plumbing
Insulation
Drywall
Furnace
Storm door
Bathroom door
Sun room door
Painted interior
Toilet, shower, vanity, mirror, shelving
Kitchen and bathroom flooring
Refrigerator
Window and door trim
Lighting fixtures & ceiling fans
Desk
Various furniture

Considering all that, it's amazing just how much we have accomplished while remaining debt free. (Until this month. lol)

Upcoming or In Progress Projects
Invisible Dog Fencing
Workbench
Finish kitchen and bathroom trim
Refinishing hardwood
Baseboards

That seems like such a short list comparatively. Of course there is a lot of other little things like recaulking the tub that need done as well. But I'd say we are getting close to the finish line!

Eventual Large Projects
Master suite addition
Reside house
Replace remaining windows

Pushing Hard

December 7th, 2015 at 03:08 pm

Husband and I are both working extra shifts to help cover recent expenses. Also husband gets an annual yearly Christmas bonus, which is due anytime. So that should help boost our goals.

After the credit cards are paid for the statement, we will start working on the LOC.

Furnace is installed, I love heat.

Fence is mostly up. Husband and I are working on the underground dog fencing. My Christmas shopping is nearly done.

Hopefully that is the end of the big expenses. We've spent over $7,000 in the past 2 months on home improvements. Yikes!