August - September Update

What a busy, busy summer it's been.  Here in Oklahoma, we were socked by several tornadoes and my wife and myself along with several friends spent a good portion of that last few months helping victims of the Moore, and OKC tornadoes.

Moore, OK  Ground Zero



 

 

It is a horrific scene to witness.  Once tranquil neighborhoods with manicured lawns and streets populated with playing children completely unrecognizable.  I took the above photograph within days after the May 20th F-5 tornado. However, a week and a half later, more tornadoes swept through the El Reno/OKC region which were in some ways even more destructive than the May 20th tornado.

 

Despite all the devastation to lives and homes, the people of Oklahoma are a resilient people.  Try living through ten years of dust bowl conditions with a Great Depression thrown in the mix.  The rebuilding is moving along nicely and we were honored to assist over 160 families get their lives back on the track to "normal."

 

In the meantime, a good deal of progress was made on the Pay Off My Rentals front, too.  Last month we were able to pay an additional  $14,845.00 toward the lowest balance mortgage.  We are confident that it will be completely paid off by December 31st, right on schedule!

 

September 1

Stats:             Jan 1, 2013              Sept, 2013                        Amount Paid Off

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House #1 - $70,908                  House #1 - $68,397                    $ 2,511
House #2 - $57,619                  House #2 - $55,334                    $ 2,285
House #3 - $49,123                  House #3 - $14,092                    $35,031
-----------------------------                  ----------------------------            -----------------------
Total:         $177,650                Total:         $137,823                  $39,827 (-22.42%)

A couple of noteworthy points: First, we broke the 15k mark on house #3. We've paid off nearly $40,000 since the beginning of the year.   I've decided to continue with my original goal of only concentrating on paying down the mortgages and will not be contributing to the ROTH IRA's until they are paid off.  This just works better for me.  It is not subject to the tornadoes in the market and gives me a guaranteed return.  Bottom line:  I just feel better sticking to the aggressive payoff plan.