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Friday, October 31, 2014

Update - October/November, 2014

October/November is synonymous with falling leaves, but in our case, October/November is just another couple of months of falling debt totals for our rental houses.  We are down to the last two months of paying off House #2 which now sports a balance of exactly $10,000.  The goal, as it stands now, is to make two payments of $5,000.00 (one at the beginning of December and one at the end of December) and have it paid off by December 31st.  How will we come up with ten grand to achieve this?  Just a little bit of financial maneuvering.  Our distributions from our company usually hit my bank account a couple of days early every month.  So, we will simply apply our January 1st mortgage payoff amount to the very end of December and voila! House #2 mortgage will be history.  That will make for a very happy beginning to 2015, don't you think?

Jan 1, 2013 (Beginning Bal)                  October/November, 2014     Amount Paid Off
==========================================================================
House #1 - $70,908                                         House #1 - $63,833                     $  7,075
House #2 - $57,619                                         House #2 - $10,000                     $47,619
House #3 - $49,123                                         House #3 - $ 0                             $49,123
-----------------------------                                    -----------------------------               -----------------------------
Total:       $177,650                                                            $73,833                   $103,817 (-58.44%)

We have surpassed the 100K mark on the relentless march toward complete and total payoff of these rental houses!  At this point the income from the rental houses is really adding wind at our back. As planned, that income is supplementing our payoff efforts in a very meaningful way.  Once the second house is paid off, we will have yet more income to apply to the payoff of house #3. 

When this odyssey started in January of last year, a $177,650 balance seemed so huge and overwhelming.  All I knew at that time was that I had a deep desire and strong yearning to be 100%debt free within 42 months.  It wasn't enough to be just "consumer debt free".  No.  I wanted to be totally, absolutely and unequivocally debt free.  Now while being debt free--excluding the mortgage-- is certainly a laudable achievement, having no mortgage debt in addition to no consumer debt has got to be the ultimate in financial peace.  Add to that the passive income that the rental real estate brings in each month whether I decide to get outta bed or not (kidding...I always get out of bed), and you've got a wonderful recipe for financial independence.

The other thing I knew back in January of 2013 was that if I stayed focused and stuck to the plan, time would take care of the rest.  And it is.  I mean really, think of how time marches on in our lives.  For example, if you're the kind of person that makes new year's resolutions, January 1st, 2014 was eleven months ago.  Nearly a year has passed by.  If you set a goal and formulated a plan, you'd be ELEVEN full months into its execution by now.  Yet, January of this year seems like just yesterday, doesn't it???  So, ask yourself, "Where do I want to be this time next year?"  Where can you be two years, three years, five years from now if you plot a steady course toward debt payoff?  You'll certainly be somewhere because time marches on.  It's an inevitable reality that we can use to our benefit...or detriment.  Before you know it you'll look back and either say to yourself:  "I wish I would've [insert desired goal].... or, "I did it!"  The choice is always ours.  But success stories are being written everyday by people who stop talking and just start doing.  So just do it!

JUST DO IT!

Blog about it.  Post a payoff chart like I did and chart your progress.  Go to the online blogs and shout it out.  They can be a tremendous source of ongoing encouragement because you'll quickly find yourself in the company of like-minded individuals who's successes and failures will keep you encouraged along the way.  In the meantime, see yourself enjoying the pleasure and personal fulfillment of your goal.  See it, feel it.  Use the power of imagination to impel yourself forward toward realizing your goals--be they financial or otherwise.

As for us, next stop...Jan 1st and a celebration of paying off house #2