My goals for 2017
Get 7- 8 Hours of Sleep Each Night
Because of the major head cold I had, the week started off a little rough but ended well so I can’t complain. Thank goodness for the extra bed in the house because with the HH and Lucy both snoring it was nice to have someplace quite to sleep while my head was pounding. Guest rooms are cool that way.
Make Saving a Priority, Not an Idea
Ya baby! Check out those numbers. Think I can get to under 10 by the end of the year? I called the HH at work the other day and told him we made another 5 additional principal payments towards the mortgage for July and he was pretty excited about it. Up until the beginning of this year he really wasn’t that optimistic about my little plan. He didn’t think making extra payments would make that much of a dent. Ha! Little did he know that once I started, I couldn’t stop and now all I want to do is pay this sucker down so we can skedaddle out of here and never have a mortgage payment ever again.
It’s hard to believe we’ve been here 2 years and 9 months already. The plan was to sell right at the two year mark but home prices are going crazy around here and we are pretty close to our “let’s blow this Popsicle stand” selling price. If we could go back in time we would have gotten a 15 year mortgage. But since we are nearing the end of our stay here in the penitentiary neighborhood, it wouldn’t make sense to pay the fees to do it. Lesson learned. Life goes on and the mortgage has become my favorite bill to pay each month now that we are making some major headway.
Many people have asked why bother paying down the mortgage when we could just put that money in a savings {or some other type of} account. Here’s my theory: Out of sight, out of mind. If we can’t have instant access to it, we can’t spend it. So it’s pretty much a forced savings, PLUS with each extra principal payment we make, we are saving money on the interest of the loan. It works for us.
Live a little
Do you take the time to look through the free boxes at thrift stores and garage sales? The Girl and I always do. We snagged 7 magazines and 3 coffee mugs last week but when we brought them home the HH just rolled his eyes at our treasures. What a nut.
Visit 52 REAL Bakeries
Mrs. HB sent me a text about an Italian bakery she stopped at in Tacoma and told me they had good cannolies. I can’t imagine there’s a bakery out there that beats Mike’s Pastry, but next time I’m in the area I’ll stop by and take a look. The HH LOVES cannolies so he can be my taste tester.
Have 1 “no spend” week each month
I think I’ll pick up some milk at Fred Meyer this morning and then go ahead and have a no spend week next week. I have a hard time shopping in crowds {it makes me itch} so I made sure and picked up enough stuff this past week to last us a while. The stores are getting really overcrowded here and with it being summer and all, there seem to be more people out and about more than ever.
Start a Line of Rug Hooking Patterns
So far I have 8 rug hooking patterns listed in my Etsy shop with 3 more drawn out but not completed. I’m having a hard time finding time to squeeze some rug hooking in lately but as long as I get 12 patterns done by the end of the year… I’ll be happy.
Turn My Wool Stash into $2,500. Mission Accomplished
So far this year I’ve made $4355.31 Etsy shop this year. I didn’t sell a single item last week {which is typical for this time of year} but I am working on items to list this fall as well as dyeing wool to sell {and use}. To everything there is a season… and for me and rug hooking, that’s fall and winter.
Purge 250 Items Including Selling Larger Items We No Longer Feel We Need
The man speakers have left the building!!!! Yes! While the HH was preoccupied, The Girl and I snuck all six of them plus some black box that does something in his truck right before he left for work one morning. I don’t think he was amused but hey man, they’re gone. 🙂
Also, I found two more shirts, decided the athletic tank top I picked up last week at the bag sale didn’t fit right and gathered up a bunch of plastic knives for the yard sale as well. That brings my total to 223 items purged from our house this year. Giddy up!
Learn to Crochet Mission Accomplished
I tried it and decided it’s not for me.
Dote on My Husband Even More Than I Do Now.
Sunday breakfast. It’s pretty much the best way to start a day filled with honey do requests. 😉
Lose the Muffin Top. {again} Mission Accomplished
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the HH for getting me sick last week thus giving me less of an appetite which of course helped me to check Muffy the muffin top off my list of goals for this year. Well, I’m sure all the gardening I did outside this week and the fact that I didn’t eat any sweets helped me cross the finish line too. 😉 As you can see from the before photo {January 1st, 2017} I had a little overflow when I put on my brown pants at the beginning of this year.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed that I don’t have to put this goal back on the list next year because being able to fit into all the pants in my closet is really kind of cool. I don’t do leggings, so being able to fit into all my chinos and corduroys again is kind of cool. I won’t have to buy new pants this fall! 😉
Wear out {most of} the clothing I already own.
Even though I’ve picked up a few things second hand, I have been able to wear out a few items rather just just toss them into a donation bag this year. It feels good to have spent less than $50 on clothing and shoes in the past 6 months.
Try 52 New Recipes
I have so many recipe photos on my phone it’s not even funny. Seriously, I think I’ve already tried 52 new recipes this year, I just need to get them on the blog.
Read 52 Books
I’ve been listening to Until I Say Goodbye on audio book this week {I’m about 3/4 of the way through it} and even though it’s obvious how the story ends, the author talks about choosing JOY in the last year of her life after finding out she has ALS at 44. Sad, but funny, and well told. Real stories, told by real people. My favorite kind of book.
Give Back to 12 Different Organizations in My Community
- January – Donated to Quilts from the Heart in Memory of my brother.
- February – Donated to Empty Bowls Fundraiser for the Boys and Girls Club.
- March – Donated to my daughter’s mentor who was in a horrible car accident.
- April – Donated again to my daughter’s mentor who was in a horrible car accident.
- May – $100 Tip to a waitress on Mother’s day.
- June – Started collecting men’s shirts to donate this winter.
Last week The Girl and I checked out a Goodwill Outlet store {have you ever been to one before?} and while I was there I found a new {with tags} men’s flannel shirt. It wasn’t something my husband would wear but it was really nice so I hung on to it as we looked around. Yada yada yada, I decided a good way to give back to my community would be to collect a bunch of warm long sleeved shirts this summer and then donate them to a local shelter this winter. It will probably take me a couple of months to find one hundred dollars worth of shirts… but I think it’s kind of a cool way to give back.
And then, there’s those top secret goals we’re not talking about yet.
Secret Goal #1Sell East Coast House Mission AccomplishedSecret Goal #2Chickens! Mission Accomplished- Secret Goal #3
- Secret Goal #4
How about YOU? Did you set any goals for 2017? How are they coming along?
~Mavis
Read About My 2017 Goals HERE.
Sarah says
We just bought our forever home and paid cash. Let me tell you the feeling of not having a mortgage is so nice. We don’t have to worry if we face another bout of unemployment.
Mavis Butterfield says
Congrats Sarah!
E in Upstate NY says
Just don’t understand the reason for going for a shorter mortgage. A 30-yr provides so much flexibility. The required monthly payments are low, and any extra cash goes directly against the principle. January was always the hardest month to pay extra, with all the holiday bills etc. Plus our coin jar was emptied monthly and also applied to mortgage.
The above verb was past tense as we just paid off our 30-yr mortgage in 13-yr, 11months. Thank you extra payments. Yea! Hooray!
Mavis Butterfield says
Way to go E in Upstate NY. No Mortgage. That is AWESOME.
Tammy says
When you go with a 30-year mortgage and don’t make extra payments, you pay a LOT MORE interest. We had a 30-year mortgage for our first house and were never able to make extra payments. Finally, we were able to refinance to a 15-year mortgage and lower interest rates, and when we sold our house, we had enough equity for a good down payment on our new house (which is also a 15-year mortgage). If we hadn’t refinanced we wouldn’t have had the equity. It’s nice to see the loan payments each month and realize you’re paying more toward the principal than you are the interest (which, when we had the 30-year loan, was opposite!).
Mel says
One of my goals was to learn to sew. My husband bought me a sewing machine earlier this year, and I recently read the manual, watched some YouTube, and made 3 pairs of pajama shorts. It’s so fun to be able to make something for cheap that I’d normally have to buy, and I’m hoping to be able to use it to make gifts and make minor repairs or alterations on things I already own.
Like you, I also set a goal of learning a yarn craft (loom knitting, in my case). I did learn and like it, and I completed a couple projects, but it’s a slow enough craft that it’s probably not for me. I may still do it from time to time in the winter when I can’t garden, but sewing is just so much faster and easier.
Mavis Butterfield says
Sewing machines are such a good investment! I love that you are making Pj bottoms. 🙂
Jennifer says
Way to go on the mortgage!
I had ten goals, and I am making decent progress on some of them. Goal 1: Losing weight…better now that it’s so hot that eating is a chore (plus not teaching anymore). Goals 2, 4, 5, and 9 are on hold until fall. Goal 3: repair and paint 6 rooms…making progress and will likely be done with 4 by the end of July (plus flooring, which I did not anticipate, yay!).
Goal 6: cut out excess sugar…was doing well until I took a temp teaching job this spring. Back on the wagon, now. Goal 7: learn to use sewing machine and table saw as a lefty…not yet. Goal 8: as I redo room, cut possessions by 50%…yes for completed rooms. Goal 10: dogs are doing well learning command “stay,” “hold” and “quiet” are not going as well 🙂
bobbi dougherty says
great job on the goals! Will someone really buy those plastic knives at the garage sale though? Thanks
Mavis Butterfield says
We are going to find out!!! 🙂 It’s been my experience thought that people will just about buy anything.
Marcia says
Bye bye Muffy!
Good job on the mortgage.
Gosh I am so behind on updating my goals, ugh.
Mavis Butterfield says
I’m always eager to read your updates!!
Torry says
My friend and I go to the Goodwill outlet in Tacoma. It can be very hit and miss. However, I have gotten some great deals, too. I sew and sometimes find homemade little girls dresses with full skirts that I can take apart and repurpose. And it is the place to find things that aren’t made anymore!
Marie says
Wondering if you are tracking what taxes may look like for 2017 since selling your home on the east coast and nibbling on your principal here? We had a huge shock after paying down our mortgage, kids leaving home, student loans paid in full and no vehicle loans. Stop in to a tax person and check out their advice. Keep in mind it’s only advice yet it may open your eyes to just how attempting to slide off the grid pulls you back on in oh, so many ways.
Mavis Butterfield says
Yes. The only debt we have is our mortgage and believe me, I’d rather pay a wee bit more in taxes than have a mortgage.
Brenda says
This is how we learned the tax thing. Say you pay $10,000 a year in mortgage payments and it saves you $2,000 in taxes, you’ve still paid $10,000. Now if you have no mortgage and you still have to pay taxes, we still have $8,000 in the bank!! As for selling our second home last year, didn’t cost us any taxes. Our CPA told us as long as we didn’t make more than $500,000 in profit, there are no taxes!! The gov’t did away with the part about having to reinvest or pay!!
Katherine says
Does surviving a major home renovation while you live in the house count as a goal? We started the day after Christmas and we are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. We took the kitchen, dining room, family room, master bedroom down to the studs and converted a 4th bedroom into a master bathroom. We downsized to a smaller home last year and bought a 1960’s ranch that really needed to be updated. Best of all, we have managed to stay on budget!
The last thing on the list starts July 11th, the hardwood floors will be refinished. All but the bathrooms are hardwood so we have to move our stuff and ourselves out for a week. I have a very sweet next door neighbor that invited us to stay with her while the floors are being done so we don’t have to live in a hotel and but our 5 dogs in a kennel for the week.
Mavis Butterfield says
Umm YES. Surviving a home renovation totally counts as a GOAL. Oh my word, 5 dogs and a remodel? That would be very hard. And that was very sweet of your neighbor. 🙂
Seth - Hall Hobby Farm says
Sounds like you’ve made some great progress! I don’t have a mortgage but one of my biggest goals this year was paying down debt. I also set a goal to build my tiny house so all the extra money I could be putting into debt has been going to stuff for it. I’ve still managed to pay down a couple thousand bucks so far and I’m almost done with the house so hope to be completely debt free by March 2018!
michelle says
Mavis, catch me up I followed your blog for quite awhile, took a hiatus from social media, and now I’m back. What caused you to become unhappy with your new place and want to move? Was it HOA’s? That I can understand.
Mavis Butterfield says
2 words: Busy Bodies. And that’s all I’m going to say about that.
Sue R> says
Our family of 6 has lived without a mortgage for many years. It’s wonderful!!
Mavis Butterfield says
Awesome possum!
Jane says
Hi Mavis,
I have been reading your blog for over a year, and really enjoy it. I have been wondering this for quite a while, and now just have to ask, how are you and your husband able to make multiple additional principle payments each month? For most mortgages, an additional payment, even in the first two years of the loan, would be hundreds of dollars. For most people, their budget would not allow for multiple additional payments of this amount. I think that, even with your very thrifty ways, this is no easy task. I imagine your readers would benefit from any wisdom you could share as to how you are able to accomplish having hundreds of extra dollars freed up to pay down a mortgage as quickly as you have done!
Mavis Butterfield says
This is a very good question and the answer is really simple.
We have a budget, and in that budget we have money allocated for things like Lucy {$100 a month}, Clothing $100 a month, Medical/Dental $500 a month {I have crappy British teeth} Car Stuff {Insurance, Tolls, Gas/Tabs} Entertainment, Home Maintenance, Utilities and so on. When we don’t spend the money from those categories {which is quite often actually}, it goes directly towards the principal balance of our mortgage. I also do a couple of things on the side to earn extra money. But honestly, the best way to save money, is to just not spend it frivolously.
And everybody’s definition of frivolous is different.
At this stage in our lives, we have everything we NEED. And splurging to us is going out to a restaurant that costs like $25- $50 {sometimes once a month, sometimes not even that}. We plan for the worst and hope for the best and quite honestly, I think we have a tremendous amount of self control.
I truly ENJOY finding alternative {and simple} ways to save money and I think I could probably sit down with just about anyone and pick through their budget and show them ways they could be spending less.
Patricia says
Those coffee mugs are going to end up in your garage sale!