Want to know how we paid off our mortgage and bought our dream homestead with cash? Keep reading to find out how.
For a long time we were always the poor cousins. Ours kids wore second hand clothes and hand-me-downs, our cars were never bought new, and we sure didn’t upgrade our phones every 12 months. Our meals were simple, planned and prepared according to a strict budget. For a long time, we struggled to make ends meet.
You might look at this and think “well damn, that sounds depressing!” But the fact of the matter is, it all depends on how you look at it!
The fact of the matter is, it all depends how you look at things!
– me, after the fact
How do you pay your mortgage off early?
Well, it isn’t as simple as “save every penny and make additional payments.” There is actually a method to the madness.
Let me add a little context: Ever since my husband and I have been married, we’ve owned our own businesses. At first things were great, but then the government changed legislation and everyone in our industry kind of got shut out over night! Not wanting to experience that again, we took it as a lesson learned and decided to enter a field where the government didn’t regulate things so much.
My husband started our family business in a little room off our bedroom. Today it is kind of a service where he helps other people to improve their businesses. But starting a business from scratch when you’ve got three kids at home it’s tricky. For years we didn’t know how much money was going to come in. There were periods of depression and anxiety, until one day things turned around.
How did we pay off our mortgage so fast?
- First off we improved how we spent our money. Instead of budgeting in a reactive way, we aimed to bring in a certain amount that covered our basic expenses.
- Second, when our basic needs were covered, we began planning constructive ways to use our remaining funds. We divided them into envelopes such as tithes / offerings, mortgage, savings, investment, holidays, birthdays, and so on. Eventually, we got to add play money! (Because what’s the point of the journey if you can’t enjoy it while you’re in it?) But the point is, we had a plan for what our money would do once it hit the bank.
- As our investment envelope increased we began to dabble in different areas, stocks, cryptocurrency and so on.
- Soon our investments paid off. There’s always a risk, but we were able to withdraw a significant amount of earnings and allocate that where necessary, paying off debt.
- And fifth, this one is a little out of the box. We called a friend who moonlights as a real estate agent, we asked him “how much do you think we could get for our home?” He gave us a figure, and we thought “great!” At that point we were living in the city, the value of our home had gone up with natural market movement, so with a little renovating we were able to improve things so much so that with the sale of our home and investment profits, we would come out on top.
So we cashed in some of our investments, sold our home, and with the remaining balance we moved to the country to buy our dream homestead, which we paid for in cash.
Looking back, I know it wasn’t easy. Saying so would be a lie and a disservice. Occasionally it was rough. But when mother and father are working towards the same goals, it makes life a hell of a lot easier, and you both pull your hand-cart in the same direction.
And now, it’s time to do the lawns!
