This is definitely not a sappy post about making our wishes and dreams come true in terms of fantasies. It's just a post about how we do what we love within the budget that we have. So many of my friends ask how we are able to travel or refinish our home while buying organic groceries and having nice clothes. We do travel quite a bit, usually 2 to 3 trips a year. They are not exactly cheap trips either. We also buy new furniture, refinished rooms, paint, decorate, etc. continuously.
Do you want to know the secret? We have a small modest house with a small mortgage. We literally bought our home at the lowest it could ever be and it certainly needed work. But over the last six years we've been chipping away at it. That's the key - doing it slowly over time with the money that you have. We don't rack up credit card bills and we try to spend within our means. And if that means that instead of getting new carpeting so we can go on a family vacation- so be it.
Justin and I always talked about having a small house that we could totally deck out. I grew up in a massive home my parents built together that was 3200 ft.². But it was so large my mom couldn't even afford furniture to put in it. They were definitely house poor. I wasn't interested in that. Although we do talk now about expanding because we have another baby coming and we literally are living to the max capacity here in this house already, I am anxious to get rid of what we have. I don't want a larger mortgage because I like the lifestyle that we have. I like to shop when I want. I like to plan trips when I want. I like to buy a new bookshelf if I want it.
- But we also need to live comfortably so it's something we are chatting about. The price has to be right and I have no doubt that we will make an excellent turn around on our home. Just some food for thought as many of my friends are drowning in superhigh mortgages with large interest rates and tons and tons of credit card debt. And then they wonder why they can never go on a vacation. You have to spend wisely and decide what's important to you.
And although we do buy nice clothes, I usually get them at a super cheap price. I am definitely a penny pincher. I try to be savvy when it comes to shopping. I don't snip coupons, but I watch sales and I make good choices. The upside is also that Justin and I are not into super fancy things. I don't need to have designer handbags and high-end jewelry or clothing. We aren't "super decked out car" people either. We pay off our cars and drive them till they die. We also don't have to have the latest and greatest electronics. It's just not important to us. We basically buy food & clothes. The rest is towards basic bills and house upkeep. We try to put aside money for trips because we know that eventually we will hit the road again.
We are looking forward to going to Disney this fall and I am already planning on putting away money each month. We have been to Disney many times and we know the cost of just a basic hamburger. It's wise to save. Save save save! I'm just hoping one day my daughters will read this and follow the road that their parents have laid before them 😊
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