Up-date on the Down-size

Well, let me just say, it's a good thing we are starting early investigating what exactly we will be downsizing too. Just a few days ago I wrote that we intended to purchase a 40-75 thousand dollar house. We looked at a few that fell into the 45,000 category with a realtor this weekend. There is NO WAY we can buy a house and live in it if it only costs 45,000 dollars. These homes had no heating and no air which wasn't even the worst of their problems. They would certainly have been money pits needing a complete overhaul, or better yet demolition. The floors were very similar to the waves on the ocean, and the smells were certainly not pleasant, So. We have increased our price range to accommodate this new found, but not really surprising, knowledge. We had to start at the very bottom and work up. It's the best way to find what is going to be exactly right, and now we know 45,000 isn't it! Maybe closer to 75,000 will be right!

Deciding to Downsize

Well, I think it is pretty official-we are going to be downsizing. You may be asking why? There are many factors that have brought us to this point...I'm no longer working, It just makes sense, Why not?, It will be an adventure, Other friends have done it and it worked well for them (Thanks, MV and Renee!), It's a good investment, we still own another home, and on and on.

Now, when I mean downsizing, I mean REALLY downsizing. We are pretty much going to hold an estate sale and sell everything we own-except for the bare essentials and sentimental must haves, but furniture that doesn't fit into a place that is probably going to be just under 1000 sq. ft. has to go! All of the clothes I've stored up in storage for our next kids, any extra toys, Tv's, beds, yep, all of it. Fortunately, I have a good year to enjoy the stuff before it's time to say goodbye to it all. :)

If things go according to plan, we hope to buy a house and pay it off in about five years. Yes, that's right, five years. Many things have to fall into place before we ultimately commit to the decision-mainly finding the right place in the right location, but crazy as it sounds we are excited about this new perspective. The house we would buy would be in a range from 40,000 to 75000 dollars. Obviously, our mortgage payment would be low, and the plan is to use the other money to do things to fix up the house. Small things like replace carpet, paint, put up a fence, landscape-things we can do ourselves. Then in five years, or in two and a half if we just can't take it anymore, we SHOULD be able to sell it and have a great 20 percent down payment for a more "typical" home.

We don't like living paycheck to paycheck more than anyone else does, so we have decided to do something drastic about it. It may seem counter intuitive, but I will actually probably be spending MORE money with this plan because it will free it up to spend. Not that we won't have a budget, but I am so excited to think about being able to afford curtains, decor, plants for landscaping, enrolling Celeste in dance classes, and etc. All things that are out of the question right now at least without serious saving.

I certainly want to hear from all of you about our plan. I will listen to all words of wisdom, words of woe (make sure it's a safe location, has a good foundation, doesn't contain asbestos, etc), disdain, surprise, or whatever. We would love to hear how crazy you think we are or aren't!