Clean Slate

After my last post about finances, I got it in my head that I needed to streamline everything so that we are in the best possible money situation we could be in. We managed to consolidate our debt and refinance our mortgage to a better interest rate and a much shorter amortization period. If we stay on track, we will have the house paid off by the time I'm 47 - and I'm ok with that! Two years ago when we bought our house, we went for a 30 year amortization since we were biting off a little more than we could chew. Now we're in a great place and our new mortgage will be paid off in 21 years.

We decided to keep a small line of credit to give us a cushion incase something unexpected happens. We also switched to have a joint credit card with a much smaller credit limit. Before the recent legislation to stop banks from automatically increasing credit limits, Rob's old credit card had worked it's way up to a $19,000 limit... really? I can't think of anything we would buy that would cost that much that we couldn't pay for with a cheque. So glad they're no longer allowed to do that...

So, today the payments went through on our old accounts and we are starting from a clean slate. The challenge to live on cash. Save up ahead of time and spend only when necessary.

Let the saving begin!

Our first goal is to pay off the LOC and then start saving for a trip to Australia in February 2012. We'll need to save up the majority of the $ before Maddie starts daycare in January. After that, we need to think about a new kitchen and finishing the basement. I can't wait to send the kids downstairs to play so that my family room doesn't look like a tornado hit it...

What's your next big expense?