Our Frugal Lifestyle

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Passionate about eco-frugality. I used to party hard, clubbing my way from pay-packet to pay-packet. Never getting ahead, just getting by. Then came our much wanted baby with no savings in the bank - only an old car. Changes were made to our lifestyle and we didn't turn back. In the past 6yrs we purchased a flat, found employment, lived below our means, built an emergency fund, purchased a reliable car and saw the financial benefits of our frugal lifestyle. Our only debt is our mortgage. Our aim is to manage our cash flow wisely, pay off our home quickly and eventually work for pleasure, not necessity. Join us on our journey, share insights, tips and tricks to help us and others to get ahead while having a good time.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Giveaway not Eco but it's Frugal

As most of you know I am a messy and chaotic person. And somewhat disorganised. Anyway I really wanted to do a Eco Magazine giveaway, however it seems they are sitting in the car that is parked in the street. And since it's a few minutes after midnight and I'm in my nightie I really don't feel like walking out there and search the car. I'll do the Eco Mags next weekend.

So instead I will giveaway One copy of my favourite paperback books on paying off your mortgage faster using frugal ways. Your Mortgage And How To Pay It Off in Five Years was one of the 1st books I began reading when I started on my frugal journey. The pages are starting to yellow (I live in the tropics) but they are all firmly intact. I learnt so much from this little gem and think you will too.


I think this book is useful for home owners paying off the mortgage but also renters who could learn some tips on how to make your money work harder by the way you spend it and use it. It's an easy book to read and Anita reads like a true friend.

All you have to do is write a tip or story on how you save/d money to pay/paid off your mortgage or rent. Dolly will pick out one random number out of a bowl and that will be the winner. I'm not techie enough yet for one of those random generators yet. So get your tips and stories in and lets share the savings. You have until the end of Wednesday 06 July 2011 and it's open to everyone in every country.

This is in celebration of hitting over 60 followers, also having a readership from non blogspot folks and because I just turned 41, 29 minutes ago...

Thank you to all of you for keeping me on track, giving great advice and support and allowing me to view a piece of your life. I really look forward to all your great tips and stories.

7 comments:

  1. Have a Happy, Happy Birthday! Big birthday hug to you. Are you doing anything special for your birthday?

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  2. Happy Birthday!! Sure, I'd like the book. We are 15 years into a traditional 30 year mortgage but we will have it paid off in roughly 5 to 7 more years. The way we accomplished this was for awhile we used to pay our mortgage payment weekly instead of monthly, so that ended up being more payments throughout the year. Also, when we refinanced to a super low rate a few years ago, we kept our payment the same and started paying our homeowner's insurance as a separate payment.

    I hope you are doing something special to celebrate your special day!

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  3. What a great book! We started late, my hubby and I when I moved over from America seven years ago. My hope has always been to own my own home during retirement. We purchased our unit two and a half years ago and have been paying in what we would have paid for rent, not focusing on the minimum amount that is due. The extra payments have already added up to 9,000.00! At this rate we will be paid off two years before retirement and plan to save the same amount of money and then take an overseas holiday with some of that saved money. I would be very interested to see what other ideas this author has. You always come up with the neatest ideas, thank you.

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  4. I have always rounded my payments up to the next solid amount(it was 525 so I sent 550) we have also always tried to pay two payments in december to get that extra bit paid at the end of the year

    I would love to have it gone though...

    Judy

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  5. I was buying my house on contract from the owner for $400 per month. When I got an actual loan from the bank, they financed it for 15 years for less than $300 per month. We figured out that if I kept up my previous payment ($400) since it was obviously something I could afford, I would have the house paid off in 7.5 years. I'd love to know how to turn it into 5!

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  6. I decided to not indulge in the trips and things friends did so that I could pay the mortgage each month. About a dozen women who divorced the same time I did 30 years ago lost their homes. They liked to party, gamble, travel,smoke, drink, and some did drugs. I started my own business and worked like a fiend while they dated, remarried, divorced, remarried, and had babies by several men. There is nothing inherently wrong with anything they did and they seem happy. But, I chose a different course. None of them own a house today unless it were acquired with the help of a husband--nothing wrong with that either! I never borrowed using my house as collateral. I would really like the book.

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Thanks for commenting - I love getting feedback, sharing experiences and learning from you.