The End of Bottom Line

You may have noticed that there was no Bottom Line post last month. I had a graphic created and I was all ready to go, but then life got busy, and I got tired of posting, and the Bottom Line went by the wayside. Well, the Bottom Line posts, that is.

Behind the blogging scenes, we were still diligently working, heads down, noses to the grindstone. The goal was so close, we could almost taste it. I might not have been blogging about the Bottom Line, but the Bottom Line was never far from my thoughts.

In April, I wrote a Bottom Line post about the changing of our goals. Yesterday afternoon, a little after 12 PM, Eastern Standard Time, Peter and I walked into the bank which held our mortgage and we made the FINAL PAYMENT.

Today, we are home owners.

To say it's surreal would be an understatement. I cannot imagine a better Thanksgiving gift to ourselves than to be free and clear of the debt of our mortgage. Of course, we still have the PH that we need to pay off, but the momentum that we built and the success that we saw in such a short period of time with just a little self-discipline is enough to make us aim high. Who knows? Perhaps, a year from now, I'll be able to say that we just returned from making the final payment on the Project House. I believe that anything is possible!

Here is my financial encouragement to you: 
Find a goal - big or small, it doesn't have to be a house, it could be paying for Christmas with cash!
Do what it takes to reach that goal.
Get another job, eat beans and rice, stop shopping.
Keep that goal at the forefront of your mind, when you're in Target, browsing online, or you just don't feel like cooking tonight.
Stay focused on the goal.
If you experience a setback (and we did), don't get discouraged and give up.
Reward yourself when the goal is met (we personally went to Dunkin' Donuts - surprise, surprise!)

On a personal note: As Christians, Peter and I have slowly come to the understanding that nothing that we have belongs to us. Every. Single. Thing. - from our jobs to our house to the very next breath that we take - belongs to God. He gave it to us to steward. We don't always succeed in remembering that. In fact, many times we have failed, and our attachment to stuff has gotten in the way of relationships. But we pick ourselves up and move forward, making an effort to change. Our ultimate goals is to remember that we are stewards, not owners. Our prayer is that we will use this house to bring honor and glory to the One who gave it to us.

Thanks to all of you who have supported and encouraged along the journey. I hope you will continue to keep me updated on your own progress, whether it be paying off a credit card or saving a nestegg or making the final payment on your mortgage. It's an honor to cheer for you!

With Thanksgiving coming up in a couple of days, tell me...

What are YOU giving thanks for this week?