Funny how life turns out, isn’t it?
One month you’re young & single, and the next you’re married to the most frugal man in the world who’s usin’ phrases like “paying off the mortgage early” & “debt-free“.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. We’ve got our whole lives ahead of us, let’s just chill for a minute, okay?
(Apparently “chill” to Kevin means paying off the mortgage early in our mid-30’s.)
Here’s how we did it…
In 2009 we needed a change. I was struggling with health problems and we were tired of living in a home with a tiny backyard and neighbors so close to us on either side we could’ve high fived each other through the windows.
Our families called us crazy, and truthfully, we thought we were crazy ourselves.
But we did it anyway.
We bought our dream farm.
It was a 2500 sq ft home on ONE glorious acre of land, smack dab in the middle of town. A perfect cul de sac, perfectly mature trees, and some not so perfect things like a hideous blue roof, train tracks right behind our backyard, and the fact that the whole house smelled like smoke.
But it was too good to pass up, so we bought it at $250,000 and got to work on paying off the mortgage early.
Prepping for the dream of being debt-free
Before we ever laid eyes on our dream home, we lived in tiny apartments, worked as apartment managers, paid for school with grants or scholarships, and lived a tight budget to avoid any debt. We bought junky (but good brands) of cars and we made sure to live within our means. Yeah, we clipped coupons and yeah, we saved used gift bags in a box under the bed, but we had dreams, man. We knew we’d never get anywhere close to paying off the mortgage early if we started our journey in debt.
In the early years, we started the good habit of saving a little every month. With some planning, we were able to put away anywhere from $200-$500 a month into a savings account after all our expenses were paid for.
Purchasing the dream home
Because we had always put a little away each month into savings, we had exactly $11,600 to our names after the downpayment of our new dream home. Problem was, the house needed A LOT of work. We allowed ourselves only a $9K budget to get the house livable.
We started by gutting the inside of the home and paying a painter to spray the entire thing with Kilz primer. Next, we used a service called ozone treatment to run for a few days through all the vents & attic. It was already smelling better and we were ready to begin the fixup. We removed flooring, excess bricks around the fireplace, installed carpet & tile, and a few new ceiling fans. We didn’t have enough money to paint the entire house so we only painted the bedrooms and left everything else with a nice dusty coat of primer. We did a lot of the work ourselves & bribed family with food to help out.
Paying off the Mortgage Early: How we did it in 7 years!
From our calculations we figured making just two extra payments a year would bring our 30 year mortgage down to 15 years. (This is because those two extra payments go entirely towards the principal and not interest) We made our regular monthly payments, then twice a year when we got our tax returns or when Kevin got a bonus at work, we put it on the house. It felt awesome that in 15 years we’d be paying off mortgage early.
Things took a happy & unexpected turn when I started to gain followers from sharing our farming journey here at Weed ’em & Reap. In the beginning, I wrote about how horrible I was at milking goats, but then it gradually turned into a full website with articles on how to garden, raise animals, eat healthier, & live a toxic-free life.
I was able to learn from fellow blogging mentors and learn how to really run a successful website (hint: it’s all about how well you serve your readers).
Making money from blogging includes being versatile about income sources. While placing sponsored ads are helpful, the majority of our income is from products or services we feature. For some, it’s as simple as linking to a product we love and making a commission off an order. For others, it’s a long-term partnership with a company. On a daily basis, bloggers get approached by numerous companies that offer products, but most bloggers only feel comfortable promoting what they TRULY use every day themselves. Being authentic is important in this business and losing our readers’ trust is the last thing we want to do. So, it’s a careful line to balance — being sure to give plenty of free information but also choosing products to promote that we love to help pay for all the hours we pour into our websites.
For me, I love sharing about my favorite resources when it comes to farming, gardening, or health so if you’ve been following me for a while, you’ve seen me link to farming & gardening courses, real food meal plans, health books, summits, & essential oils (both selling them & teaching others how to sell them) Every single thing I promote I use every day and consider them perfect for the homesteader/healthy person type, like me:)
In the beginning of my blogging years, I was just happy to make $100 a month and cover the costs of hosting a website. But as my traffic grew, so did my income, and pretty soon I was able to use my income to make additional payments on the house. I started my blog in 2008 and by 2014 we were making monthly double — sometimes triple — payments on the mortgage. Anything and everything I made from my website I paid down on the house. And slowly, the mortgage got smaller and smaller until exactly 7 years later, in July 2016, our home was OFFICIALLY PAID OFF! We were successful in paying off our mortgage early!
Even though we have heard of Dave Ramsey’s amazing debt-free books, we’ve always just done things ourselves, never following a big plan, just working hard to save and pay off the mortgage early.
Reality check
Being patient through this entire process was definitely the hardest. Seeing every ounce of my hard-earned income from the blog go away to some bank in Iowa was killer! There were skipped vacations, embarrassing crappy car moments (oh the stories I could tell you!), thrift store shoppin’, and plenty of “Hey honey, I can fix it for free!” moments here on the farm. Going to movies rarely happened and ugly curtains (that I FINALLY *just* got rid of) greeted me each morning for 10 years.
But, you make choices and you live with ’em. And this was definitely a good choice for us! We have big plans for the future and are proud of ourselves for sticking with our goal. We still can’t believe that we are 100% debt-free!
Truth be told, we’ll always be a bit on the frugal side no matter how much money we earn. We’ve got big plans here for the home & farm, but having security is such an amazing feeling, so making sure to live within our means and keeping a good savings account is vital.
In the end, it’s really all about consistency. In the beginning we set small goals and over time as we made more, we could knock out more from our mortgage to be able to pay off the mortgage early
If you’re in the same boat & are hoping to become debt free — keep chuggin’ along, you’ll get there. And for those with frugal husbands or wives, I raise my glass to you in solidarity. May you continue to find joy in sneakily throwing away things your spouse deems “perfectly still good to use”.
Thank you for sharing your story.
So much depends on circumstance though doesnt it? We live on an acre in the south of england (with animals and homeschool :-)) – and it cost us about $1 000 000… We think its more important to have solid network of friends and family than to uproot ourselves so we stay in the area – with fantasies of moving to Arizona!!!?
We pay in any windfalls and dont really go on holiday because smaller mortgage is better than bigger one but debt free is impossible dream for most in UK…
Danelle, I find your blog to be very informative and inspirational. I can relate to so many of your posts. Thank you for all of the wonderful info !
Thank you for sharing! U have a beautiful family and home.
Thank you!
DaNelle
Such an inspiration for me to know what I thought was just a impossible dream has unfolded from watching you and your family do that very dream…becoming debt free…farming…becoming healthier from growing and raising natural. Also how you figured out how to make money blogging which would be great for me too for I have a lot of doctor bills too pay off…as I am not able to physically work due to breathing difficulties and having to go to doctors so much, but thank God I’m still alive and moving on. I have been looking for a mentor to just help guide me in this blogging…I have a website called ‘Expressing Oneself’ but not sure where to go from there though have posted some blogs but got discouraged cause no one supports my dreams. I’m also an artist which I have a Facebook page titled ‘Inspirally Correct Creations’. I believe in recycling and that is part of my artwork and spray paint art, along with acrylics and crafts, but not sure how to market them.
DaNelle,you are true inspiration and I will continue watch you and family make much success with a smile on my face and gladness in my heart to see it can be done with patience and consistency. God bless!!
All great stories! We live on a 1 acre plus lot and have rabbits (Mini rex ) plus Mini Lop, Goats which I milk 3, chickens way too many, Pigeons. I put all the manure in the compost to use in garden and potting plants I grow. I really enjoyed your garden box input and will use it. I use the cattle panels to grow vegies on. I am going to try the Mittlieder method for growing vegies as well.( growfood.com). Grow up on a Farm where we milked 60 head of cows, run 200 head of sheep, and some beef cattle. 300 acres of property not all in to farm ground. It took a lot of work. So it is hard to call an acre a Farm to me. I am looking to read all you have. I am 69, but still young. Love your info!
This post has inspired me. My husband and I just bought our homestead 7 months ago. We pay extra every month because we want to pay it down early, but I didn’t realize doubling the payment could allow us to pay it off in only 7 years. You just gave me a new goal. Thank you! Btw, you’ve done a gorgeous job with your home. 🙂
Thanks for the post and liking my pic on Instagram.
Very inspiring post. I used to blog and have chickens and bees. Then I had 4 boys in 7 and a half years and lost my blogging momentum. We also moved from midtown Tulsa to the suburbs and our HOA doesn’t allow farm animals so I gave my chickens and bees to my in-laws. My hands are now full with a huge house that needs a full remodel and 4 boys ranging in ages 8-1. We are very frugal too. Doing all the work ourselves with 4 little ones under foot. I don’t miss having the animals under foot at the moment since I honestly believe I am spread too thin. I miss blogging though.
Congratulations! That is super exciting. I have said the same thing money from my blogs will go to the mortgage but my biggest struggle is getting the extra money and saying “Oh the kids need this and I could use the money for that” But I keep the long term goal in mind- to have our mortgage paid off in 7 years as well. We are just starting our farm and will be welcoming a mini pig in December along with all our cats, chickens and dog. It’s exciting and your testimony is inspiring me to stick with it. It will be SO worth it!
I love your videos by the way! That’s how I found out about your blog!
Fantastic and congratulations! I just started my budget last month. I am 53 and have no savings, no retirement. I am single and have no net to fall back on, but I do have dreams and decided to go for it. I want goats again, and I want to raise my own chickens!!!! Thank you and keep on sharing, you give me hope and make me smile. God bless.
Good for you!
Hi Danelle,
congratulations! I have been following you for a couple of years and love your blog, it is so entertaining and instructive. The work you have done in the house is tremendous. It looks great!
Your story about paying the house is so inspiring too! We are starting a 2.5-acre miro-farm in permaculture, but we still have a big mortgage on the house and land,(our only debt). I am not earning any income due to health problems(systemic lupus) and my husband is the only one bringing in a wage. He is doing all the renovations by himself too, sometimes with the help of friends and family, as I can’t help with physical tasks anymore. To help, I am starting a website after watching your YouTube video about blogging where I’m going to track our progress, successes and failures. Your story shows that becoming debt free is doable with patience and determination! Thanks for giving us hope and well done!
Awesome, Marie! What a great adventure you’re starting!
You have my congratulations, Danelle.
Congratulations! Well done to you both. It definitely helps to have a frugal hobbies. I am the tight one in my family, and my husband is always giving out that I need to loosen the purse strings. I’m going to get him to read this. Onwards and upwards. Clare http://www.piemontedreams.com
Way to go! Our goal is to be a debt free farm in 3 years. It seems crazy, and overwhelming, but reading your story helps me relax. We have been told we a bit crazy moving into a run down house, but we all make sacrifices, right? Not many people would be ok living so close to train tracks, but it’s a small sacrifice for being able to have an acre and live the dream!
Totally! You’ll get there, it just takes planning and sacrificing!
That is so wonderful DaNelle! Congratulations!!
How wonderful! We plan to pay ours off early too. We started by refinancing to get a 2.85% interest rate. We did not take any equity out. I” over 59 1/2 so at the same time we put all my 401k money on the house as a down payment on the refi. Our house payment went from $1000/mo to $540 but we still pay the full $1000. We should have no house payment in 5 years.
Congrats! Not too far away!
To Danelle
I love hearing about your farm and progress. I love the fact you’s are debt free. I would love to get to that point.
We have five acres with about two acres being bush up the top of the hill.
We have three grandchildren who have come into our care and waiting patiently for them to be put in our care permanently.
One has issues of child hood trauma another cerable palsy and epperlepsy and the littlest is good has he was two and a half months old when he came into our care and he is three and a half years old now. We have started of our hobbie farm and we have one cow, four ducks, one rooster, three chickens, two baby chicks just a week old, five dogs, two cats and just started a small veggie patch.
We are hoping to get this little farm running so we can live off the land and hopefully save money and pay this mortgage off. I normally work in aged care but am off work until the little one go’s to school another two years. My wife works part time in a bank.
I love hearing about you guys and your farm. It gives me inspiration that we will get there one day.
Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos and information with all of us and my family.
From James and Julie Lugosi and family xx
This is herschel_the_cactus from Instagram! Found the post, read it, loved it. 🙂 Also, your house is adorable! I’m impressed you manage to do so much on one acre! Our dream is 10 to 15 acres, but to afford that we’re going to have to live pretty far outside town, even if we go to a cheaper area. Pros and cons, I guess.
This is awesome. We are mortgage free and it feels so good the freedom it gives is incredible. I too am married to a very frugal man.
That’s awesome! Good for you! We just bought our dream farm in June, and paid the same as you. I can’t even fathom being able to pay it off in 15 yes, let alone 7! It costs so much to feed our family well, and we live where we have very short growing seasons. And man, animals, feed , fencing…it all is costing us SO much to start up. Hopefully Hubby’s income will increase or I can start bringing some money in and we can do better.
Congratulations! What an inspirational journey.
? Great news. Know it is a big load off to have it paid off. Have a great day.?
Congratulations and thanks for sharing your story. You are inspiration!