Happy Frugal Friday and Happy New Year's Eve!
This Frugal Friday is going to look a little different as I reflect back on our year.
January 2021 - We were rapidly paying down a car loan, our first ever one of those. The kids and I were in an accident in May 2020 where our car was totaled. We, thankfully, were not injured and the other driver was safe as well. Unfortuntately, the damage was enough that our older car "wasn't worth the cost to repair" per the insurance. We opted to pay about 1/3 cash down and then to pay off the rest quickly on a new (to us 2018) low-milage (under 20,000) car vs paying full cash for something older and more miles. On top of the car, we were seriously looking at building a new house.
Mid 2021 - By March, we had made the difficult but firm decision to not move forward with the build. This was especially difficult as we loved the floor plan we had chosen and the kids had been along to several design meetings and toured the model home several times. We instead invested money into paying off the car loan completely and into some updates to our current house.
End of 2021 - We are very happy with that decision to not move. At the beginning of the process, the builder said we would be in our home by this Christmas. They have not even begun work on the part of the neighborhood that we would have built in. We would have been waiting/renting probably a year or more for our house. God knew best even when we didn't.
On a professional note, I am most proud to have donated over $7500 in cash and books in our community and across the mid-west. I have worked with ASSIST Indiana, Resources of Hope, Trinity Lutheran Church and School, as well as countless individuals in their efforts to fill their bookshelves and fundraise for causes they love. What a wonderful year to be a Book Lady!
As we look ahead to 2022, our family strives to continue to faithfully pay down our mortgage and to live with our eyes set on the goal of "owing no man anything but love" (Romans 13:8) We also have been praying over/discussing something new and fun in our business lives. Stayed tuned...
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