Need pep talk

[Gonzo]

I am failing to see the problem here. You have all but paid off 90k in 4 years on a mortgage. In another two years max the truck and tractor will be clear. Keep it up and in 20 years you stand to be a millionaire. Did I miss something?

Thank You!
House was bought March 2016. In a couple of days the mortgage will be down to 2200. Part of the tax return will drop it to 1200. An extra paycheck in March should eliminate the mortgage.

It's hard to avoid the temptation of buying things. There is a 12,000 lb winch that I want to buy. It normally sells for 399 and now selling for 299. I am forcing myself to pass on it. About a month ago my 4wd got stuck next to my house as I was turning it around. I pulled out my cheap little 20 year old 2,000 lb winch and hooked it between a tree and my truck. At first the little winch wouldn't pull my truck out of the hole. With a pointed shovel I had to dig my truck out and the little winch finally pulled my truck out. Passing up that bigger winch is hard to do but I rationalized passing up on it because it's mid February and soon the snow will be gone. We just passed 100 inches of snow for this season a short while ago.

I will buy a new anode for my hot water heater. Rotten egg smell has got to go and $100 is a small price to pay.

After the house is paid off I'm going to take a small break by getting some steaks and living high off the hog so to speak for a while. Then I'll Lazer focus on paying off the truck.

Thank you for the positive words.

[Gonzo]

If you are getting $2K back, then you are overpaying. You need to adjust what is being taken out of your paycheck for taxes. Why give it to the tax man for him to use all year when you could use it during the year. That is over $150/month!

Sorry, some of that is advice, and I can see how you can get out of this debt, but you do need to make some different choices in what you are doing, such as eliminating that tax refund. I never quite understood why people are so happy to get a big tax refund as in general it is all money that you have given to various governing bodies interest free for the year! You were the one that wanted to pay off your mortgage as quickly as possibly which you have just about done. I suspect that by just making the regular payments it will be gone this year anyhow. With The extra $150 by not giving it to the taxman ahead of time, you could be buying more groceries and having a bit more variety in your life. If nothing else, you could budget for a steak at least once a month. I find them marked down at the two stores that I go to that have decent meat. Last I checked WM added 15% water to their meat which makes for very expensive water by the pound.

I was once in terrible debt and just drowning financially. Our minimum payments on house, car and credit card bills was MORE than my take home pay. He told every one that he made $800/week -- yeah he did, 2-3 times a year. The rest of the weeks he would gross $300-400, and be taking cash advances from his pay as well. To get out of that hole, I filed for divorce and kicked Mr. Big Bucks (what my son called him) out of the house, sold the house, and started getting my life back on track. Unfortunately, I had some health issues and still do and haven't been able to work out for most of the past 16 years, and no way do we have the same financial problems that I had with the ex! We have financial problems but hubby doesn't come home with half his paycheck spent before we even see it. Hopefully in two months some of the tightness will ease up a bit when our rental property is paid off. It is good to have something to look forward to. Whether you take any advice or not, once your mortgage is done, then you can focus on those credit card bills.

4500 is for a coal stove to heat the house with. Currently I heat with oil and I have a wood stove in the living room that I supplement it with. I get the wood for free by taking down trees for people. Minus my time, gas for my truck and chainsaw maintenance. The wood stove will get replaced by a coal stove. The coal is a lot cheaper than oil and burns longer than wood. The wood stove seems to need more wood every 2 hours. It will be nice to only add coal every or every other day. The stove is around 2700 but then there is piping to the outside etc etc. I am watching the used ads online at various sites. I'll keep the oil furnace in the basement for long periods when we are away.

I currently claim 0 to get money back when I file. I realize that I am missing out on interest and mathematically it's better to claim yourself but I don't miss the little difference in my checks and it's nice to get a pike of it in February.

[Gonzo]

If all you owe is 2600 on your house and you have that covered, it seems like you will be able to focus on getting your vehicles paid off in no time. That will probably do wonders for your cash flow.

I think msomnipotent made a good suggestion to hold back some funds to have an emergency fund and then add a little each month so you have some reserves.

I am curious, though. You seem like a do-it-yourself person--had you ever thought of doing your own taxes?

Next year I plan to do my own taxes. They should be fairly simple and straight forward.

I will let you guys/gals know that the previous year the irs sent me a letter stating that I owed them money plus penalties.....apparently the check that I wrote them was applied to the following year.....as to why this happened I have no clue. I will say that it was nice to have my tax preparer sit there with and figure it out with the irs.

[Gonzo]

I am failing to see the problem here. You have all but paid off 90k in 4 years on a mortgage. In another two years max the truck and tractor will be clear. Keep it up and in 20 years you stand to be a millionaire. Did I miss something?

Nothing missed and thanks!!!

[Gonzo]

If you are getting $2K back, then you are overpaying. You need to adjust what is being taken out of your paycheck for taxes. Why give it to the tax man for him to use all year when you could use it during the year. That is over $150/month!

Sorry, some of that is advice, and I can see how you can get out of this debt, but you do need to make some different choices in what you are doing, such as eliminating that tax refund. I never quite understood why people are so happy to get a big tax refund as in general it is all money that you have given to various governing bodies interest free for the year! You were the one that wanted to pay off your mortgage as quickly as possibly which you have just about done. I suspect that by just making the regular payments it will be gone this year anyhow. With The extra $150 by not giving it to the taxman ahead of time, you could be buying more groceries and having a bit more variety in your life. If nothing else, you could budget for a steak at least once a month. I find them marked down at the two stores that I go to that have decent meat. Last I checked WM added 15% water to their meat which makes for very expensive water by the pound.

I was once in terrible debt and just drowning financially. Our minimum payments on house, car and credit card bills was MORE than my take home pay. He told every one that he made $800/week -- yeah he did, 2-3 times a year. The rest of the weeks he would gross $300-400, and be taking cash advances from his pay as well. To get out of that hole, I filed for divorce and kicked Mr. Big Bucks (what my son called him) out of the house, sold the house, and started getting my life back on track. Unfortunately, I had some health issues and still do and haven't been able to work out for most of the past 16 years, and no way do we have the same financial problems that I had with the ex! We have financial problems but hubby doesn't come home with half his paycheck spent before we even see it. Hopefully in two months some of the tightness will ease up a bit when our rental property is paid off. It is good to have something to look forward to. Whether you take any advice or not, once your mortgage is done, then you can focus on those credit card bills.

I have no credit card bills.