It's going DOWN!

I thought I'd do a little reporting on the debt reduction progress.

Tomorrow I will be "unplugging" (see HERE for an explanation). I'm pretty excited to find new ways to gather funds to reduce The Debt. I don't know how significant the amount saved will be, but it will definitely be interesting to find out.

So far I've put nearly all of our IRS refund toward the debt. We just had a yard sale last week and I put all of that in the pot as well. My little ladder on the sidebar shows that those two items have already reduced things by 7%!

That doesn't SEEM like much, but that's 7% LESS than before. I'm happy with it.

We will be doing a quick camping trip at the end of this month. It was already scheduled (homeschool related). I did make one change that will save at least HALF of what we were going to spend. We were originally going to go to a the Boston Aquarium which was pretty pricey between the tickets and the parking. Campgrounds were also up there, price-wise. The subject for homeschooling is Oceanography. I decided to look around online and discovered that Woods Hole, MA has an actual working science aquarium . . . for FREE! There are a couple of other related exhibits/museums in the same area that are $2 per ticket.

Sea creatures will be seen (and petted), real oceanographers will be available for discussions, campgrounds are cheaper, and we'll get to see the ocean! All this for far less than originally planned.

Everything else that comes in, though, is going straight to The Debt.

Exhaustion--Thy Name is Roxanne

Two hours ago my sister and I finished two days of holding a yard sale. I meant to get pictures of how much we had displayed, but I couldn't find the camera. Believe me when I say that it looked like a four-family sale.

We cleared out quite a bit of stuff (though some of the furniture I was SURE would go did not). My goal all along has been to have what we love and need . . . and nothing more. I'm getting very near to that goal.

Despite that fact that I've decluttered before, I'm finding that each new "sweep" through my house always produces more items that I don't really want or need. I have regretted getting rid of only a very few things. I can't even remember what THOSE things were! Obviously they never needed to be in my house.

Though I need to clean up after this whirlwind and dispose of what was left (by donation), the house already feels lighter and less overwhelming. When I go shopping (and yard saling--wink, wink), I make sure that what I'm considering truly needs to be a part of my home. I'm finding more and more that the things just don't need to come with me. Less is best.


Another goal for my big sale this weekend was to put a little dent in The Debt. I'm going to put a ticker on this site so that I can see (and y'all can follow along) our debt actually going down. Progress that can be seen is very motivating, even though admitting how large our debt is will be embarrassing.


In the Bible, God told the Israelites that after 50 years, all debts were to be forgiven and all land would return to the original owners. He called that year "The Year of Jubilee." In Mobile, AL, times come when the ocean retreats without warning and the sea animals are left flopping around on the sand. Those who live on the shore ring bells to alert everyone to bring their coolers and load up on fresh seafood. They call that time, "Jubilee."


Once we are out from under the dark cloud of debt, abundance can truly be a part of our lives. Therefore, I'm determined to see our own "Year of Jubilee." Living in debt is not really living.


If you are in debt, are you ready for your own Jubilee? Are you ready to hear the bells ringing?