Detours Happen...

Well..since the last entry, the house has been reshingled and the roof repaired as in plywood replaced where it needed replacing and a new septic (sewer) tank with drain lines installed because the old one was almost 40 years old and had failed and was costing us a lot in repeated pumpings.  This was not how we'd planned it, but we are thankful to the Lord for it, that it has been accomplished.  We had planned to pay off Hubby's truck earlier this year but the septic tank took that place in our budget.  The wood stove was installed this past winter and what a big blessing it is!  We also had 11 trees taken down, huge trees and some of them were leaning over our home but we were able to salvage the  ones that were oak trees for firewood, which Hubby is still working on accomplishing with his big wood piles he has stacked in the back yard.  The wood stove heats well and I've cooked different foods on top of it also when we used it this past winter.  We have incurred some more debt with the new roof but are working on at least reducing our total debt before retiring this October, Lord willing.  We had not planned on retiring with debt but that is how it appears to be working out.  At least, we are hoping that the debt we take into retirement will be 'manageable debt' since we will be only having social security income coming in, as far as we know.  One of our debtors we owe that we talked with agreed to refinance our debt with them and lower the monthly payment to a more manageable one earlier this year although this action put us out an extra year paying them off and an extra $1000 in finance charge with them.   We should be out of total debt within four years.  To me that sounds like a long time but I know that realistically, it isn't.  It just depends on how you look at it.  Hubby and I have talked about the pros and cons of his working longer and we both agree we'd rather go ahead and retire in October and spend time together and have less income after making loan payments each month, than for him to keep working for however long it would take for us to be totally debt free.  Currently we owe approximately $35,000 total debt on everything, which only includes one secured debt, the truck, which we anticipate we will hopefully have paid off before retirement.  We are also going to try to pay off another loan before retirement if we can.  If we can get those two loans off of us, we will be owing about $30,000 in debt in the remaining seven loans we owe, in October when we both retire.  (I am currently unemployed and gave up looking for work years ago after not getting anything for a long time of looking and being asked at my last interview if I had not already retired and not need the money?  Yes, for real, I'm not kidding.  That sort of did it for me with looking for a job anymore after that interview.)  Anyway, that about sums it up for now.  Hubby is counting down the months til October.  He has worked for many years...about 45 and of that, 35 at the work site he currently works at.  His work is very hard physical labor and he is 62 already so it is time for him to retire.  I have been waiting til he retires to officially retire so we will get more social security income by my waiting to begin mine when he begins his.  So that is it for now and we are very thankful to the Lord for all his many blessings on us, most importantly, eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour.