Why I started this blog

I've been putting this off, but it must be done. Lay it down in cyber ink why I started this inner dialogue.  Remember the saying, "Be careful what you wish for, because it might come true"? Well, that has something to do with it.

About 4 years ago, I had this wild notion that we ought to sell our house and use the equity we had built up over 11 years and buy another house for cash.  At the time, we owed about $70,000 on a house that was then worth about $250,000.  We didn't sell it for that much, but we did purchase another house for cash.  The catch was that it was a foreclosure that stood empty for 2 years, and it was a major fixer-upper. 

Well, long story short, we commenced a down-to-the-studs renovation.  We blew in foam insulation so we would not have a huge electric bill to heat and cool the house. We got new siding, roof, drywall, etc., etc. You get the idea. the job got bigger as the days went by.  It is not done yet, and it is still a work in progress, though the major jobs are done  In the process, however, we are back to where we were, owing $70,000 in a home equity loan, and that does not even factor in additional money we spent on the house.

Don't get me wrong, I love our house even in its unfinished state, and do not regret selling our old house.  We have more property, and I have a vegetable garden I always dreamed of, and looking forward to having some chickens and rabbits, perhaps next year, but financially, we are not where we hoped to be.  I feel bad for my husband, who always humors my crazy ideas.  I'm hoping that if I have a blog and forced to really reflect on how we, or rather, I am spending our money, I will do so wisely and hopefully will be able to retire those debts faster. 

As I stated in my very first post, we live well compared to most, and my husband brings home a very generous salary.  But it seems like we are being nickle and dimed to death.  The minor hemorrhaging here and there seems to always make finances tight. The rising prices of everything makes things even more difficult.  I think my situation is not unique.  Bottom line is that I want to do well by my husband and be a good custodian of salary he brings home.