You get what you pay for.

Anyone who has read my blog up to this point needs to know that we have willingly placed ourselves in these different situations. I am not complaining about the living conditions that we've endured in the past year, because the more I think about it, the more I realize that you really do get what you pay for. Sure, we could be renting a beautiful townhouse or 3 bedroom condo elsewhere, but that wouldn't help us to pay down our debt faster. When our current situation wears me down, I try to focus on the fact that we will be debt free next spring. Believe me when I say that is easier said than done.

This new place has brought many challenges, mostly in our ability to have patience. We are still waiting for a stove. Do you know how many meals you can cook without a stove? The answer is a lot. I've learned how to use a microwave and grill more in these last two months than I ever have in my whole life. And, we are still waiting for an electrician to come and fix the electric sockets in our kitchen and bathroom. Currently, we have a lovely green extension cord running from our bedroom into the kitchen. Thankfully, a mutlti-socket surge protector has allowed us the ability to plug in more than one appliance at a time. And, I think I've finally mastered the smell. When you have six bunnies living under your family area, and 3 barn cats living under your bedroom, you find creative ways to mask the animal smells. I've placed Bounce dryer sheets over the vents on the floor in our bedroom, and I now have a febreez non-burning candle right at our front door, which I change weekly. On top of that, I spray febreez on the carpets and couches about every other day, and last but not least, I burn candles. All of those things combined seem to help. But, I'll be honest, that's probably been the single greatest challenge for me so far.

I will say that we are nice and cool this summer and have used the inground swimming pool quite a bit. The property is beautiful, and we have thoroughly enjoyed the wild raspberries and blueberry bushes on the property. We look forward to the apples on the tree and the grapes soon to be growing on the vine.

I just want to reiterate that we willingly placed ourselves here (and at The Shack)! My mother reminds me on a regular basis that she thinks it's ridiculous! But, you really do get what you pay for. When I look back on the time that we spent becoming debt free, I want to be able to remember all that we went through to get to a better place financially. We want to be the head and not the tail. We want to be the lender and not the borrower. In order to get that place, sacrifice is sometimes required.