Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Another Milestone


Yes, it is a milestone day partly because Barack Obama has been elected - our first African-American president. It's nice to be part of history in this way.


Although here in Idaho our four electoral votes have been cast for the republican candidate since 1964. Still, I think it's important to vote for the candidate of your choice. Besides, the state candidates also need our support.











But another milestone has occurred here in Idaho, on a much, much smaller scale, and it was celebrated last night with another dinner out at Chandler's restaurant.

Kim and I have paid off our mortgage! No more house payments!

Feels great!

It wasn't a lot of money, and neither of us will be leaving our jobs. Most of the spare cash will go towards a much needed boost of our retirement fund. And then there's always taxes and insurance. But it sure feels good.

I remember my parents paying off their mortgage and how happy they were at the time.
How much would they be saving?
$75. That's right. They were spending $75 per month to buy their home. Unbelievable how such an increase in housing costs can occur in only one generation. Makes me wonder how my children will ever be able to afford a home.

Our dinner out was great as usual. Casey and Steph were able to join us and complete our table of six. Great food. Good wine. And complimentary chocolate soufflé for dessert.

8 comments:

Brenda said...

Congratulations! on paying off your home. HUGE Accomplishmemt!

mmichele said...

Congratulations on all counts!

Genie said...

Woo hoo, congratulations! We've got YEARS before we're even close to that! Definitely worth celebrating!

How were the truffles?????

Obama was my man and I'm relieved/grateful/ecstatic that he won, but I'm still proud of America for getting so involved this year no matter who they were voting for. Okay, maybe all the emails full of lies about various candidates got a little old, but I'm still proud that so many more people than ever before got involved and CARED.

Janet said...

CONGRATULATIONS on paying off your mortgage! We still have about 10 years to go on ours, but that's better than a lot of people have it. And I'm absolutely thrilled about the election results. I really wish we could leave partisanship behind and realize that we are all in this sinking ship together, but I know that's too much to hope for.

Rosemary said...

Congrats , up here we have a mortgage burning ceremony !Actually do burn the paper.Still I think I like your way even better.
Congrats on your new President.

Anonymous said...

Bien, deux bonnes nouvelles Obama, que plus de 80% des français adorent et la fin du remboursement de votre maison. Que de bonnes informations pour cet article. Quand tu dis que tu ne sais pas comment tes enfants pourront un jour acheter une maison alors que tes parents ne dépensaient que 75$ par mois pour la leur, ne penses tu pas non plus qu'à leur époque ils avaient moins d'argent quand ils travaillaient que nous n'en avons maintenant ? Je pense que dans quelques années quand tes enfants auront fini de payer leur maison, ils diront la même chose que toi, que tu ne payais pas beaucoup par rapport à eux et qu'ils s'inquièteront de savoir comment leurs propres enfants pourront un jour acheter une maison à eux... La vie est comme ça, je ne m'inquiète pas pour ça. Mes collègues râlent toujours en disant que la vie est dure, qu'on n'y arrive pas, mais nos grands parents disaient la même chose, et pourtant ils avaient moins de choses que nous, actuellement beaucoup de famille ont une maison avec piscine, deux voitures, le téléphone et l'Internet, les téléphones portables pour chacun des enfants, ils partent tous en vacances dans des endroits très chers ou à l'étranger, et tout le monde dit que c'est dur... soyons réalistes, vivons....
Bisous...

François,

PS : je ne sais pas si j'ai répondu à ton mail, mais je suis très content de revoir Vanessa et Chris ensemble... Chris est quelqu'un en qui j'ai une grande confiance..... Bizarre ce cousin français, tu ne trouves pas ??

Jeffrey said...

Awesome for you...

And on Obama and the election ..... This breakthrough has been a long time coming for America ... I hope he proves to be the right person at the right time. I have faith.

Kylee Baumle said...

Congratulations! I'm so envious that you have your house paid off! We hope to celebrate that in a few years, too! What a good feeling that must be!