Awesome spaghetti sauce...

Yep, I made it. ;-) LOL! No one showed up tonight, but it was actually really kind of nice that way, since we got to enjoy awesome food, a relatively clean house, and some downtime. And Josh was out all day running errands, so I'm sure he enjoyed just getting to sit on the couch and watch Naruto before he has to go back to work tomorrow. He typically takes Thursdays and Sundays off, which means he works two days and then has a day off and then works three days and has a day off. Well, he did go to work today as one of his errands, but it was still a day off. :-P

Anyway, one of his errands was to visit the loan officer we used when we bought our house. We've been in this house for three and a half years and originally got a thirty year mortgage, because we really just could barely swing that. Now that things are looking better, interest rates are lower, and banks are eager for business, we're looking at increasing our payments by a couple hundred dollars and getting a fifteen-year loan at a 3.5 percent interest rate instead of the 6 percent we're paying now. Wouldn't that be awesome? I'm pretty excited and Josh said it would be extra motivating to him because then the end would be more in sight and he might be more likely to be willing to tack on extra payments. We always planned on paying the mortgage off faster than the thirty years, but sometimes it is hard to figure out how to prioritize when you're also trying to pay for maintenance and the appliances all break down about three or four years in. ;-)

Practically speaking, as far as I can tell, the only expensive appliance we have to replace at this point is the furnace/air conditioning unit. Things like refrigerators, ovens, and dishwashers can be purchased used at very low prices and with great functionality. We replaced the roof fairly recently after hail damage (insurance covered it), so I think, unless I'm missing something important, the home maintenance expenses should be fairly stable for a bit. But who knows? :-P LOL!

Anyway, I hope we can work out this refinance, since it would definitely put us closer to our goal of paying the house off. And it would give me more tangible incentive for scrimping and saving on things like food and clothing.