Debt Junk.

So today we spent $1100 of the bus money to get our land surveyed.

We found out through the grapevine (and the hiring of a new totally with it realtor) that people weren't able to get a loan for the piece of land because it isn't listed as "buildable".  We've been assured by multiple parties that it will be buildable, but we thought we might be able to save some money and have someone else buy it and then foot the bill if they wanted to build on it...mostly because we didn't have $4300 to drop on it.

Michael and I did a lot of hard talking over the weekend and decided that the best route for us to take at this juncture would be to spend the front money to get the land surveyed.  We'll still have enough saved by the end of June to pay for the bus itself: $2500.  Then we'll park the bus and scrape together the rest of the money (if necessary) to finish making the lot officially "buildable".  THEN we'll start saving the other $2500 to get the bus live-in-able.

I'm frustrated with the delay, but I really think it's the best way to go at this point.  Closer to debt free is better.

We also decided we are absolutely, positively selling the house.  We're put dates on the calendar to purge, paint, and repair.  Jonah has already started going through his toys and books for a yard sale.  We figure we can get a cheap apartment or crash in a friend's basement until the bus is ready and we can ship out.  It's all very nerve wracking, but I think we're making progress, even though it's slow.

After the house is sold, our debt calculator will only include 40K of master's degree loans.  It's still a huge amount of money, but without a mortgage, we should be able to pay it off quickly.  I am hopeful.  Sad to see the thermometer on the sidebar go back down by $1100.  But hopeful.  Jonah and Maeryn are now excited to get the heck out of here.  They're already planning mischief for when they're essentially sharing a room.

PS - For those of you who donated specifically to the bus - your money will not be touched to pay off our other debts unless you have specified that it can be used as such.  Just wanted to make that clear.  We are SO grateful for the folks who have been generous in helping us achieve our dream of getting on the road and being debt free.  THANK YOU!