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As I mentioned last month, Crystal and I are in a race to pay off our mortgages.  The loser(henceforth known as “Crystal”) has to visit the winner.   Now, since–judging by the temperature–Crystal lives in Hell, I think it would be good for her to visit in the winter.  There something about the idea of going ice fishing, staring at a hole in the ice while sitting on a 5 gallon bucket, cursing the day I was born.

Today, she threw down the gauntlet again.   She has apparently decided that, since her prerequisites are met, she’s going to win.  Sure, she’s closed on her house and built her savings back up to $20000, but it doesn’t matter.  I’ve sent a small army of arson-ninjas to keep her from getting ahead.    They are so small, they can only carry tiny matches and single drops of gasoline, so the damage they can do is tiny, but it will add up.   Just a word of advice:  if you hire an army of arson-ninjas, go for the upsell and get ninjas that are at least 2 feet tall.   Anything less is just inefficient.

When I announced the race last month, my mortgage balance was $26,266.40.  Today, it is $25,382.53.   In three days, there will be another $880 applied to the principal.

In February, our renters will move in and we’ll conservatively have another $650 to pay.  When that starts, our balance should be around $23,000.   Adding a portion of the rent payment should mean we pay off the house in May 2014.  However, when I bring in our side hustle money, that will bring us back to September 2013.

Crystal’s projected payoff is July 2013, so I’ll have to hustle.