That dang exchange rate!

So, back when we first bought our land, thanks to the exchange rate taking a few dumps in our favor, we saved $10,000 on the purchase from what we initially thought we were going to have to pay in U.S. dollars.

Hooray us!

Well, this time, when it comes to wiring money to pay for construction of the house, we're getting the opposite treatment.

What the lord of savings giveth, he surely taketh away.

I've wired the first of the money down to start construction as well as transferring the money to pay for the INAH permit to be moved to the top of the stack.

Is this bribe money, my friends? I mean, it sure feels like we're bribing someone, but nobody has put it in such explicit terms.

While I'm not a fan of perpetuating or normalizing "bribes" (again, not saying that's what this is) I'm willing to overlook the possibility of this being one. I'd really like to get this done before my dad passes away so he can come and see it finished. I hope he's around a long time, but with his health even a year isn't guaranteed to us.

We'll need to take out a small-ish loan to pay for the rest of the build, but I'm hoping with interest rates being so tiny we can pay it off in 5 years.

We also received the construction and payment schedule for the house.

We didn't make it to Mérida in 2020 at all, but I'll likely be making up for it in 2021.

We'll need to make payments every two months in person, which will let us see the progress being made.

Assuming the construction schedule stays on track (and do construction schedules ever?) the house would be completed by November. That seems so dang close. It's exciting and scary all at the same time somehow!

We haven't even picked out a name for the house yet! I think that's a pretty important step for gringo homeowners in Mexico. Is it cheesy? Probably.

What color should it be? What about furniture? Appliances!

Okay, I'm putting the cart before the horse, but these are the thoughts stirring in my head.

2021 is set to be a whirlwind year for us. I hope everyone can stay healthy and we can make up for some of the bad and outright terrible of 2020. Good thoughts, people!

I hope to document the construction on YouTube as much as I can. So, stay tuned for that. I'll need to whip up a fancy new channel for it. Maybe get the Instagrams churning out, rather than my current lameness of two photos.

Well, that's all I got for today. Have a happy holidays and let's bring in that new year with hope and cheer!