Saturday, April 21, 2012

On Finances, Couponing, and LIFE...



Yet again another draft post from the past. You can for sure tell when I was a bit too pre-occupied in life to actually publish my posts. Sorry this is a long one too. I think this was back in August or September of last year before we closed on the home.
The picture will make sense towards the end of the post... 


August-September 2011?

"HI there! So I sometimes have ramblings in my mind and I have been trying sort through them... today these are my thoughts...


I'm pretty sure everyone has heard about the coupon craze by now and has even learned a tid bit about it for themselves too. I have been couponing for a few years now. I still don't think I'm an EXTREME couponer but I now have successfully learned how to get items for free. My husband and I are in the in the process of buying our FIRST home(not for free, we'll get to that later)... after over 5 years of marriage we decided we could handle buying a home together *lol* Really, this is actually a big challenge. They say that if you can build a home together you can stay together forever... well we aren't building from scratch but we are remodeling WHEN we finally get the keys. I'm sure you'll hear more about our debates later on.


In the meant time we have a pile of student loan debt *thank you U of U, that's another story in and of itself* and we are Dave Ramsey freaks. oh yeah you already knew that... anyhow. As you might guess Dave doesn't think a $40,000 debt and a piece of paper that says you are now an MBA is worth it. Darn it Dave, this is the one where we WANT to disagree. Our feelings have been bouncing back and forth on this one. I would have to say that you do need all the education possible right now because when job hunting for an actual career(aka not Wendy's or Taco Bell) you do need to have the education to back you up. With that said, we weren't planning on it being $40,000 more like $25,000... tuition hikes a week before school wasn't in our plans especially since we were already moved and committed to going to school there. Well, the good thing is we did(I say we but I mean my hubby) get a job with a great company. Thank heavens! BUT the debt out weighs the yearly income. What to do, what to do?  


So why are we buying a house? oh yeah, because we will actually SAVE a ton of money with this purchase. Not only is it right by my hubby's work(so he can just walk to work), it is also only going to be about $300 a month mortgage-seriously(we pay $677 a month in rent) and instead of that money disappearing into the other guys pocket, it'll be building  wealth for us! We do have HOA fees which I know can be rather annoying but since there is a pool in the back yard and we get cable we don't mind** I'll get back to that in a minute. So all in all we will save about $500 extra a month by making the move, we will also have a newly remodel town home to live in while paying off debt(Dave also says try to pay cash for a home if you can, this is as close as we can get for our first home). After we have paid off all student loans and a car loan(we finally gave in after 5 years and got a second car, I'm so glad we did) we will save up the extra cash for a down payment on the next house.


Normally I don't think this far ahead, it just stresses me out. Thank goodness for my hubby for doing so.  


Ok back to why the HOA's are good  for us... a pool and cable... RENTERS enjoy these benefits therefore making the "rent-ability" (yes I just made that up) go up! And we are close to just about everything from the college, grocery stores, restaurants, shopping, gas stations... and so on. What's not to love about that? 


*If you ask my sister-in-law(and many others) she might say something like..."It's the ghetto!" ok so most rentals are not in ideal family places but college students aren't thinking about that anyway. On another note if the so called "ghetto" gives you a pool, cable, yard maintenance, walking distance to everything AND allows you to grow your wealth AND pay off debt... PLEASE I'LL LIVE THERE WITH NO SHAME!! I still love you though SIL! 


By the way, if you haven't figured out the end goal, here it is. 


Step 1) Buy and remodel the town home... 
Step 2) live in it until all student loans and the car loan are paid off(aggressive plan puts us paid off in about 2 1/2 years possibly even as short as two years) 
Step 3) save $$ for a down payment for the next home while paying off the town home 
Step 4) Rent our town home out and buy a HOUSE...one with a yard, garage, not attached to anyone else... that type... the kind that becomes a home in my mind."




UPDATE: Just in case you are wondering, there have not been any shootings or drug deals or other scary acts that would typically be considered ghetto happenings BUT the area is for sure not that nice... until you step inside our condo, lol... none the less... I have been caught referring to it as the ghetto. lol. I did overhear a neighbor fighting with her boyfriend... I think he is now an ex... a very belligerent ex.


AND WE HAVE TRIED VERY HARD TO CUT DOWN THAT AMOUNT OF TIME UNTIL DEBT IS PAID OFF... WE ARE SUCCEEDING AND SHOULD BE OUT OF HERE A LITTLE EARLIER THAN THE 2 1/2 YEARS... ABOUT 2 YEARS, MAYBE EVEN LESS THAN THAT!



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