Ever run across someone that gives their children everything?
All the latest clothes, electronic gadgets, extracurricular activities, lavish weddings, education, you name it they have it. And then you find out the parents are struggling to keep their heads above water financially. Not “we’re just getting by.” No. I mean one month they don’t pay cable, another month they miss the electric bill; the rent gets paid late; always something and always “it’s for the kids!”
I was excited to hear that Adam of Man Vs Debt was working on a new eBook. I was even more excited to see the finished product – Sell Your Crap: Turn Your Clutter Into Cash.
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We can officially say we are moved in! Ok, we were moved in a week ago but I didn’t have an internet connection until today (I’m not counting Starbucks) so I couldn’t say it.
Besides closing and becoming home owners, we’ve had to make sure everything here at the new place is all set up. This includes: gas, electricity, cable, phone, water, and more. We also have to register our daughter for school in the Fall. Do you know how many documents you need to register a child?!? Of course what you need is proof of residence but we don’t have any utility bills just yet. We managed to get the utilities to send us letters saying we will be using their services at our address.
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It’s done. We closed on our home this past Friday. We are now officially home owners!
I can’t believe it’s complete. It was only a few months ago that we started looking for a house. We fully expected to be moving into a new home in the Fall but here we are with the keys to a new place. When we sold our co-op last year the process took so long; perhaps about six months total. I kidded with my wife – “Watch, we’ll end up buying a home lightning quick!” I didn’t think that would actually happen!
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In a previous article I talked about small steps to eat healthier.
Well, a study is out showing a possible link between certain pesticides and ADHD. The survey studied over 1,100 children between the ages of 8 and 15. Interviews with the parents determined which children had ADHD.
The findings then found that for those kids with the most frequent pesticide found in their urine samples, 20% had ADHD as opposed to 10% in kids with no trace amounts.
I think most people want to eat healthy.
But for many it’s too tough to start (especially eating healthy on a budget). We get into eating habits, that aren’t great, and its just too much to give them up and change our lifestyles.
So what do we do? We don’t bother; it’s too hard.
Does this help a person?
Nope. Does this sound like anything else we don’t take care of because its too hard? Yup, personal finance! So what’s the answer to eating healthy? Just like your personal finances, you can start with baby steps and move from there. Make small changes to your habits, little by little, and build up over time.
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We’re in contract to buy a house!
Our sellers signed the contract a couple of days ago and made it official. We’re extremely excited about owning a home. We’re also a little scared. A house is a big commitment that comes with a ton of expenses. We’re confident we can handle the payments and such but our finances will be tighter than they have been. It probably means no vacations for us for a bit. At least no big vacations, maybe a day trip or two here and there instead.
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“What are these home costs?!?” you scream to yourself as you start your life in your new home. You went through your budget with a fine tooth comb, making sure you could afford the mortgage payments. You negotiated the house price and got a good interest rate on the mortgage. You know what your local taxes will be and you home insurance costs. You thought you were set. Then the OTHER costs rear their heads. You quickly realize that owning a home isn’t all about being able to pay the mortgage.
There are a number of other costs you need to consider before you buy a house:
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I had the pleasure to interview Anja Winikka, editor at the well-known wedding website TheKnot.com. We discussed affordable weddings and how the current economy is affecting wedding decisions.
Hope you enjoy!
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I’m not much of a DVD movie buyer. Back in the day I would buy VHS movies that I liked. Most of them were watched frequently so the purchases were justified (I even wore a few out). But now that we are in the age of DVD (ok, we’re probably past that, but I’m a little slow to catch up to BluRay), I don’t really need DVD’s of my favorite movies. With cable and Netflix around I can always find something to watch and hardly get to any of the few DVD’s I already own. But there’s one BIG exception – KIDS MOVIES!
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