housekeeping

Its time for a little housekeeping in the castle. I am one of those people who actually likes and looks forward to change.

Over the next few days Ill be working on a new template for my blog here. Im hoping it loads a little faster, looks a little better, and is a tiny but easier to maintain.

So keep your eyes open! And please dont freak out if Im down for a day or two during the transition. In trying to make thing seamless, you sometimes have to get a little creative.

someday is here

When I was in my last year of undergrad at the University of Oklahoma, I expressed an interest in graduate studies. But at the time, I wasnt ready and I had no idea what direction I wanted to go with my life.

That was 11 1/2 years ago.

I think I know what I want to be when I grow up now. Graduate school has been a blip on my radar for 2 or 3 years now. A small blip.

This weekend I had a conversation with my dad and he asked what was stopping me. So I thought about it truthfully for a few minutes. Can you guess my only reason?

Fear.

Yep…fear of getting started. Fear of change. Fear of getting outside my comfort zone and exposing myself to real work and criticism. Fear of finding out whether Ill be really good at is or if Ill suck.

Fear.

I took the first step this morning and filled out the application. I have not yet submitted it.

This afternoon, I have to ask my boss, her boss, and my former boss for professional references since it HAS been 11+ years since undergrad and my favorite professors have all retired and/or passed away.

Fear.

Yes, Im scared to the bone, but Im getting through it. One step at a time.

my total money makeover

You may have noticed the nifty littler debt thermometer I have over in the sidebar.  I’ve thought about posting about this stuff for a long, long time, and finally decided to go ahead and bite the bullet.

Maybe it will keep me honest…with myself.

Maybe it will help to keep me on track and plugging away when the end seems so far away.

A little back story first…

I started following Dave Ramsey in 2005, shortly after Ella was born.  The plan was clear, concise, and easy to follow.  It’s a 7-step process, which, when stuck to, will get you out of all debt and teach you how to live on a budget, without debt, and build wealth for the rest of your life.  We call them the “baby steps.”

1. Save $1,000 in an emergency fund. It’s not a lot because it’s supposed to act as motivation to get your butt out of the hole you’ve dug.
2. Pay off all debt (except the mortgage) using the “Debt Snowball”. Basically, you pay your accounts from smallest balance to largest balance. Each time an account is paid off, you add the minimum payment to the “snowball” and send it to the next account on your list.  Also, any extra income can be (should be) added to the snowball on a monthly basis to knock the balances down faster.
3. Build the emergency fund to 3-6 months’ of expenses.
4. Invest 15% of your household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement funds.  If your place of employment has a 401(k) match, invest at least up to the match in that account.
5. Fund college for your kids
6. Pay off the mortgage early
7. Build wealth and give generously

The steps, however straightforward and simple they sound, are not exactly easy to stick to.  I was on board for probably a year before we moved to Wichita.  Once we moved, I lost my motivation.  I slowly slipped away from following the path that had shown itself to be working.  And I sank myself deeper into debt.

Fast forward to April 2010.  In the process of buying the house, I was forced to clean up a few old accounts that I’d been ignoring for years.  But I didn’t make any major strides to make headway with anything else.  And then, for reasons I still can pinpoint, something stirred inside me a few weeks ago and I re-installed the program YNAB (You Need A Budget) on my laptop.  I went back and started tracking my expenses from the day we moved into the house.  And I just about puked.

How did things get so out of whack?  I wasn’t spending more than I made, but I wasn’t saving anything either.  And the proportions of everything was so out of balance, I got a little ill looking at the numbers.  The majority of that $74,000 total is student loans and the collected interest from years of deferments.  My only other debts are my 2010 Suzuki, 1 Mastercard, and the house.

If you’ll stick with me for the next several years, you can watch me dig myself out of this hole.  Mastercard will be paid off by the end of October.  I’m hoping to have the car paid off less than a year later.  That student loan is going to take some time though.

I’m grateful my “shovel” is as large as it is.

two weeks

Has it already been two weeks since we moved into our home?  I can’t believe how quickly time passes once a goal has been reached.

I know you’re dying to see pictures.  I’m determined to get all of my stuff out of boxes before I take any.  Things are being put away.  Slowly…slowly.  I could rush, but then I’d hurt for another week.

I could have worked on it last weekend, but it was Mother’s Day weekend.  Oh, I also put together my new patio furniture and a trampoline.  And mowed my yard for the first time.  The weather was so gorgeous, we spent most of the two days outside. It was lovely!

Once the school-year activities are over with and summer begins, I’ll have more nights during the week to work around the house.  In theory, at least.

Softball begins almost as soon as school ends, and with two playing this year…

There go June and July!

Also?  The new furniture has yet to arrive.  It’s being delivered on Wednesday.  That in and of itself is exciting!!

Know anyone who needs an ugly brown loveseat/overstuffed chair set?  I have one to give away.  In fact, I’ll probably put it up on freecycle next week.  It’s gotta go before the purdy new pieces get here! No mixing gross and beautiful.  That’s just wrong.

If you really really want to see the house, stop by.  Just promise you’ll look past the boxes. And the fugly old furniture while it’s still here.

a castle for the queen

A lot can happen around here in six weeks.  The most recent six have been no exception!  After exploring education options for Lexi, fighting with the administration at the girls’ current school, and visiting one of the local Montessori schools, I’m only more frustrated about the future.  However, the experience did break my want to stay in this school district.

The same day I visited the Montessori school, I also met with my Realtor to explore housing options in a different part of town.  While I had been focusing on homes built in the last 10 years, I turned my attention to early 20th century neighborhoods.  The difference was astounding!  I was truly amazed by the wonderful gems hiding in these quaint little neighborhoods.

Then, about 3 weeks ago, I found it…a little cube of a house built in 1922.  And I fell in love.  The home had been updated electrically and the current (soon-to-be previous) owners had taken great care in their remodeling projects.  It’s perfect for my little family.  Realtor and I wrote up the first offer on Friday night and had a heck of a time through the weekend.  I even offered a lovely price…if they’d cancel the open house scheduled for Sunday.  They didn’t take it, and I was ready to walk away.  Tuesday, Realtor and I were scheduled to look at more homes, and to revisit a couple I had seen before.

But…the sellers came to their senses.  I had a signed contract that night.  The inspection happened Friday, and we negotiated repairs through the weekend.  I met with the Money Man and the Insurance Guy on Monday (March 28).  My loan has been approved through the underwriting process, and as of Friday night, the only we’re waiting on is the property appraisal.   Seems too good to be true.  Honestly, once the sellers signed the contract, things have been so easy.  It’s really unreal.

We close on April 28.  And it will be mine.  All mine…

With the girls…and the dog, I suppose.

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