So, for those spooky bottls and apothecary jars and things labels are always fun!
There are a bunch of free printable ones here:
http://www.itsybitsyfun.com/halloween-labels.html#.Vh39_aJgOi6
She has done an amazing job with them! To use them use regular white glue, and brush it on the bottle with a paintbrush. Place the label on, and cover with more glue. For a yellowed look if you have a laser printer, brush with tea first and let dry.
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Fog Machine with Juice $32 at Target this week!
Hi!
It has been a while!
I finally bought a house and move in and am now ready to start blogging again in earnest!
Tonight I was at Target and they have a $10 off $40 Halloween purchase coupon. All of our Halloween stuff is long gone, lost in my first divorce ten years ago. This year my plans are fairly simple, and will involve some materials leftover from our move since we definitely have lots of supplies around.
I plan to create a full graveyard, with random bodies lying around wrapped in plastic, and a fw tombstones and spiders and glowing eyes peering from bushes and such. The fog machine and strobe light will make it ultra scary.
Just one problem, no fog machine. Or strobe light!
Anyway, Target has two fog machines this year. The lower end one is $35. The fog juice is $7 a bottle. We bought both for $42 and used the coupon to get them for $32... scary creepy graveyard, here we come!
It has been a while!
I finally bought a house and move in and am now ready to start blogging again in earnest!
Tonight I was at Target and they have a $10 off $40 Halloween purchase coupon. All of our Halloween stuff is long gone, lost in my first divorce ten years ago. This year my plans are fairly simple, and will involve some materials leftover from our move since we definitely have lots of supplies around.
I plan to create a full graveyard, with random bodies lying around wrapped in plastic, and a fw tombstones and spiders and glowing eyes peering from bushes and such. The fog machine and strobe light will make it ultra scary.
Just one problem, no fog machine. Or strobe light!
Anyway, Target has two fog machines this year. The lower end one is $35. The fog juice is $7 a bottle. We bought both for $42 and used the coupon to get them for $32... scary creepy graveyard, here we come!
Friday, September 18, 2015
Planned Obsalescence
In this crazy world of environmental concern, with everything from solar panels to smart cars, it is fascinating that no one ever mentions the concept of planned obsolescence.
Planned obsolescence or built-in obsolescence in industrial design is a policy of planning or designing a product with an artificially limited useful life, so it will become obsolete, that is, unfashionable or no longer functional after a certain period of time.
How many of our clothes were created and designed with this in mind?
Did you know Bic razors have a metal strip with a thin coating of shaving soap on it that washes away after a few uses and makes the razor irritate your skin so you think you need a new blade? How much do you think that costs? And how many landfills has it filled up?
This is done in everything from toasters to cars.
I have gone towards buying things that have no planned obsolescence built into them.
I am switching to the old fashioned razors, the kind that use a double sided razor blade instead of the fancy blades that really don't cut as well.
I have my son using shaving soap and a brush. The one bar of shaving soap I bought him for Christmas two years ago is still going strong. I can get a new one at CVS for around $3 I think... when was the last time a can of shaving gel did that?
I have an antique folding travel iron that I bought on E-Bay to go with my Singer Featherweight sewing machine. I did not realize until I used it just how awful my current iron is. No wonder I never ironed clothes. Why would I? The iron didn't actually work. And the steam ensures that the iron becomes useless after a few years. The antique one doesn't use steam, just heat, and it irons way, way, way better. Like night and day better. And my Singer Featherweight, well, it is worth its weight in gold. No modern sewing machine can compete.
Essentially, our modern marketplace is full of junky products designed to break or become obsolote, so we can buy new ones, and keep the company in positive cash flow. But at what cost?
Did you know the earliest light bulbs could last 30-40 years? They were not designed with filaments that snap after a year. There is one in California still going strong and it has been 113 years.
http://priceonomics.com/the-mysterious-case-of-the-113-year-old-light-bulb/
I think we are overdue for a rebellion against this, and I think in the near future we will begin to see more value given by consumers to products that last as opposed to prematurely die. At least I hope so.
Planned obsolescence or built-in obsolescence in industrial design is a policy of planning or designing a product with an artificially limited useful life, so it will become obsolete, that is, unfashionable or no longer functional after a certain period of time.
How many of our clothes were created and designed with this in mind?
Did you know Bic razors have a metal strip with a thin coating of shaving soap on it that washes away after a few uses and makes the razor irritate your skin so you think you need a new blade? How much do you think that costs? And how many landfills has it filled up?
This is done in everything from toasters to cars.
I have gone towards buying things that have no planned obsolescence built into them.
I am switching to the old fashioned razors, the kind that use a double sided razor blade instead of the fancy blades that really don't cut as well.
I have my son using shaving soap and a brush. The one bar of shaving soap I bought him for Christmas two years ago is still going strong. I can get a new one at CVS for around $3 I think... when was the last time a can of shaving gel did that?
I have an antique folding travel iron that I bought on E-Bay to go with my Singer Featherweight sewing machine. I did not realize until I used it just how awful my current iron is. No wonder I never ironed clothes. Why would I? The iron didn't actually work. And the steam ensures that the iron becomes useless after a few years. The antique one doesn't use steam, just heat, and it irons way, way, way better. Like night and day better. And my Singer Featherweight, well, it is worth its weight in gold. No modern sewing machine can compete.
Essentially, our modern marketplace is full of junky products designed to break or become obsolote, so we can buy new ones, and keep the company in positive cash flow. But at what cost?
Did you know the earliest light bulbs could last 30-40 years? They were not designed with filaments that snap after a year. There is one in California still going strong and it has been 113 years.
http://priceonomics.com/the-mysterious-case-of-the-113-year-old-light-bulb/
I think we are overdue for a rebellion against this, and I think in the near future we will begin to see more value given by consumers to products that last as opposed to prematurely die. At least I hope so.
The Decision to Buy a House
Homeownership.
This is a big one. Especially for me.
I grew up in a house that moved every four years at a minimum. I never lived in one place longer than that. I am perfectly happy being nomadic and moving around and enjoying all that life has to offer.
I read an incredible article a while ago about why people in New Zealand are so wealthy. They have a per-capita home ownership rate that is the lowest in the world, they mostly all rent, and they can move around to new opportunities and jobs and are not stuck in one place.
I think that is pretty amazing. And it made me decide a few years ago that home ownership was not for me. All that maintenance, homeowners associations, all that jazz. I was going to link to the article, but it no longer exists in any of the searches I tried.
Well, this year my son entered high school. And that radically and immediately changed my thinking. I am stuck here for at least the next four years. I pay $1223 a month for my apartment right now. Last year my rent increase was $25 not including taxes. Add another $25 or $30 this year and wow, that is really a lot of money. And what am I getting for this money? I have a 2 bedroom apartment, with two pools, a hot tub, and filthy carpeting that I hate. I have a 14 year old who is 6'2, and a dog, and a cat. I have enough stuff to comfortably furnish a house twice the size, mostly stuff I just can't part with leftover from my first marriage. My son can't go swimming alone because, while the posted age for this is 14, the front office has the lease set for 16. With no real land in here, just all parking spaces, that leaves my son in here driving me bonkers and making a mess every day. There are no kids his age outside, probably because their parents don't want them playing in traffic either.
I can't have a garden. I have tried everything to grow vegetables in here, and nothing will grow. Everything I bring in here dies within a day or two. Everything. Even flowers.
So, this year my lease is up January 16th. I know at that time I will be forced to either pay more for this apartment than it is reasonably worth, or move somewhere else, where I can get a drastically lower rent for the first year, and then play the increase game again until the apartment becomes more costly than any reasonable person would pay, again. Did I mention I have enough stuff to furnish a house? Mobility is really not my thing. Moving is herculean for us.
I realized that I can buy a home using my VA home loan for $0 down. And upon figuring out the numbers, my mortgage will be fixed at the same price for 30 years, the same price I am currently paying for this apartment. No moving. No stressful rent increases. And, with a little intelligence, a much nicer place and a pool my son can actually swim in without me needing to go roast myself in the heat and get a tan I do not need or want. I can cook dinner in my amazing and beautiful kitchen while he splashes away, no problem. My home will be 1.5 times bigger, with no carpet, and no crazy traffic. It also has kids that play outside. It is on a cul-de-sac, so they can play safely without worrying about the 800 zillion cars that are constantly speeding over the speed bumps in this place.
With all of those factors, I realized the best thing I could do would be buy a home. Lose value, increase in value, it really won't matter that much. If I decide after 5 years not to live in it, I can rent it, either traditionally or through AirBNB, as this area has times of the year when all hotels completely fill up. If it increases in value that helps my financial stability in the future, and if it does not, just having a stable mortgage with no need to move so often will help financially just as much. It really was a non-decision. Especially after I saw the amazing home I could buy for the same money.
The first thing I intend to do after I move in is start my garden. Just the savings in food alone will help immensely. Not to mention I will be the only one handling my food, and who doesn't love fresh veggies?? I also have a clothesline, the kind my grandma used to have... I plan to use that too. In this apartment drying clothes anywhere but the dryer is not an option, but I actually prefer the way clothes look and feel when dried on a line. They are flat, with no ironing necessary. I plan to use the dryer for possibly fluffing them, but that is about it.
I also have a garage. I think having a garage in Arizona is pretty important, because the heat here kills batteries and destroys tires. Not to mention paint. My car will probably last a lot longer, and that helps. The money currently being spent on my car loan will go towards the mortgage too.
After talking to my amazing loan officer (I will be writing a blog post entirely devoted to him soon, as he has been amazing - Dave Nichols, National Bank of Kansas City dnichols@nbofkc.com ), I realized that it is not necessary to take out a 15 year mortgage. A 30 year is just as good if you have no prepayment penalty. I can now decide to pay the 15 year mortgage amount without having to qualify for it, and if I have an emergency or a loss of income, I can opt to pay just the 30 year amount. Paying just $100 a month extra towards a 30 year mortgage will pay it off in 24 years. A garden with the way food prices are right now can make up $100 a month pretty easily if you grow the right things. My goal is to try and pay it off in 15 years. We will see how I do. If I do it, I will be 56 years old when my mortgage pays off. 56, with no mortgage payment and no rent, and a piece of property probably (hopefully) worth at least what I paid, that I can sell if I really want to. If things go even better, I will have a piece of property worth more than I paid. Only time will tell.
This is a big one. Especially for me.
I grew up in a house that moved every four years at a minimum. I never lived in one place longer than that. I am perfectly happy being nomadic and moving around and enjoying all that life has to offer.
I read an incredible article a while ago about why people in New Zealand are so wealthy. They have a per-capita home ownership rate that is the lowest in the world, they mostly all rent, and they can move around to new opportunities and jobs and are not stuck in one place.
I think that is pretty amazing. And it made me decide a few years ago that home ownership was not for me. All that maintenance, homeowners associations, all that jazz. I was going to link to the article, but it no longer exists in any of the searches I tried.
Well, this year my son entered high school. And that radically and immediately changed my thinking. I am stuck here for at least the next four years. I pay $1223 a month for my apartment right now. Last year my rent increase was $25 not including taxes. Add another $25 or $30 this year and wow, that is really a lot of money. And what am I getting for this money? I have a 2 bedroom apartment, with two pools, a hot tub, and filthy carpeting that I hate. I have a 14 year old who is 6'2, and a dog, and a cat. I have enough stuff to comfortably furnish a house twice the size, mostly stuff I just can't part with leftover from my first marriage. My son can't go swimming alone because, while the posted age for this is 14, the front office has the lease set for 16. With no real land in here, just all parking spaces, that leaves my son in here driving me bonkers and making a mess every day. There are no kids his age outside, probably because their parents don't want them playing in traffic either.
I can't have a garden. I have tried everything to grow vegetables in here, and nothing will grow. Everything I bring in here dies within a day or two. Everything. Even flowers.
So, this year my lease is up January 16th. I know at that time I will be forced to either pay more for this apartment than it is reasonably worth, or move somewhere else, where I can get a drastically lower rent for the first year, and then play the increase game again until the apartment becomes more costly than any reasonable person would pay, again. Did I mention I have enough stuff to furnish a house? Mobility is really not my thing. Moving is herculean for us.
I realized that I can buy a home using my VA home loan for $0 down. And upon figuring out the numbers, my mortgage will be fixed at the same price for 30 years, the same price I am currently paying for this apartment. No moving. No stressful rent increases. And, with a little intelligence, a much nicer place and a pool my son can actually swim in without me needing to go roast myself in the heat and get a tan I do not need or want. I can cook dinner in my amazing and beautiful kitchen while he splashes away, no problem. My home will be 1.5 times bigger, with no carpet, and no crazy traffic. It also has kids that play outside. It is on a cul-de-sac, so they can play safely without worrying about the 800 zillion cars that are constantly speeding over the speed bumps in this place.
With all of those factors, I realized the best thing I could do would be buy a home. Lose value, increase in value, it really won't matter that much. If I decide after 5 years not to live in it, I can rent it, either traditionally or through AirBNB, as this area has times of the year when all hotels completely fill up. If it increases in value that helps my financial stability in the future, and if it does not, just having a stable mortgage with no need to move so often will help financially just as much. It really was a non-decision. Especially after I saw the amazing home I could buy for the same money.
The first thing I intend to do after I move in is start my garden. Just the savings in food alone will help immensely. Not to mention I will be the only one handling my food, and who doesn't love fresh veggies?? I also have a clothesline, the kind my grandma used to have... I plan to use that too. In this apartment drying clothes anywhere but the dryer is not an option, but I actually prefer the way clothes look and feel when dried on a line. They are flat, with no ironing necessary. I plan to use the dryer for possibly fluffing them, but that is about it.
I also have a garage. I think having a garage in Arizona is pretty important, because the heat here kills batteries and destroys tires. Not to mention paint. My car will probably last a lot longer, and that helps. The money currently being spent on my car loan will go towards the mortgage too.
After talking to my amazing loan officer (I will be writing a blog post entirely devoted to him soon, as he has been amazing - Dave Nichols, National Bank of Kansas City dnichols@nbofkc.com ), I realized that it is not necessary to take out a 15 year mortgage. A 30 year is just as good if you have no prepayment penalty. I can now decide to pay the 15 year mortgage amount without having to qualify for it, and if I have an emergency or a loss of income, I can opt to pay just the 30 year amount. Paying just $100 a month extra towards a 30 year mortgage will pay it off in 24 years. A garden with the way food prices are right now can make up $100 a month pretty easily if you grow the right things. My goal is to try and pay it off in 15 years. We will see how I do. If I do it, I will be 56 years old when my mortgage pays off. 56, with no mortgage payment and no rent, and a piece of property probably (hopefully) worth at least what I paid, that I can sell if I really want to. If things go even better, I will have a piece of property worth more than I paid. Only time will tell.
Basic Finance - Part Two
My new husband taught me a lot of what I know about finance.
He showed me how to work on my credit score.
He taught me how to manage a household budget.
He taught me how to apply for a credit card.
He taught me why credit is important, and how to use it in a way that helps you get ahead instead of behind.
He helped me buy my first car.
We bought our first house together.
And now it is those lessons that I am using to get myself back to where I was before our divorce.
The most important thing he taught me though, was the importance of attitude. If you wake up everyday telling yourself that you are in a temporary slump, instead of permanently poor, you will not be permanently poor.
Poor is a state of mind.
Breaking the cycle of being poor begins with how you see yourself.
The day I filed my bankruptcy (unavoidable due to our nasty divorce) I applied for my first credit card. I searched credit boards (www.creditboards.com) for one that would approve me and that was not prepaid so it would actually report to the credit bureaus and start helping me build a credit score again. I was approved. The card charged a fee of $100 a year and gave no benefits other than a high interest rate. It had a $500 limit.
I used that card for some of my bills each month, to establish a routine of running up a balance and paying it off.
My credit score prior to the bankruptcy was around a 300.
After bankruptcy it came up a little bit. But for two years that card was the only one I could get.
I monitored my credit score monthly using Credit Karma. Credit Karma (www.creditkarma.com) is free, and it will give you a baseline score so you can actually see the impact of your actions.
I paid every bill on time, and I was super careful to keep my balance on that card paid off in full every month.
I got another card after two years, and then another. I finally closed the first account to get rid of the pesky annual fee. The third card I was approved for was the Best Buy card. For a year I ran every bill I could through that card. I would pay the bills with it, and pay it off with the money for those bills. That way I could show responsibility, and a constantly revolving balance. I got Best Buy rewards, and I purchased my iPhone there with those rewards later. I am still a platinum Best Buy member, lol, so I get free shipping and first access to Best Buy sales. Card benefits that really are not that helpful, but better than just paying my bills and getting nothing back. Same bills, no interest if you pay it off every month. And $5 or $10 back every month if you keep doing it.
After that, I didn't apply for any cards for a long time. I moved to Arizona, I re-married, and I put all that stuff on the back burner. I divorced. This one wasn't nasty. And this time I had safeguarded my credit by not intermingling our finances.
I re-entered the workforce, my son was with his dad in California for half the year, so it only made sense. My son was sent out to live with me full time two months later, and I have had full custody ever since. I kept my job as my son was now old enough that he could handle being by himself in the afternoon for an hour or two a day.
I had credit card debt leftover from my marriage, and I was working very hard to pay that off. I had a ten year old Hyundai that was fast approaching the point where the repair bills would be far more than the value of the car. I heard an ad on the radio to "pay off your holiday debt" where the car company would give you $3000 cash for purchasing a new car. I read the reviews online, and they sucked, the dealership offering the deal had the worst kind of rating. I looked up dealerships with good reviews and called some asking for a price match. I got one. In one day I paid off all of my credit cards and got a reliable vehicle with two years of free oil changes and 6 years of warranty.
I was now debt free, except for my car loan.
I got my tax return, and it was quite substantial because of the child tax credit. For once in my life, I was finally ahead of the game. That didn't last long though, lol... I got laid off due to a bad merge between my company and another one. I was unemployed for three months, and completely stressed out, but I had enough money to get me through.
I found the Indeed App. I highly recommend the Indeed App. You can set up an account on Indeed.com, and through their app on your phone apply for lots of jobs (not all, but lots) in ten seconds or less. My job search became far easier. I found a new job, and I was once again on solid financial ground. Things were going great.
It was right at this time that my dad got sick. I had to get to Alabama with my son for my dad's emergency brain surgery. I didn't have the money to do so after being unemployed. I called my credit card companies to see if I could get a credit limit increase. I magically got a $3000 increase from Capital One that morning because I had been responsible and paid off the card in full when I bought the car. I hadn't used that card since because it didn't offer any benefits like the Best Buy card, and something is always better than nothing. They really came through for me and saved me. My dad was able to have us there for his surgery and he didn't have the stress of trying to figure out how to cover my plane tickets or anything. He was proud of me for being able to figure it out on my own. In retrospect I feel like it was a gift for both of us. Every time I call Capitol One I thank them. They probably think I am insane, but honestly, not all debt is bad. Some gets you where you need to be when you need to be there.
The debt from my dad's surgery trip got paid off with my tax return the following year. I applied for a few cards in the two month period after I had everything paid off from the tax return, and I finally got the coveted airline miles card I had wanted all this time, but could not qualify for. I got 50,000 bonus miles for signing up. Those 50,000 miles ended up paying for the tickets for my son and I to go back home for my dad's funeral. This was another last minute trip, but the total cost of that trip was far less than the emergency one the year before because of that card benefit. I still ran up my cards, but this time it was to buy gifts and dinners for my family, to help comfort them in this time of sadness and need, instead of spending it on just the plane tickets. I took my mom out to their favorite restaurant for dinner, I bought Pandora charms for everyone in memory of my dad, I was able to do things that ordinarily I wouldn't have been able to afford.
Imagine always having a stash of airline miles laying around for anytime you want to take a trip. I now use my airline miles cards (I got a couple more after the first one, credit card companies compete, and once you get one the rest follow) to pay every bill every month. I roll my bills through those cards so I never really have to carry a balance and I get the airline miles and I get the credit boost that comes from using the cards.
This summer, in honor of my dad, I decided that my big goal would be to take my son scuba diving to Belize. I signed us up for scuba diving classes. I got us certified. I did my research and figured out that the tickets would cost around 100,000 miles and a few hundred dollars, and I planned out how to get enough of both. The plan was to go next summer. I started following The Points Guy on Facebook, and he mentioned low rates to Costa Rica one day. I decided to look at Belize and see if by any miracle they had sale tickets as well. I was able to get round trip tickets to Belize on Delta using 70,000 miles and $135. We are going a lot earlier than my plan, and it was all by complete accident.
Fast forward six months. I was feeling like perhaps a home loan would be somewhere in my future. I applied thinking that I had a lot of time, and I would be able to look at what is out there and figure out where I stand and what I need to do to finally own my own home. I was approved by several banks at once and my phone was ringing non-stop with mortgage companies ready to help me. No one was as shocked as me. We move in a week from today.
If I can do this, anyone can do this. Ther is nothing special or remarkable about me, there is nothing different from anyone else, with the possible exception of attitude, and anyone can have a great attitude.
The first step if to look at your credit score, and create a plan to improve it. Mine was a 300 when I started. A 300... almost anyone has a better one than that!!
He showed me how to work on my credit score.
He taught me how to manage a household budget.
He taught me how to apply for a credit card.
He taught me why credit is important, and how to use it in a way that helps you get ahead instead of behind.
He helped me buy my first car.
We bought our first house together.
And now it is those lessons that I am using to get myself back to where I was before our divorce.
The most important thing he taught me though, was the importance of attitude. If you wake up everyday telling yourself that you are in a temporary slump, instead of permanently poor, you will not be permanently poor.
Poor is a state of mind.
Breaking the cycle of being poor begins with how you see yourself.
The day I filed my bankruptcy (unavoidable due to our nasty divorce) I applied for my first credit card. I searched credit boards (www.creditboards.com) for one that would approve me and that was not prepaid so it would actually report to the credit bureaus and start helping me build a credit score again. I was approved. The card charged a fee of $100 a year and gave no benefits other than a high interest rate. It had a $500 limit.
I used that card for some of my bills each month, to establish a routine of running up a balance and paying it off.
My credit score prior to the bankruptcy was around a 300.
After bankruptcy it came up a little bit. But for two years that card was the only one I could get.
I monitored my credit score monthly using Credit Karma. Credit Karma (www.creditkarma.com) is free, and it will give you a baseline score so you can actually see the impact of your actions.
I paid every bill on time, and I was super careful to keep my balance on that card paid off in full every month.
I got another card after two years, and then another. I finally closed the first account to get rid of the pesky annual fee. The third card I was approved for was the Best Buy card. For a year I ran every bill I could through that card. I would pay the bills with it, and pay it off with the money for those bills. That way I could show responsibility, and a constantly revolving balance. I got Best Buy rewards, and I purchased my iPhone there with those rewards later. I am still a platinum Best Buy member, lol, so I get free shipping and first access to Best Buy sales. Card benefits that really are not that helpful, but better than just paying my bills and getting nothing back. Same bills, no interest if you pay it off every month. And $5 or $10 back every month if you keep doing it.
After that, I didn't apply for any cards for a long time. I moved to Arizona, I re-married, and I put all that stuff on the back burner. I divorced. This one wasn't nasty. And this time I had safeguarded my credit by not intermingling our finances.
I re-entered the workforce, my son was with his dad in California for half the year, so it only made sense. My son was sent out to live with me full time two months later, and I have had full custody ever since. I kept my job as my son was now old enough that he could handle being by himself in the afternoon for an hour or two a day.
I had credit card debt leftover from my marriage, and I was working very hard to pay that off. I had a ten year old Hyundai that was fast approaching the point where the repair bills would be far more than the value of the car. I heard an ad on the radio to "pay off your holiday debt" where the car company would give you $3000 cash for purchasing a new car. I read the reviews online, and they sucked, the dealership offering the deal had the worst kind of rating. I looked up dealerships with good reviews and called some asking for a price match. I got one. In one day I paid off all of my credit cards and got a reliable vehicle with two years of free oil changes and 6 years of warranty.
I was now debt free, except for my car loan.
I got my tax return, and it was quite substantial because of the child tax credit. For once in my life, I was finally ahead of the game. That didn't last long though, lol... I got laid off due to a bad merge between my company and another one. I was unemployed for three months, and completely stressed out, but I had enough money to get me through.
I found the Indeed App. I highly recommend the Indeed App. You can set up an account on Indeed.com, and through their app on your phone apply for lots of jobs (not all, but lots) in ten seconds or less. My job search became far easier. I found a new job, and I was once again on solid financial ground. Things were going great.
It was right at this time that my dad got sick. I had to get to Alabama with my son for my dad's emergency brain surgery. I didn't have the money to do so after being unemployed. I called my credit card companies to see if I could get a credit limit increase. I magically got a $3000 increase from Capital One that morning because I had been responsible and paid off the card in full when I bought the car. I hadn't used that card since because it didn't offer any benefits like the Best Buy card, and something is always better than nothing. They really came through for me and saved me. My dad was able to have us there for his surgery and he didn't have the stress of trying to figure out how to cover my plane tickets or anything. He was proud of me for being able to figure it out on my own. In retrospect I feel like it was a gift for both of us. Every time I call Capitol One I thank them. They probably think I am insane, but honestly, not all debt is bad. Some gets you where you need to be when you need to be there.
The debt from my dad's surgery trip got paid off with my tax return the following year. I applied for a few cards in the two month period after I had everything paid off from the tax return, and I finally got the coveted airline miles card I had wanted all this time, but could not qualify for. I got 50,000 bonus miles for signing up. Those 50,000 miles ended up paying for the tickets for my son and I to go back home for my dad's funeral. This was another last minute trip, but the total cost of that trip was far less than the emergency one the year before because of that card benefit. I still ran up my cards, but this time it was to buy gifts and dinners for my family, to help comfort them in this time of sadness and need, instead of spending it on just the plane tickets. I took my mom out to their favorite restaurant for dinner, I bought Pandora charms for everyone in memory of my dad, I was able to do things that ordinarily I wouldn't have been able to afford.
Imagine always having a stash of airline miles laying around for anytime you want to take a trip. I now use my airline miles cards (I got a couple more after the first one, credit card companies compete, and once you get one the rest follow) to pay every bill every month. I roll my bills through those cards so I never really have to carry a balance and I get the airline miles and I get the credit boost that comes from using the cards.
This summer, in honor of my dad, I decided that my big goal would be to take my son scuba diving to Belize. I signed us up for scuba diving classes. I got us certified. I did my research and figured out that the tickets would cost around 100,000 miles and a few hundred dollars, and I planned out how to get enough of both. The plan was to go next summer. I started following The Points Guy on Facebook, and he mentioned low rates to Costa Rica one day. I decided to look at Belize and see if by any miracle they had sale tickets as well. I was able to get round trip tickets to Belize on Delta using 70,000 miles and $135. We are going a lot earlier than my plan, and it was all by complete accident.
Fast forward six months. I was feeling like perhaps a home loan would be somewhere in my future. I applied thinking that I had a lot of time, and I would be able to look at what is out there and figure out where I stand and what I need to do to finally own my own home. I was approved by several banks at once and my phone was ringing non-stop with mortgage companies ready to help me. No one was as shocked as me. We move in a week from today.
If I can do this, anyone can do this. Ther is nothing special or remarkable about me, there is nothing different from anyone else, with the possible exception of attitude, and anyone can have a great attitude.
The first step if to look at your credit score, and create a plan to improve it. Mine was a 300 when I started. A 300... almost anyone has a better one than that!!
Thursday, September 17, 2015
Basic Finance - A two part series
I had a long conversation with a friend today. And a during the conversation I had a realization. The average American does not have a basic understanding of how to manage financial issues beyond the average day-to-day struggles of just paying bills.
I thought about that.
A basic financial education seems so essential. We are taught Algebra, Geometry, all kinds of math, but nothing about how to pay off a mortgage, avoid too much interest, how to buy a car, which car to buy to make the most financial sense...
And so I got to thinking about where I learned.
My first lesson was actually a punishment. I failed Algebra and I was put in remedial math. Remedial math was basic household math. I learned the most basic essential math I would need to function in society. The lessons included:
How to balance a checkbook
How to figure out the sale price of an item if there is a percent off
And that was years ago, and that is all I really remember.
I now realize, my blog can help people if I can just figure out how to teach the things I know.
My next financial lessons also came at a huge personal price. My dad left me in Canada and agreed to pay my tuition for college, and my room and board. My dad's idea of "board" and mine were vastly different. I had to do it on $100 a month. That was my budget for food, and just about anything else I needed. It really wasn't enough, but I had to learn to live on it.
I was vegetarian, and that helped. I bought rice and the old veggies from the clearance bin at the nicest supermarket I could walk to. We would bring them home, and chop them up, and make them into wahtever we could. I remember I would use powdered buttermilk bought in bulk as a sauce to simmer red bell peppers in. I got really creative. We ate well, and I usuall had enough leftover for a few CDs or maybe a night out... tough to do on a budget that tight.
After that I came to live in the US and moved out of my parent's house. My first time on my own. I got a job at a restaurant as a hostess, and I rented a room in the basement of a condo. I had four roommates in that condo, and we shared our bills. I walked to work, it was a little over a mile, and if I worked late, I got a ride from someone if I could. I had to have an emergency root canal, and that set me back quite a bit. I made arrangements with a dentist to make payments, and he did the root canal for me. I had no credit, so I couldn't get financing. It was at that point I decided to join the Army.
The Army took care of the rest of the dental work I needed. I got a full physical, I got a paycheck, a fancy new job title, and I shipped out for Basic Training. I put my stuff in a storage unit. I will never forget, in Basic they ask for your home address. I didn't have one. I got screamed at by a mean lady because I did not have an address to give her. I finally gave her my parent's address, but seriously, I was 23 years old, I hadn't lived at home in a while, and I did not consider their address mine. Neither did they, lol...
The Army also had lessons to teach about finance. At that time I had the kind of bank card that just cuts you off if you overdraft. No fees, no ceremony, just stranded somewhere asking your friends to cover the tab becaue you miscalculated. Thank goodness for friends!!
It was here I met my husband.... and this is to be continued....
I thought about that.
A basic financial education seems so essential. We are taught Algebra, Geometry, all kinds of math, but nothing about how to pay off a mortgage, avoid too much interest, how to buy a car, which car to buy to make the most financial sense...
And so I got to thinking about where I learned.
My first lesson was actually a punishment. I failed Algebra and I was put in remedial math. Remedial math was basic household math. I learned the most basic essential math I would need to function in society. The lessons included:
How to balance a checkbook
How to figure out the sale price of an item if there is a percent off
And that was years ago, and that is all I really remember.
I now realize, my blog can help people if I can just figure out how to teach the things I know.
My next financial lessons also came at a huge personal price. My dad left me in Canada and agreed to pay my tuition for college, and my room and board. My dad's idea of "board" and mine were vastly different. I had to do it on $100 a month. That was my budget for food, and just about anything else I needed. It really wasn't enough, but I had to learn to live on it.
I was vegetarian, and that helped. I bought rice and the old veggies from the clearance bin at the nicest supermarket I could walk to. We would bring them home, and chop them up, and make them into wahtever we could. I remember I would use powdered buttermilk bought in bulk as a sauce to simmer red bell peppers in. I got really creative. We ate well, and I usuall had enough leftover for a few CDs or maybe a night out... tough to do on a budget that tight.
After that I came to live in the US and moved out of my parent's house. My first time on my own. I got a job at a restaurant as a hostess, and I rented a room in the basement of a condo. I had four roommates in that condo, and we shared our bills. I walked to work, it was a little over a mile, and if I worked late, I got a ride from someone if I could. I had to have an emergency root canal, and that set me back quite a bit. I made arrangements with a dentist to make payments, and he did the root canal for me. I had no credit, so I couldn't get financing. It was at that point I decided to join the Army.
The Army took care of the rest of the dental work I needed. I got a full physical, I got a paycheck, a fancy new job title, and I shipped out for Basic Training. I put my stuff in a storage unit. I will never forget, in Basic they ask for your home address. I didn't have one. I got screamed at by a mean lady because I did not have an address to give her. I finally gave her my parent's address, but seriously, I was 23 years old, I hadn't lived at home in a while, and I did not consider their address mine. Neither did they, lol...
The Army also had lessons to teach about finance. At that time I had the kind of bank card that just cuts you off if you overdraft. No fees, no ceremony, just stranded somewhere asking your friends to cover the tab becaue you miscalculated. Thank goodness for friends!!
It was here I met my husband.... and this is to be continued....
Friday, August 28, 2015
Hiring a Real Estate Agent
I am not exactly a first time home buyer. The first time I bought a home it was a new home, after much trial and tribulation, argument, search, and final agreement. That was 15 years ago. That house was taken by my ex in our divorce, and ironically, offered to me by him yesterday so I will move back to Fresno. That answer was a resounding no.
This time around is a little different. I am in a different city. I am buying this home by myself, so there is no one to argue with. I am limited by the high school my son is already going to. He has been with the same kids since the 6th grade, he knows them, and he gets along with everyone. For a kid with Asperger's, that means absolutely everything, so there is not a question about moving to a different school to save a little money. So, I am locked into a very expensive area and searching for a home on a limited budget.
I really did not know what I was doing two weeks ago. I found a site with local property listings on Google, I was contacted by a nice-enough agent, I found a house I was interested in, and I called my agent to take me to go look at it.
My mistake. This agent gave me all kinds of song and dance and could not answer even my simplest questions. We made an offer on the house. Supposedly he was in contact with the seller's agent, they were considering my offer, etc. etc. They came back with a counter offer $5000 over the asking price of the home. I knew there had been a severe communication breach, and I knew my agent was responsible.
So, I called a few friends from outside this area, and I consulted on what an agent is really supposed to be doing. I confirmed my suspicions that perhaps my agent had not quite done the job he was surely happy to accept that commission check for. I called a new agent, at the recommendation of a friend of a friend, possibly the best thing I ever did.
Things an agent should do:
1. Listen to you about what you need and want in a home.
2. Help you find appropriate listings that meet your needs in your price range.
3. Show you the listings you are interested in after talking to you about the merits of each one on the list, why you like it or don't, etc.
4. When you find a house you like, this is when a good agent is invaluable and worth every dollar they get paid.
5. They communicate with the Seller's agent and find out as much information as possible.
6. They find out why the house is on the market.
7. They find out what other offers the seller has on the property. <----- ESSENTIAL!!!
8. They find out what the lowest price for the house could possibly be, and why (in my case the seller has a contingent offer on a town house in a different area, so any offer has to allow him to get into his town house).
The house I was looking at is priced higher per square foot than any other comparable home that has sold in the area. As it turns out, this is reasonable, because the house is on a massive lot, has a heated pool, has travertine marble throughout (even in the closets), and a brand new kitchen. The house has a lot of upgrades, is in great shape, passed inspection with very little worth noting, has a new roof, the list goes on and on. Comparable houses in the area don't even come close in terms of the upgrades that were done to them or their condition.
My first agent didn't bother finding out any information. He had one call with the seller's agent, during which he managed to offend the agent by insulting the house, and that is why the offer was $10,000 off from what my agent predicted, and $5000 over the asking price of the house.
My second agent got all of the details, we wrote the offer together, we explained why we felt the house was a perfect fit for my son and I, why the pool would help with his Asperger's syndrome, why the property and extra space mattered so much, all of it. The seller took one look at my offer and cried, and decided to accept even though it was lower than another offer he received, and we have now had enough conversations to know that the house was his mom's. She had done all of the work and the upgrades and the maintenance. This house was her home, her baby, and she had suffered from cancer during the last four years of her life inside it's walls. I could feel her presence when I walked in, and I knew this house was for us. There were a lot of other signs as well. The floors are the same floors I chose when we ripped the carpet out of the first house I had owned years before. The wooden shutters on every window are the same wooden shutters I had installed in the other house. The white walls were the same as the way I most loved my first home, open and airy and beautiful. And out back, there was a clothes line that looks very similar to the one my grandmother had in her back yard in Nebraska my whole childhood. The seller and I both cried a little when we met (he went out of this way to meet me after reading the letters included with my offer). He knows his mom would want my son and I to have the house. I know it is the perfect house for us.
My first agent called me at 9 am this morning (he knows I work nights, he woke me up anyway). He finally had three listings for me to take a look at, and wanted to know if I would be interested in a town house. I did not have the heart to tell him that I am already in escrow on the house he messed up on over a week ago, that I already did the home inspection yesterday, and that there is not a chance of me ever buying a town house. Hopefully one day he catches on, but in the meantime, it feels good to know we will soon have the incredible home we are meant to have.
My first agent, when I asked him to find out if there were other offers on the home, told me it was not possible to get that information. For every question I had, he had an excuse. I don't have time for excuses. I don't make them, and I don't deal with people who do.
My second agent not only salvaged the deal on the house I really wanted, she showed me a few others at the same time. We made offers on two houses last week. The other agent didn't even show me one.
I am not paying any more for a good agent. They cost the same. But what I am getting for my money from one over the other is invaluable.
If anyone wants the name of my second agent, I am happy to recommend her. She is fantastic, has well-priced home inspectors and handymen she works with, and she knows the market here. When she finally saw the house I was so obsessed with she couldn't believe how nice it was. She knew the market and was able to tell me with confidence that I would never find a house like that in my price range again, especially not in the area where I was looking. Her confidence gave me confidence.
This time around is a little different. I am in a different city. I am buying this home by myself, so there is no one to argue with. I am limited by the high school my son is already going to. He has been with the same kids since the 6th grade, he knows them, and he gets along with everyone. For a kid with Asperger's, that means absolutely everything, so there is not a question about moving to a different school to save a little money. So, I am locked into a very expensive area and searching for a home on a limited budget.
I really did not know what I was doing two weeks ago. I found a site with local property listings on Google, I was contacted by a nice-enough agent, I found a house I was interested in, and I called my agent to take me to go look at it.
My mistake. This agent gave me all kinds of song and dance and could not answer even my simplest questions. We made an offer on the house. Supposedly he was in contact with the seller's agent, they were considering my offer, etc. etc. They came back with a counter offer $5000 over the asking price of the home. I knew there had been a severe communication breach, and I knew my agent was responsible.
So, I called a few friends from outside this area, and I consulted on what an agent is really supposed to be doing. I confirmed my suspicions that perhaps my agent had not quite done the job he was surely happy to accept that commission check for. I called a new agent, at the recommendation of a friend of a friend, possibly the best thing I ever did.
Things an agent should do:
1. Listen to you about what you need and want in a home.
2. Help you find appropriate listings that meet your needs in your price range.
3. Show you the listings you are interested in after talking to you about the merits of each one on the list, why you like it or don't, etc.
4. When you find a house you like, this is when a good agent is invaluable and worth every dollar they get paid.
5. They communicate with the Seller's agent and find out as much information as possible.
6. They find out why the house is on the market.
7. They find out what other offers the seller has on the property. <----- ESSENTIAL!!!
8. They find out what the lowest price for the house could possibly be, and why (in my case the seller has a contingent offer on a town house in a different area, so any offer has to allow him to get into his town house).
The house I was looking at is priced higher per square foot than any other comparable home that has sold in the area. As it turns out, this is reasonable, because the house is on a massive lot, has a heated pool, has travertine marble throughout (even in the closets), and a brand new kitchen. The house has a lot of upgrades, is in great shape, passed inspection with very little worth noting, has a new roof, the list goes on and on. Comparable houses in the area don't even come close in terms of the upgrades that were done to them or their condition.
My first agent didn't bother finding out any information. He had one call with the seller's agent, during which he managed to offend the agent by insulting the house, and that is why the offer was $10,000 off from what my agent predicted, and $5000 over the asking price of the house.
My second agent got all of the details, we wrote the offer together, we explained why we felt the house was a perfect fit for my son and I, why the pool would help with his Asperger's syndrome, why the property and extra space mattered so much, all of it. The seller took one look at my offer and cried, and decided to accept even though it was lower than another offer he received, and we have now had enough conversations to know that the house was his mom's. She had done all of the work and the upgrades and the maintenance. This house was her home, her baby, and she had suffered from cancer during the last four years of her life inside it's walls. I could feel her presence when I walked in, and I knew this house was for us. There were a lot of other signs as well. The floors are the same floors I chose when we ripped the carpet out of the first house I had owned years before. The wooden shutters on every window are the same wooden shutters I had installed in the other house. The white walls were the same as the way I most loved my first home, open and airy and beautiful. And out back, there was a clothes line that looks very similar to the one my grandmother had in her back yard in Nebraska my whole childhood. The seller and I both cried a little when we met (he went out of this way to meet me after reading the letters included with my offer). He knows his mom would want my son and I to have the house. I know it is the perfect house for us.
My first agent called me at 9 am this morning (he knows I work nights, he woke me up anyway). He finally had three listings for me to take a look at, and wanted to know if I would be interested in a town house. I did not have the heart to tell him that I am already in escrow on the house he messed up on over a week ago, that I already did the home inspection yesterday, and that there is not a chance of me ever buying a town house. Hopefully one day he catches on, but in the meantime, it feels good to know we will soon have the incredible home we are meant to have.
My first agent, when I asked him to find out if there were other offers on the home, told me it was not possible to get that information. For every question I had, he had an excuse. I don't have time for excuses. I don't make them, and I don't deal with people who do.
My second agent not only salvaged the deal on the house I really wanted, she showed me a few others at the same time. We made offers on two houses last week. The other agent didn't even show me one.
I am not paying any more for a good agent. They cost the same. But what I am getting for my money from one over the other is invaluable.
If anyone wants the name of my second agent, I am happy to recommend her. She is fantastic, has well-priced home inspectors and handymen she works with, and she knows the market here. When she finally saw the house I was so obsessed with she couldn't believe how nice it was. She knew the market and was able to tell me with confidence that I would never find a house like that in my price range again, especially not in the area where I was looking. Her confidence gave me confidence.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)