Our Life Without Instructions: September 2011

Sunday, September 11, 2011

A New Chapter Begins

I have been looking for a definitive sign to determine in which direction to go. Yesterday, I was struggling with what to do regarding the house and I found the sign. I logged into our bank and realized that after the last property tax check cleared that our balance has gotten dangerously low compared to what it once was. I realized at that moment that it would be incredibly irresponsible to buy the house. I contacted my real estate agent and let her know that we would like to terminate the contract on the house. While this was hard to do since we have spent the past several months preparing to sell this house and buy the other house, I had to come to terms with the fact that I need to take a hard look at our finances. I need to go back to "squirrel mode" and cut unnecessary expenses and begin to build our savings again.

You might wonder why this is such a big surprise to me... however, it's not like we have made any big purchase lately or have been frivolously spending money. In fact, other than one car payment and a mortgage, I have no debt. We spent four years living on one income and I had made many cuts in our lifestyle in order to get by, I guess once we had a dual income, I felt like I could afford luxuries I had denied myself for so long. Simple things like increasing our grocery budget, going out to dinner or lunch on weekends.

Now, I am motivated to get our finances back in shape. I don't feel like the past several months have been a waste of time or energy; there have been positive results. One, many of the improvements that have been on our To-Do list for the house have been completed after five years. On the other hand, this financial reality check is a side effect that I can't help but to believe is a positive effect. It is time to be more lean, to save and not to waste, to plan, and to make good choices.

Even though I am angry with myself for not realizing sooner that we haven't been making wise choices, I am glad to have figured out that trading this house for a much bigger house and much bigger expenses would be irresponsible at this point in time.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

To Move or Not to Move?

Last night I got a text message from my real estate agent saying that the house we have been trying to buy for the past 5 months has dropped their price another $15,000 this is after they already dropped it $10,000. So, overall they have dropped the price $25,000 below the price we are under contract for. Obviously, they are seriously motivated to sell the house, but now I am torn. I had pretty much decided that it was not meant to be and that the fact that our house wasn't getting interest is because we are we were supposed to stay right where we are. I can't deny that I am still in love with the house, as it is a beautiful house with a fantastic view of the river. However, over the past several months I have pondered the pros and cons of it and seemed to have lost my rose colored glasses about the place. For one, we would have to spend about $30,000 right off the bat to build a garage for James' cars. Second, it is a huge place and probably would be a killer to heat in the winter. Third, my commute to work would go from 5 minutes to about 35! Fourth, there is not a fenced area for dogs and the street is significantly busier than the one we live on now. My crazy beagle can figure out how to escape from almost any enclosure. Fifth, we have finally made friends with the neighbors and I am feeling a bigger connection to this neighborhood and community than I have since we moved here. Also, my oldest son seems to be doing well at school and I don't really want to disrupt his life too much.

Okay, while that sounds like there are tons of cons, I do have some pros. First, I have always wanted a historic home with character. This house has the original hardwood floors, details and is full of character. Second, it has so much space that we would not feel like we are bursting at the seems any longer. Third, while my commute gets longer, James' actually gets shorter. Fourth, the river view is just fantastic, and the yard is much smaller than what I have now, so less to mow and maintain! Fifth, the basement is perfectly suited for my husband's military collection and would offer him all the space he could ever want!

So, now I am trying to figure out what to do... do we lower the price on our house and get motivated again to sell? Or, do we just sit tight and ride out the rest of our contract and stay put? Obviously, this is going to take some thought, but now that the price on the house is considerably less it's hard to pass up!

Monday, September 5, 2011

Family Camping Trip

Last Saturday, at about 10 am, I decided that I wanted to go camping; just like that the idea came to me. Mind you, we didn't have any camping supplies or had we prepared to be out of town for the weekend. Of course, my husband thought I was a bit insane, but he agreed to go anyhow. So, we packed up what we had and made a trip to the store for the rest that we would need. At about 2pm, we left for Pere Marquette State Park up north of Grafton, Illinois. I love driving the River Road, as it is as close to driving the coast as you can get in this part of the country. About an hour later, we arrived to the camp ground and paid the ten dollars to tent camp and set out to find a nice site. We ended up picking a nice spot with lots of shade right next to a grove of thick brush and trees. Not to far from the rest rooms or water, but far enough away from the RVs so that we actually felt like we were somewhat remote. We unloaded the kids and the dogs, and set up tents and then took a walk down to the river. It was a beautiful afternoon, not too hot, especially for a late August day. Once we returned from our short walk, I lit the charcoal on the grill and began to make hot dogs and hamburgers. I realized that I had forgotten the condiments so I walked over to the lodge (where they have a restaurant) and borrowed ketchup and mustard--that was sure nice of them to loan them to me! After dinner, we collected branches, sticks and pine cones and made a small fire so that we could roast marshmallows and make s'mores. After that sticky adventure, we got the boys ready for bed and settled them into their tent, however they didn't want to sleep and it took several threats and about a half hour to get them quiet. I am not sure whether it was the dogs or the kids woke up first, but we were up around 6:30 am the next morning. Trying to get them to be quiet was no use, as they were probably still working off the sugar from the night before. After breakfast and some much needed coffee, we decided to take a hike up the bluff. Our beagle, Copper, was a natural at hiking, however our Chihuahua, Lily, was not real excited about it. I had to carry her for about 3/4 of the 2 mile hike. We got to the top of the bluff and were surprised and impressed by the beautiful view of the river and the valley below. After we returned from the hike, we made some lunch and packed up camp and headed home. It was a short trip, but nice to get away from everything for a bit; I didn't once use my phone other than for a clock. Of course, getting back to air conditioning and a shower was very nice. I am not sure when our next trip will be, but I am hoping to make this a family tradition.