If you want to read the previous entries: Part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5.
I fell in love with this house, y’all.
The outside isn’t much to look at (gravel driveway and all), but the inside (based on the pics from the listing agent) was goregous.
Beautiful paint colors, elegant trim, built-in bookshelves, beyond fabulous kitchen with granite countertops and an island (my personal dream!).
But.
(Why is there always a but?)
When we told our realtor that we liked the house and wanted to see it in person, she mentioned that she had shown …

Tomorrow is a brand new beginning, and is usually the time everyone makes New Year’s resolutions, pledging to be thinner, more spiritual, kinder, less controling, etc, by the time the ball drops in 2010.
But if there’s one thing you need to focused on, it’s your money. 2008 was a doozy. There didn’t seem to be a safe place other than under the mattress to put your money.
This article, by the good folks over at Million Dollar Journey, tells how they went from -$40,000 to $285,000 in five years. Mostly, the …

We met with the lender yesterday after work. I was a bit nervous, because while I’m cool with the whole “house hunting” aspect, sitting down to figure out how we were going to pay for it was a bit daunting.
We’re not talking about buying some rinky-dink house. We’re trying to buy a nice house, a house that we can grow in and make a home. A house that quite honestly, I didn’t know we could afford. But when the lender broke it down to us, our mortgage would only be $100 more …

If you’d like to catch up: read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.
We meet with our lender on Tuesday to hand over our financial statements (W-2s, pay stubs, bank statements on ALL accounts in your name, etc.) so we can offically be pre-approved for a loan, which is exactly what it sounds like.
Because the lender we’re working with has an underwriter in-house (meaning they don’t have to wait for someone in Columbus or Pittsburgh to fill out the paperwork), they assured us that we could be pre-approved within a week. Whoo-hoo!
So….that means …

I don’t know about you, but reading all this talk about Wall Street fiascos and government bailouts and bank failures has got me nervous. I’ve been keeping a close eye on my finances and trying to make myself feel as secure as possible. Here are a few habits I’ve picked up over the last couple weeks. See if any help you out:
1) I brought my calculator to the grocery store. Instead of keeping a running “estimate” in my head, and inevitably going over budget, I decided to keep a tight …

Money may not be able to buy you happiness, but having a clear direction of where you’re headed financially is pure bliss.
My kids are my reason I get up every morning to go to work, why I budget, why I save, why I’m trying to invest. I realize I’m starting out with less by having my children earlier in my career, and I guess in some way I’m trying to make up for that.
I’ve been pretty successful so far. Since starting my current position in January, I’ve been able …