Posts by michelle

Budget Like A Rock Star

Posted by michelle on May 9, 2013 in Eliminating Debt | 9 comments

Thanks to the celebrity-obsessed media, we constantly hear stories of professional athletes who squander their bloated salaries, lottery winners whose winnings are spent before they’re even counted, and celebrity millionaires who can’t even balance a checkbook. We the common folk rarely get to see this up close and personal, and even fewer live it. For Jefferson and myself, we still haven’t tasted riches, but we have successfully made the switch from carrying debt to having a surplus and the question of what in the world to do with it. We recently sold our house and will be moving into a new home later this month. While we won’t be rolling in the dough necessarily, we will have a nice chunk to play with, so to speak. We are so relieved to be free from debt that we are in no way planning to splurge on all new furniture (Our broken couch gets to stay. It’s a conversation piece after all.), but we do have a new understanding of the riches to rags phenomenon. The less-known phenomenon is a little easier to grasp, and it’s called the debt cycle.

Looking back at how much debt we paid off in a little over a year’s time, you can easily see that we were super motivated and frugal as you-know-what the whole time. A lot of what got me through with my sanity intact were my dreams of our better life that was just around the corner. Undoubtedly, a lot of my dreams were of what I was going to buy and where I was going to shop once I was debt-free. Sounds great, right? Wrong. We still have to budget and we definitely can’t get all of the things I’d been dreaming we would. Not now, and maybe not in the next ten years. We are getting a new house, and that is an amazing feat for this recently debt-burdened family. However, that’s probably where our spending will have to cease until later this year. Don’t get me wrong; we are in a great place where we *can* go shopping for clothing if we want and even splurge on an actual bottle of wine instead of the box stuff, but why go crazy now? This is exactly why people who suddenly fall into money have a hard time living within their means, and precisely why people who have climbed out of debt find it so easy to slip back down the hillside. If I bought every single item I’d been daydreaming about since we started this process, I might find myself right back where we started in no time flat. Trust; it’s not hard to rack up debt! In fact, it’s really fun to spend wads of dough you don’t really have! However, it’s just not worth it. Budget will always be a part of our vocabulary, even if we ever found ourselves in the upper middle, or even upper upper class. I’ve grown so much in the last several months and know now that this is just reality for most people. Yes, even the uber riche Beyonce and Jay-Z have to say “no” to themselves occasionally.

If you are still wearing the shackles of credit card debt and looking forward to the commencement of your debtdom like it is the end of a prison sentence, stop. My husband and I feel much lighter now knowing that our future is more secure and that our children will be able to go to college and get a car even, but getting out of debt in no way means that we can go back to spending like we once did. That’s exactly what got us into the mess in the first place. We *will* be taking a vacation this year, though! Maybe we’ll see Beyonce and Jay-Z on their yacht. Wave back if you see us, guys! We’ll be the family of 5 stuffed into a small pontoon boat. Livin the life!

Fairy Godmother Delivered

Posted by michelle on Apr 22, 2013 in Making Money | 34 comments

“No showings until Saturday,” the agent’s notes clearly stated. It was Thursday night and my husband and younger son were at a hockey game together. He was a top reader in his third grade class and had won a ticket to that night’s game! I’m so glad my husband is the kind of father that enjoys spending time with our children and that he was able to make it to the game that night. Our team won and my two guys stayed out til after 10, saying “whatevs” to the fact that it was a school night. Every once in a while, it’s important to show your kids that staying up late and being tired the next day can totally be worth it.

After putting a sugar-buzzed boy to bed, I excitedly showed Jeff a house I had just found online. “While you were out, I found our next home.”

“Oh really?”

“Yes, it’s perfect.”

“How much?”

“It’s well within our budget!”

He cocked his head at me. Our incompatible perceptions of ‘within budget’ had recently begun to drift apart in the past several weeks of looking at houses; mine ever increasing with each house I saw and subsequently didn’t love, his ever-remaining, steady like a drum beat, annoyingly loyal to his ideals and practicality.

Psshhh. Practicality shmacticality. Mama wants a walk-in closet!

Back to reality. I prodded my husband to look at the “amazing” house. As if I had discovered it, or built it, or designed it myself, I watched with pride as his pupils dilated and his lips curled up. “Wow, that meets a lot of our criteria.”

Way to go, Mr. Logical. Way to suck out every bit of emotion I feel for this house by dismissing it as just another money-sucking keeper of checks on a list. This one meets a lot of them, great, but for once I just wanted my husband to giggle and squeal, shoving aside any inkling of right-brained, level-headed, number-crunching scalability and just…fall in love.

“It does! Isn’t the kitchen beautiful?” I sang in response.

“What’s the asking price?”

Here we go again, wanting to know the asking price. I should have known. Of course I have to exit out of the beautiful pictures to even find such an animal. Who CARES what it costs?! It’s PERFECT! I secretly roll my eyes as I obligingly back out to the numeric (boring) part of the listing.

“Wow. That’s not bad at all!” I imagine I hear a teensy bit of raw emotion from my ever pragmatic groom.

For the first time, I look at the price and am equally wowed. “So,what do you think we should offer?”

Jefferson laughed at me. This wasn’t met with surprise, as he often laughs at my illogical spontaneity. “Baby, we haven’t even seen the house yet in person. Maybe we can see it this weekend.”
“JEFF! We have to see it this weekend! This is our house!”

The next morning, I called my agent. Unfortunately, the beginning showing date was firm. They wouldn’t have opened their home for the president that night, let alone little ol’ me. We would have to wait until Saturday, like every other house hunter that had already fallen head over heels. As we already had appointments to view houses that Friday evening, we decided we should continue as planned. Earlier that day, my agent had warned us that listing agents often set home showings to begin on a certain day when they know a home is a gem. Having showings begin on a weekend like that ensures that it will be full all day, and it is likely that multiple buyers will be at the house at the same time. In a market of low inventory, low interest rates, and an economy that seems to be perking up a bit, it can lead to an agent’s wet dream; a full-on bidding war. This warning didn’t deter me. Make fun of me all you want, but I somehow knew this was going to be our house. We just had to live through another day or two of tortuous waiting and second-guessing. The next day was Saturday and we made an early appointment for that morning since my son had a soccer game at 10:30. When we arrived, another couple was inside planning out where to place their furniture and talking openly about what size moving van they would need. As I walked by the female house hunter, we exchanged smiles, both of us thinking we had this house in the bag and then realizing quickly that there was surely going to be a heartache tonight. We just didn’t know whose. Just then, the listing agent showed up and started chatting with our agent.

“They’ve been here all morning” and “I’m pretty sure they’re going to make an offer” were among the tidbits I caught. I even heard her giving detailed directions to another property just down the road that she thought we might like! The nerve! The house was mine! I looked around, trying to keep my poker face in check, but every detail made me gush. Every square foot made me giddy. After our rushed tour (had to get to a soccer game!), we told our agent we had to get going, leaving the other couple alone to further discuss where they’d put their sofa and loveseat set. As we got further out of earshot, I winked at my agent. He had told me the night before to do so if I loved the house and wanted to make an offer. His eyes widened as he winked back and said “Yeah, you’re right…it’s too bad about that yard. I’ll be over around 12 so we can discuss that other property you wanted.” Love that guy!

If You Like It Then You Shoulda Put A Note On It

As I waited for our realtors (a husband and wife team) to show up with our contract ready to go, I whipped up a handwritten note to the sellers. I told them that I could tell their home had a lot of love. I told them I thought the neighborhood was adorable and that I couldn’t wait to meet everyone. I mentioned that my children were so excited as well. My agent advised against making an offer above listing price, but said she’d deliver the offer expressing that we loved the house and could possibly be swayed to increase if needed. We leaned on her expertise for this situation, instead just making it for listing price exactly but still attaching our love note. Then…we waited.

We gave them until noon the next day, remembering their first open house was scheduled from 1-4. Around 8pm that same night however, we got the call.

“Congratulations” isn’t a grand enough word for such a time when you make one of the biggest, most important purchases of your life.

I squealed and giggled. “Really?”

“Yep, they accepted your offer exactly as written, no counter.” More squealing. My agent let me know that they had received several offers that day, but that they picked mine after reading my note. It was such a great feeling. Someone picked me! Someone felt good about me living in the house that they so obviously loved and lived in for years based on a note I had written.

Later that night, I received a text from my agent asking the ages of my children. Apparently, the sellers are putting together a book of nearby amenities and a map of the children in the neighborhood that our children can befriend. My heart swelled as I took in this kindness of a stranger. A stranger who designed and was now handing over the keys to my dream house, and with it–relinquishing the keys to my new life.

I couldn’t have been happier.

Open House; Definite Dos and Tragic Don’ts

Posted by michelle on Mar 27, 2013 in Saving Money | 53 comments

We are approaching the one month mark of having a house on the market. This is the point where one begins to go crazy. Neither my husband or I am very patient, which obviously makes matters worse. Every time we have a showing that doesn’t instantly procure an offer, we analyze and over-analyze everything we did prior to the appointment. Is it possible that something we’ve done in an attempt to make our home more marketable has actually backfired? As I reflect on this question, I think about the homes that I’ve viewed and the open houses I’ve attended.

The Smooth Talker

One of the first houses I fell in love with –this time around– showed like a display home. The homeowners had great decor and taste, and I swooned at every detail. They had candles lit, soft music playing in the background, freshly-baked cookies, all the tables were set and all the pillows were fluffed. Everything was perfect. The problem? I’m not in the market for candles or throw pillows. I’m looking for a house. In fact, everything they did expecting to make their house more marketable left a bad taste in my mouth. It made me question everything. What smells were they hiding with all the candles and cookies? Pet stains in the carpet or worse; mold in the walls. And the soft music they had playing for me? Who doesn’t love Adele, right? While I don’t know anyone who doesn’t think she’s amazing, it was honestly a bit distracting. It also made me wonder if they had annoyingly squeaky floors or if the laundry room was in a bad place for entertaining purposes. Maybe one of the toilets runs incessantly. Although none of these things alone are deal-breakers, as I sat and questioned whether it was the house or the music I liked, I began to realize more of the unlikable attributes of the home. I’m not sure I would have picked it apart in such a way had they just turned on all the lights and turned off all the music. All the unnecessary fluff made it feel as though the homeowners were trying to dupe us into buying a lemon with their emotionally-charged lullabies and the utilization of dim lights.

Besides, music can be very taste specific. My husband, for one, is a music snob who generally loathes anything mainstream. Make fun of him all you like (I do plenty!) but you could easily offend his picky ears even if you played something that you think is generally crowd-friendly. Scents can be just as polarizing, especially since it’s been proven that the sense of smell is most closely linked to the emotional parts of our brains. In fact, there’s an article in the New York Times referring to the nose as an “emotional time machine”–love that! Because you have no clue what emotional ties your buyers may have to any particular scent, clean and unperfumed is your best bet. Save the candles and pillow sprays for your SO.

The Pee Pee Pirate

On the other side of the coin, don’t neglect the most basic of chores when you get the call from your realtor that someone wants to view your home. When we were looking for our current house years ago, we went into a home that had a similar price tag and square footage, but was immediately thrown into the “no” pile because of a teeny tiny bit of, sigh, pee pee on the potty. Even if the buyers only give you 20 minutes to get your house together, don’t worry about the toys on the floor or the unmade beds, but always make sure the bathrooms are clean.

Keeping your home in a fairly clean state while you’re on the market definitely helps. That way, if you do get called with little notice, you can quickly throw any dirty dishes into the dishwasher, wipe down the counters and tables, and clean the bathrooms. Your home may not be completely perfect, but toys or clothes on the floor don’t usually elicit the same negative reaction as seeing someone else’s bathroom mess.

I’ve been inside several more homes, but I think you get the gist.

Breakdown of dos and don’ts (are those really words?)

DO: keep your house super clean. This one should be a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised. Remember the most important rooms first; kitchen and bathrooms!
DON’T: light candles or use a lot of air fresheners. It makes people wonder what you’re hiding, but could also dredge up other feelings.
DO: turn on all the lights.
DON’T: play music. Unfortunately, there’s no such thing as music that everyone likes.
DO: open all curtain and blinds and unlock any gates or child-proof doors/drawers if at all possible.
DON’T: set the tables for showings. For pictures; great! For showings; it just looks desperate and a little too HGTV.

[ETA thanks to a great comment from Kelly] DO: box up your clothes you know you’re not going to wear much. It will make your closets look bigger if they’re not spilling over. And finally DO: remove family photos. Yes, your family is adorable, but give the buyers a chance to picture themselves living in the space.

Good luck out there!