BUDGET....AHH!!!!

Its the beginning of the month...and I guess I should sit down and budget.
FUN!
Well - the SPBFF, Lil' D (she's really small yall, like NO joke) made this wonderful Excel spreadsheet that I'm officially obsessed with called the Monthly Grind. I use her RELIGIOUSLY. Someone actually suggested me using another sheet just for comparison sake....I think gasped - then promptly asked them to leave my presence.
The FOLLY of it all!
Anywho...I did my "projected" budget for the next 6 months. But of course, each month is different and I gotta add the "new" things.
#1 It's Momma Bear's birthday and my parents anniversary. Which means gifts. Especially for my mom...who is off the chain and will pimp slap you, if you dare enter her house without bearing gifts during any major holiday. She mentioned she wanted a gold watch...whatever that means.
#2 It's time to put a airfare deposit down on our Jamaica vacation for May 2009. T's homie is getting married...he's the best man - I'm COMINGwith! lol.
#3 I got stranded in the airport for work related training and got a day of OT for my trouble - so I have to add that in
#4 My car got refinanced since my "I just graduated from college so give me a car" program ended and I had to use my regular credit score apr instead of my wonderfully cheap 3.2% APR. I get a month off my car payment, which means an extra $375!

Yeah...so I gotta rework some things - add a few buckaroos here and there and make subtractions in other areas.

I use the Dave Ramsey principles, only sorta halfway. I budget to zero - every month. I think now with my new housing goal, I need to make another savings account for my down payment. Grrr....this is requiring too much reworking.

PERHAPS I should scrap my previous budget and try try try again.

I'll save that for tomorrow. Its time for bed :)

HOUSE HUNTING!!!

I made a major decision, sometime last week (I think). My goal of 2009 is to have a house before the year ends. PERIOD. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. I decided to stake my claim and write out my vision.

Of course, the first person I told about this was T. LOL. T's my boo, in case anyone didn't know.

He seemed fairly happy for me, proud of me and all of that jazz.

Afterwards, I told my SPBFF (spiritual best friend forever, lol) Lil' D and one of my roommates, Fergalicious (names have been changed to protect the innocent....or not, lol).

Then I told my favorite person to talk about all things financial - DADDY-O!

My dad's a realtor, so this was actually a great conversation to have with him. He spoke to me in his usual Church Hill slang (RICHMOND, STAND UP!) about how I need not try to furnish my whole house as soon as I get it; how I need to rent out rooms to people or as he called it "git me a coupla tenants." Ohh...I love my daddy. He got so randomly off topic - yet kinda sorta on topic, but eventually he turned the convo around and talked about me being a first time homeowner and all of the wonderful benefits I will get as a result. He ended the convo asking me, "yo gon' let me write yo house up, right?!"

OF COURSE Romey-Rome!

He was proud of me...and that made me happy.

I started watching, "So you think you can dance" with Fergalicious the other night and were busy chatting out how we're both buying our new homes next year, when our lease is up. She mentioned how her parents were going to invest with her. I thought that was coolio.

I was going to do it all myself. Or so I thought...

My boo had a different idea....I was emailing him all types of condos and floor models, when he just said, babe - are you looking for YOU or us?

I'm like...me, this is a goal I wanted for myself and I didn't know whether it fit into your timeline, or our timeline...or not??

A bit of background - T and I are soul mates...we're getting married and we both know this. We talked about this...parents have met. My mom calls him "son," everyone knows it's going to happen sooner rather than later. With that being said, even though we're uberly connected...I'm not trying to spoil the SURPRISE! I don't wanna know when, where or with what...I just know the "question's" going to get popped sometime probably within the next 12 months (LOL).

I guess its safe to assume we're going to be engaged by this time, next year - but who wants to assume that? And look like a LOSER, if it doesn't go as expected. Not I, says the cat, so better to keep my original goals intact and if he so happens to happily interrupt me, cool beans - I'm on board :)

T was like, listen here crazy girl...your "house" dream fits in my timeline of being your husband. Which basically reads: let's look together, retard!

Again - I try not to ask anymore questions...but now I know, to stop looking for cheaper condos and start looking for a cute little townhouse with a garage. YIPPEE!

I try to keep all of this in mind and I start talking to Fergi and then BAM! this advertisement for these GREAT homes comes up on TV...YAAAHOOO!!! I exclaim and start looking. Perfect location, perfect price, perfect homes!! So Fergtastic and I are going to go look at these bad boys tomorrow morning.

Meanwhile, I tell my Spbff about the website. She's super psyched, as I knew she would be...she's always happy for me lol, and she stakes her claim on one of the bedrooms of our "new house." Gotta love her...

I do hear Poppa Rome in the back of my mind though. Daddy-o says that we should start looking SERIOUSLY 2-3 months before our lease is up. SOOO - I figured I'm probably being extra right now. But I wanna know what I can and cannot afford, what I like, what I want, just EVERYTHING!

I want to get my feet wet :)

The major thing I'm going to do it prioritize - maintain credit balances of 10% and below. Save, save and SAVE! My job gives a benefit of $12,000 in closing costs. I'm trying to have at least 10% of my OWN money saved to put down as a down payment.

Since my rent is DIRT cheap (I have two roommates) this is something I can easily accomplish. Okay...maybe not easily. I can accomplish it with a bit of discipline.

A subject not foreign to me, so I think I can handle it.

Anywho - I'll keep you posted on how it went (the open house that is) since I'm going tomorrow.

OH - I cannot wait to see :)

GREEN...

I decided to make this background green b/c....it's all about money.

How clever?!

So - I'm extra into this blogging thing. I think I found something that's not as consuming and permanent as a "BOOK."

And I can write all of my random tidbits down in a way that can reach the masses...if they so choose to read.

If not - whatever, it makes me feel good :) So I'm going to keep on doing it.

Okay, personal finances....sheesh. I really got into the idea right after I graduated college. I considered myself to be pretty financially savvy b/c I worked at a bank in high school. A credit card bank, at that! Boy...was I wrong.

I fell for the okey-doke and got one of those stupid, "I'm in college and I don't have money, lemme get this credit card" credit cards. I charged this bad boy up to the limit and paid on it pretty good for a while. Except one summer...I didn't get a summer job. So I stopped paying the credit card monthly payment.

Then the calls came. I was like 19 years old....I chose to ignore them. I'm thinking - "when I get a job, I'll pay again...."

I was a genius...(I think I may have dripped some sarcasm on your keyboard)

Well...eventually, the card was UBER past due..but then I got a job and resumed paying.

Long story short, I didn't really think about this incident again until it was time to buy a car.

My father accidently totaled my car, right after I graduated from college (he was trying to save it from the ice storm...long story, another blog).

I had a great job in Richmond Virginia, at a law firm - as a glorified data entry lady (or what they like to call a Litigation Support Specialist). Luckily, I lived at home with my parents my first 8 months out of school b/c I was bringing home a bangin' salary of ......wait for it.........$24,000/year (LOL) at the time.

I had to get a new car.

My credit was SHOT b/c of this one measily credit card from college.

Well THANK GOD for college, I got my car through this whole "Recent College Graduate" program...which gave me a brand new Mazda6, with like a 3.2% apr. Crazy, right? God is Good....

But the moral of the story is that....if I had to rely on MY actual credit score at the time...it wouldn't have gotten jack.

I decided to turn that 19 year olds fear (the girl who wouldn't answer the phone when the creditors called) into KNOWLEDGE.

After I got my car, I diligently began to read ever piece of financial information I could FIND on personal finances, namely credit. Since then, I've raised my credit score by a whopping 120 points and I'm now a proud member of the "700 and above" club :) Holla if you got good credit, YEE HAW! (yep...I'm lame)

I've more than doubled my previous salary, learned how to budget effectively, I have less than $300 worth of credit card debt and I'm well on my way to purchasing a house next year.

Here...I will write you all of my joys, stumbling blocks and everything else in between.

Here, I will blog my way to COMPLETE financial freedom :) a lofty task...but I'm up for it!

Come along for the ride...I promise, you'll learn something!