Since I am all sneezy and gross, I felt the need to let everyone I came in contact with yesterday (the dental receptionist, the girl who cleaned my teeth, the financial counselor lady...) that "I'm not sick, I just have allergies." Most of them were like, "Oh yeah, so do I." However they were not sneezy nor gross. Liars.
So anywho, the financial counselor (Virginia), and I looked over my income and expenses and she gave me some helpful tips on keeping track of all the little expenses throughout the month using the envelope method, and told me she's proud of me. A complete stranger is proud of me! She then told me that she has two older sons who aren't good with money. Maybe I can make up for their lack.
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| I was instructed to put my name on one of the envelopes and use it only on things for myself. I think that means I can get a haircut, you guys! |
After the meeting, I immediately (from my car in the parking lot of the counseling place) called the Community Home Trust to let them know that I'd completed the financial counseling session and she was impressed at how quickly I've "taken the bull by the horns". I'm currently first on the wait list for this fella. While it's not one of the homes I've been pining after, it's an end unit, it's larger than the ones I've been looking at, it has a double sliding door in the back, and it's closer to work. The possible drawbacks are that it's not new (I'm not sure how old it is) and it seems like it will need serious landscape help. I also don't know what the neighborhood is like.
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| Yeah...that ugly tree in the front has got to go. |
There is an open house this Saturday for the house, which I'm going to and taking Jeremy with me, so we'll see how it goes. Hopefully it's amazing and I love it and the talks can begin.
Today I will attempt another hour long run after work. I haven't had much luck staying un-sneezy and snotty while outside for any amount of time (including driving), so at worst, I'll switch it up and hop on the elliptical. Gosh, my life is so hard!
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| You think YOUR life is hard? I spend my days making sure this chair doesn't fly away. |
Have you tried Claritin D before a run? It works wonders for Mike.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand this envelope method at all. Are you just hauling around a bunch of cash in envelopes?
ReplyDeleteEnd units are the way to go for town houses. I hope the inside is nice!
End units suck. There's more grass to mow, and your utility bills will be higher because the insulation isn't as good.
DeleteAlso, I don't understand the envelope thing either.
Also again, you should get a house with a garage. Garages are fucking awesome.
oh, and the benefit to not-brand-new houses is that the things that are wrong with it are most likely already fixed. Of course, if it's really old, then there is probably a bunch that is nearing the end of its life and needs replacing... but you don't have to deal with the new-house crap as much.
DeleteYou're so uplifting. I'm so glad we had this talk. My life is much richer.
Deletedisclaimer: I live in a townhouse. It's a middle unit. My neighbor mows my 25'x5' patch of grass in the backyard.
DeleteIf you like mowing every other week, then by all means, get an end unit. You'll pay more for it, pay more in heating/cooling, and you'll still have an attached house. If you want a big lawn, move out into the countryside and get a home.
Brian, do you ever hear your attached neighbors through the walls? Just curious. It's been a lot of years since I lived in a townhouse.
DeleteI'm actually going through a company who helps people who are relatively poor *raising my hand* but know how to pay bills on time, buy a house. This end unit is the same price as the smaller, center unit, through this company. I'm not too worried about the mowing. The yard will still be a bajillion times smaller than a non-townhome.
I don't hear them unless they're hammering something into the wall. My neighbors actually said that a few years ago, before I was friends with them, that they thought I was dead because they never saw me or heard anything (even though I have a pool table in the basement (not quiet) and a big movie screen in the living room). Oh, and my grass was waist-height.
DeleteI know it's not brand new, but an end unit would score big points for me. One less neighbor to share a wall with. Hope you like it when you see it this weekend! How far away is it from you- can you do a driveby one night after work to see what the neighborhood is like?
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm thinking Pippi would definitely appreciate the extra yard space on the side, too. I hope I like it. It's not too far from where I work, so I may go check it out tomorrow night. That's a good idea. The neighborhood is the biggest concern my brother has. Fingers crossed!
DeleteEnd units are definitely the way to go with town houses!
ReplyDeleteI feel your allergy pain...I live on Zyrtec at the moment..and it's just not good enough. ;)
An end unit would be so much better than a middle one! I loved house shopping and looking at houses, but moving I hate so here I stay hopefully for a very very long time!
ReplyDeleteSounds like things are moving in the right direction...well, except for your allergy issues...those suck!
ReplyDeleteI want that dog in the last picture. I've often thought about taking a day off to lay around like the dogs all day. Always jealous of them! End units = way to go!
ReplyDeleteTake lots of pictures at the open house :)
ReplyDeleteEnd unit! Score! That's amazing! I'm proud of you too :)
ReplyDeleteBuying a house is a great goal for the New Year. Make sure that resolution has some back up with a life insurance policy. You can get a quick and easy quote from IntelliQuote in just minutes. Find out how little it could cost to keep (and protect) that home for future generations. http://bit.ly/HivybS
ReplyDelete