We Found a Home!

Ahh yes. We did it. We found a place, successfully navigated and multiple bid offer and came out on top. Can you believe it? Sometimes I can't either. I will say, the whole process was not quite what I thought it would be. It's pretty crazy. Let me tell ya how it went down...

First off, we went to Dave Ramsey's website to use his ELP's that he has listed on his site. He recommended three of them that were in our general area and then they all contacted us. Literally, almost as soon as I clicked "submit" I had 5 different phone calls. It was a tad bit overwhelming and I didn't answer any of them. Then, when I got home I listened to my 5 voicemails and read my e-mails and figured out who was who.

Then, Rob and I downloaded a Real Estate Agent Interview Questionnaire form from this book that I bought called "Buying Your First Home." We conducted our phone interviews with this questionnaire... I did two and Robert did one. Then, we compared notes. Can I just say that Robert was a WAY better note taker than me?? I kind of just write like "keywords" and write all over the page.... not necessarily by the question I'm asking. The one thing about these "keywords" are... I can't actually remember what they are supposed to mean. They all sounded very friendly though and we kind of went with our "gut feeling" based on their answers and our conversations.

We slept on it for three nights before ultimately deciding, but we decided on Creston from IndyQuest. We set up a personal meeting with him at a coffee shop we really discussed our needs and wants. He gave us tips on some of the developments and areas we were looking at and what a "reasonable" price range was for what we were looking for. Basically, he verified everything we already knew based on just driving around every weekend. Additionally, the Houston Heights has been the number one selling area in Houston since like 2007. With the market crash. So, we knew buying there would be a relatively smart choice.

He set up a list for us to choose our houses from and then we selected 14 for our first round through. But let me stop here for a sec... here's is my one and only beef about this realtor thing. And I think its like this when working with realtors in our budget.. but I could be wrong. But, my realtor didn't really suggest any particular houses for me. I guess from watching HGTV, I expected him to call me up and say, "hey... this house just came on the market" or "I think this house fits your needs, let's schedule a meeting." But, I did all of the real searching for a house. Ironically, the house we ended up putting an offer on wasn't even on his list for me even thought it was in the criteria. So, that's my only beef. But, from talking to other people this seems to be rather normal. What do you think?

So.. our very first house we went to see was 783 Waverly. I pretty much fell in love right away with the area and the fact that it was close to the bike trail. Really, from all the driving Rob and I had done, I felt like this area was AMAZING. No industrial in the direct vicinity and the surrounding area had, for the most part, been completely developed. The house we were looking at was still under construction.

I knew after seeing it that this would likely be "the house," but we made it through all of the others with our agent and then went to see my grandparents and such for Easter. On the following Tuesday we met up with our realtor to look at a few more and then ultimately decide to go with Waverly. Well, on Tuesday... Waverly went off the market. It had been on the market for 7 days. Also, on Tuesday.. we went to see another one (been on the market for three days) and decided we really liked it and wanted to sleep on it. That night it went off the market. So, we missed out on two that we really liked.

Then came 708 8th Street. It was like a sign. It was in the same neighborhood as 783 Waverly, just on the other side. Pretty much the same floor plan, too. Oh yeah.. I forgot to mention... these have rooftop decks!!! AMAZING!! We knew getting one with a rooftop deck would be lucky b/c those are usually outside of our price range. We kept waiting on it though until my parents could come down on that Friday to take a peek.

So, we peeked at 708 8th Street with parents and also took them to another house with the agent. Before we met up with the agent, I took my parents to the areas we were looking in to get them "accustomed" to what a house costs in the city and where we can afford to buy. They were a little taken aback at first. You really got to see it to believe it. It's just not the same as back home, and that's not an over exaggeration either.

That very Friday my parents came down Rob and I decided to put in an offer. By Friday night around 5 our offer had been submitted... and so had one other offer. Rob and I didn't have high hopes. In fact, on Saturday we spent the entire day with parents in the car driving around and looking at houses. We drove all over the place and went into an open houses. Late Saturday afternoon we found out they hadn't accepted anyone's offer and countered back to both of us asking for a full-price offer. We gave it to them but left in our condition that they contribute $5,500 to closing costs..... but there was still doubt in my mind. We were competing against an all-cash offer. Nothing I could do that. Our realtor had also told us that the seller wanted a late closing date and they liked that about us. Well, that we can help with it! We don't have to be out of our apartment until July and we made sure our sellers knew that.

Amazingly, come Monday morning.. the seller had accepted our offer!! Pretty amazing. There were definitely a lot of people out there praying for us, because I just really didn't think it was going to happen. So, yeah!!! That was quite the feeling!!!!

And then, we scheduled our home inspection. I didn't get to go to the inspection because the inspection was on a filing day for me, so no way out of that one. But, Rob took care of things. No major issues other than there had been some leaking on the rooftop deck that had been repaired but the roof still had some sloping issues, but the seller had just replaced the roof and it was under warranty... so that isn't going to cost anyone any money. The rest of things were rather minor... but we asked for the seller to either fix these things or contribute an additional $2,000. They are going to give us an additional $2,000.

And so now... we're mostly set. Our closing date is set for Wednesday, June 13. And my family is coming down that weekend to help us move. Plus, the Meier's are going to be driving in to town to go on a cruise so they will get to see our new digs, too. Including Rob's grandma!! I wouldn't allow a closing date any later than that because I figure it's pretty priceless that Rob's grandma gets a chance to see where we live.

I do want to say one thing though. My husband has been AMAZING. I have been working until 9-10 o'clock at night for the past two weeks. He has stood strong and done all of the phone calls to the realtor and to the mortgage lenders. While we were pre-approved, we wanted to still shop around for the best rate and lowest fees once we had an address. Rob took care of all of that for me. It well paid off. We ended up with the best interest rate we knew were capable of getting and fees that would keep us around our $5,500 that we want the sellers to pay. He took care of everything. I love him. He didn't complain either. He just got things done and kept me well-informed. Everyone needs a Rob. I'm just sayin'.

So, now we're just out finalizing some of the things we need to still get (homeowners insurance) and working with the bank for anything they need. We also have to get a washer/dryer for the house and a fridge. The seller doesn't want to part for those and I'm not willing to pay very much for their used appliances. I also want to get new carpet...but after talking to some carpet people this weekend, I don't think I can afford to pay cash for all my appliances and carpet (and you know me and debt... that's a no-no!) so the carpet is likely going to have to wait until later. Such is life. We have been to three different scratch & dent appliance places as well as all of your major big box stores. Haven't decided where to buy our appliances yet.. but on the look out for a good deal.

There are a lot of things we want to do to the house too to make it our own. For example, it really needs a fireplace mantle. Badly. So, I'm pretty sure I've found a way to build one on our own on pinterest. That's likely going to be Rob and I's first project. Not to mention the house will need drapes, etc ... and I've found some cool things on pinterest for those, too. Ever heard of painted drapes? Me either... but now I have and I'm pretty sure I'm going to try it out. Never been much of a DIYer, but I'm determined to become one! There's also this painted rug thing I want to try, too.

So, anyways, we did it. We're on our way to buying our first home. I'm sure you'll keep hearing about. :-)

New Year.. New Goals

I certainly can't believe that 2012 has rolled around.  Being an accountant, I seem to work a lot in the prior year (this case 2011) and, therefore, will never remember that I'm currently living in the current year (2012) and all my checks will be dated 2011.  Alas, it seems to be a recurring problem.  You know, not long ago, I actually wrote my birthday on a check as the date.  There, solves that problem... can't remember what year you're in? Just write what year you were born.  Done.

Okay, for real now... since its being a new year the Meier's have some new goals.  Of course, we have the usual goals such as working out more and eating more healthy.  So, far we seem to have been doing a pretty good job... I've been either riding my bike (mostly using the bike trainer so I can ride inside) and doing Zumba.  Rob has also been running.  I've also been cooking, too.  So, we're doing good there (so far).

Our really big goal for 2012 is... BUYING A HOUSE!!  That's going to be a really huge goal for us and is going to take some time.  I'm not usually just overly patient, but I'm going to have to be this for one.  As you've read in my previous blogs, Robert and I are going to put 20% down.  We're over halfway there... if we're lucky we will be there by May.  If we're not so lucky... it will be August.  Either way, we ARE BUYING HOUSE.  I'm not allowing any negative thoughts (no, "we're trying to buy a house" or "we think we're going to buy a house" allowed here).  We speak in only affirmative words when referring to buying a house.

Heck, the day after Christmas, Robert and I went Christmas light shopping for the house that we don't currently own yet!  Bought all LED lights for 50% off!!  Beat that, yo.  $3.24 cents a box for LED lights (pretty much the same price for mini and C9's).  I win!

Personally, I'm very excited about this whole buying a house thing.  Robert and I are definitely homebodies, so it will be nice to have a "home."  I look forward to having projects to work on around the house and planting some flowers.  Granted, I know there will be some things that I don't love (i.e. the commute for sure)... but overall, I know the move will be right for us.  

We've already been jolted by what we can afford and not afford in the city.  Bottom line, we can't afford to live in the city.  We're going to have to move out of the city.  We're leaning towards moving west, outside of the outer loop towards Katy.  This map below pretty much shows you the general area of where we're looking to buy.  (The red dots are elementary schools, but you don't need to worry about those).

So, anyways.. that's going to be our major goal for 2012.  Ideally, I guess we're looking for 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths and around 2,000 square feet.  We'll get a better feel for the size once we get an actual realtor.  Right now, all my research involves Robert and I getting in the car and driving around neighborhoods using the HAR (Houston Area Real Estate) app on my iPad or iPhone and seeing how much homes cost where.  This weekend, we even picked a neighborhood and went riding our bikes around it looking at houses.  It was pretty fun, not going to lie. 

To help make sure our financial plan is there I've been working on the Meier 2012 budget.  Got to start budgeting for "house" expenses now, even though we don't have one so that when moving day comes... we will have some wiggle room to buy some things that we don't currently need for the apartment (i.e. lawn mower, weed eater, and furniture) as well as moving expenses.  And remember, we're debt free people and won't go into debt again except for our mortgage, so it took me almost 4 hours to get our budget to equal zero at the end of each month for the next year.

Yeah, I know... who does an annual budget? I do.  And it gets updated monthly for actual results and then I re-project as necessary.  But, for example, I know Robert's car needs new brake pads and rotors.  That's going to cost me approximately $800.  Well, I don't have $800 in February just for Robert's car, but I do have $400 in January & February.  Same goes for a vacation and moving expenses.. I don't have $1,000 for a vacation and another $1,000 for moving this summer in just one month, but if I start budgeting for it now, I will by summer.  You know the saying, "A fail to plan, is a plan to fail."  Dave Ramsey has taught me well!  :-)  

Okay, probably definitely boring you by now, but this is what gets me excited!!  Total nerd, I'm not afraid to admit.  If we plan accordingly, buying a house should just fall into our lap and be less stressful (we hope!).  So, that's whats going to be on our agenda for 2012.  Get excited... we definitely are! Woo!

P.S. (How about them Hogs this weekend at the Cotton Bowl?!  Woo Pig Sooie!)

Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

So, I've definitely been just a tad bit lazy.  Sorry guys. I definitely did not blog about Thanksgiving and its getting past time that I blog about Christmas, too.  Because, well, this being New Year's Eve and all... 2011 is just about over.

Something else you should know... I'm writing this on my iPad.  It took me almost 3 months of convincing to convince Robert he should buy me one.  I had to sell my old iPod touch and Robert's old iPhone 3G as well as take back my Christmas present that Robert bought me (more on that later... you'll discover why I took it back, but there's a funny story to go with it. )

So, lets keep it simple with Thanksgiving.  Robert and I headed to Canyon Lake for a few days.  We pretty much had beautiful weather the whole weekend were there.  We definitely had some great food.  We missed seeing our cousins Dena, Jake and Ann but had a lot of fun hanging out with Julia and Jane, the rest of the Atzenhoffer/Hunt clan. We played some Wii, went shopping in Greune and, of course, watched some Aggie & Arkansas football.  You know how the football games ended.. badly, so we won't keep talking about those.

Me, my mom and my sisters also went a did a little Black Friday shopping at midnight.  Or well, we tried to do some black Friday shopping.  Kate wanted a TV from Wal-Mart so we went there first and, well, they were already sold out before they actually went on sale.  Imagine that.  So we left and headed to the San Marcos Outlet Mall... with what seemed like the rest of the State of Texas.  The place was packed... I did nab a good parking spot though.  But the lines to check out were pretty much really long.  We made a few purchases at J.Crew and Ann Taylor.... but as I was telling my mom, I'm not sure how comfortable I feel picking out my Christmas presents at 1 AM.  And when we got to Ralph Lauren, the line to check out was 45 minutes long.  No thank you.

I'm not sure what we were thinking...we don't generally like shopping with crowds and waiting in lines... why on earth would we be able to tolerate it when we're friggin tired??  Yeah, so we left and went home to sleep.

Another random incident that happened on the night of the Aggie/Texas game (Thanksgiving Day).  A man in the condo across the parking lot from ours died.  He apparently had a seizure of some sort and ended up dying.  It put a real damper on our night.  I still feel immensely sorry for that family, definitely not a way you want to spend your Thanksgiving.  Made me really thankful for my family, that's for sure.

So... anyways.. onward to Christmas...

These are the cupcakes that Kate made for Christmas!

Robert and I headed to Arkansas on the night of December 22nd.  We pulled in around midnight and drove home on December 28th.  So, a pretty long trip.  Just kind of stinks that you have to spend two full days of that just traveling.  Alas, that's what you gotta do.

I had so much fun at home.  I love spending quality time with my sisters and my mom and dad.  We also got to see Mema & Pepa who stayed with us for a few days as well.  We spent a whole day baking and icing cookies like we did last year. We went to the Fayetteville Square to look at pizza and got to eat at our favorite pizza place... Guido's.

We tried a new icing trick for our sugar cookies called Royal Icing.  We made it ourselves.  It was definitely a little bit messy and kind of hard word.  We had to outline our cookies and then "flood" the cookie  with icing to fill it.  We had to use like actual icing bags you buy at the store (advanced, I know.).  Of course, I was in-charge of flooding the cooking which means your icing is so runny that it just pours out of the bag and fills the cooking.  I might have forgotten to roll up the top of my bag though and had icing pouring out of both ends.  Straight down my arm and hand.  So, that was amusing.  None of those cookies made the cookie plate, but they did taste really good.

Me, Rob, Kate and Kirstie played Act Your Wage by Dave Ramsey one afternoon, as well.  It's a game kind of like Life and Monopoly mixed together.  You draw life cards so you know your annual salary and fixed expenses as well as how many kids you have.  Then, you draw three debt cards and you go around the board any pay your expenses and receive your weekly pay.  There are other good/bad surprises thrown in through out the board.  The first to get out of debt, wins the game.  I know, I know... doesn't sound that exciting.  But, it really was pretty fun.  I won the game (go figure, I know).  It is definitely a good game to work in money management and teaching you how to pay your bills and live off what you have. 

Sadly (or maybe happily), I forsee Rob and I playing this game on our own because we are addicted to money management and now that we have our finances in order, we need more challenges!  Hahaha.  Believe me, I know what you're thinking right now.

So.. moving forward.  We had the traditional mexican dinner on Christmas Eve  (tamales, Chili and Tortilla Soup) and got to see the Johnson Family.  We also went to a candlelight service at Fellowship Bible Church.  Is it only me, but I get insanely nervous when we start lighting the candle.  All I can picture is the church bursting into flames.  It did not, however.

Christmas Day we spent the first part with my family opening Christmas presents where Rob and I got some clothes, a knife set (which we needed badly!), a piece to our Christmas Village, and some other assortments of awesome goodies.  We also had the traditional Christmas lunch with Ham and Turkey and all the sides as well as the pie to go with it.  We also played some Michael Jackson dance game that Kirstie got for Christmas to keep us entertained.

Later, we went over to the Meier's where we got to hang out with Robert's family.  The boys played some pool and the girls stayed in the kitchen.  Dinner was spectacular which included beef tenderloin, wedge salad, potatoes, green beans, sweet potatoes and rolls.  We opened up presents where Robert and I walked away with some new jackets and lots of other goodies.  At both places, of course.. we got some money (which we are incredibly thankful for).

The next day on the 26th, we spent most of the day with Robert's mom, Kathleen and her parents as well as Lori, Ryan and Stacy.  We opened presents and played Trash Train where Robert's grandma Lorene beat the pants off the rest of us.  We also went back to the Meier's where we helped Christine with her new iPhone and iPad and syncing between the iCloud. 

The last day of our trip was the 27th and we spent it running around in different directions.  Robert hung out with his mom and his grandma and me and my mom went running around.  Headed to Dillard's where I bought a piece to my Christmas Village for like 70% off (woo hoo!) and some new shoes.  We also helped Kathleen deliver a piece of furniture to her house in her office.  Then, we went and admired some chairs that mom is looking to replace "the green chair" with at home.

We also went to the Meier's that night for game night.  We had some Chicken and Gnocchi soup, Chich Tortilla soup and Beef Vegetable soup.  I also got to play with my niece and nephew, Maddison and Tristin.  Those two are growing up so fast.  They are definitely at the playful stage.  Me and Maddy played with make-up and I took the two of them round and 'round the Kitchen in their red wagon.

Little kids have such an imagination.  Little Maddy was having a picnic and eating her carrots and her fruit.  Mommy would have been proud, had those been real food!  The two of them were very cute and made my evening.  The rest of the grown-ups played Sequence where the Green team won both games.

I even got Maddy to give me hugs and kisses when we left (first time ever!).  When I asked for just one more hug, she said "No, that's it Aunt Jess."  So cute!

So anyways, I've yet to tell you the story of when Robert and I exchanged presents which was before we went to Arkansas.  I got him some new kitchen utensils from Williams & Sonoma and a shirt from Banana Republic.  He got me.. wait for it... a hair dryer.  From Neiman Marcus.  Not cheap.  You may ask, well Jessica.. did you ask for a blowdryer?  No, I did not.  A few months ago I had been looking for one because I could tell mine was on its last leg, but just never bought one.

Rob kept this in his head though the whole time.  He said he did all this research and that this blow dryer was going to amazing... I wouldn't even need to straighten my hair afterwards.  Well, I tested it out and I think Robert was a little disappointed that it didn't dry my hair any faster and my hair looked the same like it normally does after I blow dry it.  I still had to use my Chi to straighten it out some more afterwards.  Silly kid.  He did really try hard though, so I know its really the thought that counted.  We decided to take it back though because it was really expensive for hair dryer that does the same thing that all hair dryers do.

So yes, Robert and I have had quite the time and have been incredibly blessed.  I can't believe that year 2011 is almost over.  In just one more day 2012 will be upon us.  Rob and I will have been out of college for 4 years and high school for 8 years.  Can you believe it??  Me either.

I hope you and your family had a great Christmas and have a Happy New Year.  God Bless!

P.S.  I'm going to work on my blogging for 2012, maybe I can keep it more consistent this year around!

 

A Weekend Full of Meier’s

The weekend before Thanksgiving was filled with Meier’s.  Randy & Christine (“R&C”) (Rob’s parents) drove down and Ryan & Stacy (“R&S”) flew down from Colorado Springs.  We hadn’t all been together since last Christmas… so it was quite the reunion.

On Friday night we met up with R&C at Houston’s for some fabulous burgers and catch up chats.  Later that night we ventured out to George Bush airport to pick up R&S.  Smooth sailing at the airport really… no delayed flights or lost luggage. 

In the car, Ryan even asked me to talk about Dave Ramsey and I got to give my Dave Ramsey spiel. I love giving the “debt free” speech and have perfected it to under 5 minutes.  Just ask R&S, I was quick.  The church they go to endorses Dave Ramsey so they’ve heard of him, too.  Why does it seem that every blog I right talks about Dave Ramsey???  Most of my friends seem to be talking about getting, being, or just having been pregnant.  I prefer to talk about Dave Ramsey myself.  J

We headed to Pappa’s Burgers with R&S to meet up with their friend Travis on our way back from the airport.  Since Rob & I and already eaten, we just ordered a milkshake.  Not gonna lie tho… that milkshake might have been one of the best ever.  During this time, we also watched an intense Iowa State, OSU game.  Crazy weird.

We called it quits around 11 or so and headed in for the night.

Saturday, I made R&S cinnamon rolls and Ryan had a bloody nose due to the extreme change to humidity from dryness.  Whoops!  J  It was really, really humid while they were here.  At least 90% on Saturday.  On the bright side, Stace said that she hadn’t had to use lotion as much!! J

We caught the Port of Houston tour of the Ship Channel via boat and got to see some gigantic ships and things on the Houston ship channel.  The tour was free, which made it kind of amazing.  I was kind of hoping to maybe see some historic things, but we didn’t really.  Just really big ships.

For lunch Christine found this place called Azteca’s where we ate Mexican food and then R&C went and did some errands at The Container Store while we took R&S through the classy neighborhoods of River Oaks and Tanglewood.  We reminded them, that no… we would not be living here… but it’s always fun to come and look!!  We came back to the apartment to rest up and watch the first half of the Arkansas game.

That evening, we headed to City Center to walk around, eat dinner and see a comedy show.  We ate at a place called Tuscan Brio Grille which was fabulous.  It was a nice evening so we could sit outside.  The waiter new there were twins at our table, but at the time he came over Ryan was gone to the bathroom so the waiter was trying to figure out who were the twins between me, Robert, and Stacy.  We told him that he would know who the twins were when everyone was at the table.  J

We headed to the comedy club which was very funny.  It was very clean humor, but there were a few too many teenagers in the crowd.  But, it was still really funny.  When asked to describe a Canadian… Ryan volunteered the word ‘Heterogeneous”.  Don’t ask how he came up with that word or even why he came up with that word… but he was awarded the “best suggestion” at the end of the night and the comedy person acting out the word heterogeneous even got his team to guess the right word.  It was very impressive.  All in all, a very hilarious night.

On Sunday we slept in a little and had brunch at this place Chris found in the Height’s called Dharma’s Café.  It was very good food and probably a place that we would go back to.  We then headed out to Houston Zoo, which was very spectacular.  Did you know that you can feed giraffes there??  For $5 you can feed them 3 pieces of lettuce.  Note to self:  bring your own lettuce.  It was a very nice zoo and a lot of it seemed pretty new.  I’m told the African Forest section is about a year old.

We also went up to the Cheesecake Factory at the Woodlands Mall where we were able to meet up with Robert’s sister Jordan who rode down with a friend.  Later, we drove R&S back to the airport for them to catch their flight back home.

It was very nice catching up with everyone and hearing about everyone’s lives.  As you can see, we packed a lot in to a short weekend.  On Monday, I spent the day with Jordan & Christine and their friends at the outlet mall in Cypress and met up with Robert and his dad at the Hard Rock Café.

Phew!  Lots of things to be thankful for this season.  Today, we’re off for one last meal with the Meier’s and then to Canyon Lake to spend the rest of the week with the Hesseltine/Atzenhoffer family.

You Can Call Us Weird, Because Normal Is Broke.

Now, you can’t judge us.  But, we spent our weekend hanging out with Dave Ramsey.  The personal finance guru.  Our main squeeze.  Bald-headed.  Usually see him with scissors and credit cards.  That guy.  Dave Ramsey.

He's practically part of the family.  Maybe this will become our Chistmas card photo?

On Friday, we headed out to the Books a- Million where he is signing his new book called Entre-Leadership.  This book is not on personal finance, it’s about leading a small business.  He has some great ideas in it… and even if you aren’t in a small business, you can still apply the principles he teaches in your group at a business.  Very applicable stuff.  Definitely check it out if you’re looking to become a leader in the business world.  It’s all about how to run your business. 

This is the car Dave sold his first book out of many moons ago.

We got to the Books –a-Million at around 5 PM (we both got to leave work early.)  We purchased the book and got our number in line… number 69.  We ended up in the line that was the medical reference and pet aisle.  Not such a great aisle to spend the next hour waiting in line.  But, once he started… he moved fast.  So, yes.. we got to meet our main squeeze, Dave Ramsey.  Since we talk about him like we know him, I figure it’s a good thing we finally met the guy.  He looks just like all his pictures and sounds the same as he does on his radio show.

My view from the Pet aisle.

His team was very friendly, too and new how to get everyone in to see him.  Unfortunately tho, I didn’t get a picture with him.  He said that from past experiences, most people didn’t know how to work their cell phone camera’s, so they had to stop the picture taking because it took to long.  So, I don’t really blame him.  I’m not really even sure how you sign books for two straight hours.  Your arm would have to hurt!  Maybe he does special arm exercises to practice for the big day???  Maybe one day I’ll know… or maybe not.

We hung around the book store until 7 PM when they did the drawing for $2,000.  We did not win.  L  It would have gone a long way in our house fund!  Someone named Laura Martin one… I will forever remember that name, after all.. she did steal our money!  Ok, not really.  But she won what we wanted.  Overall, there were probably about 300 people there to sign their book…. Note:  We were number 69.  Such an over-achiever, I know.

It was really pleasant to be around people at the signing that truly liked the man and wanted to be there.  Gotta love it when people get it… that debt is dumb and cash is king!  You could hear everyone talking about how his plan was helping to change their financial lives.  That’s really encouraging!!  He’s definitely provided the road map for Robert and I and I know we’ll definitely be better off with that map.

On Saturday… we went to Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover (“TMMO”).  We had purchased our tickets at a special $19 price back in April.  (So, we’re a little obsessed, big deal.)  We ended up sitting on the floor in some pretty good seats I think.  It was also a sold out crowd.  I’m not sure how big Reliant Arena is, but I’d say there were about 5,000 people there. Pretty awesome when you can get 5,000 people together to learn about personal finance.

Me & Robert before the show!

Dave on stage!

The TMMO is what we have been doing.  So, we pretty much already knew everything, but it’s always nice to go in there and see the man who you’ve been blaming for why you can’t go out to eat that night.  Plus, he puts a little pep in your step and keeps you motivated to follow his plan.  We did learn a few interesting things, so I’m going to put them below.

*15 Things Dave Ramsey Taught Me in 6 Hours*

1.       A 30 year-old couple made $48,000 a year and saved 15% ($7,200 per year or $600 per month) in a 401(k) at 12% growth… at 70 years old they will have $7,058,863.50 in the 401(k).  What if you don’t agree with his 12%???  Well… look at it this way… WHAT IF HE IS HALF WRONG?!  Who cares… half of 7 is $3.5 million.  I’ll take that, thank you.

2.       The same couple fully funded a ROTH IRA at $5,000 each per year (a total of $10,000), which would be $833 per month, at 12% growth…. At 70 years old they will have $9,803,937.87—TAX FREE.  Again, WHAT IF HE IS HALF WRONG?! 

3.       Nearly 70% of consumers live paycheck to paycheck.

4.       The average American household has $91,000 in debt and the total consumer debt has doubled since 1980.  In 1980, the total consumer debt was $1.3 trillion; today, it is $2.6 trillion.

5.       Conflict over money is still the leading cause of divorce today.

6.       In 1929, only 2% of the homes in America had a mortgage against them.  By 1962, only 2% did not have mortgage against them, even though the affordability index was actually better in 1960 than it was in 1929.

7.       Due to a lack of savings, 60% of the 77 million baby boomers will not have the means to support their current standard of living when they reach retirement.

8.       A $1,000 one-time investment.  No withdrawal.  Age 25-65 (40 years)

a.       6% Return:  $10,285

b.       18% Return: $750,378

True, you can’t get an 18% return.  But you know who does?  CREDIT CARD COMPANIES.  That’s right.  You’re willing to earn 6% but pay 18%.  That doesn’t sound right, does it?!

9.       Ben & Arthur.  Ben & Arthur both save $2,000 per year at 12%.  Ben starts at age 19 and stops at age 26. ($16,000 investment over 8 years),  Arthur starts at age 27 and stops at age 65 ($78,000 investment over 38 years).  At the age of 65:  Ben has $2,288,996 and Arthur has $1,532,166.  Arthur never caught up.  THE POWER OF COMPOUND INTEREST.  START NOW!

10.    Diversify in fund types when investing in mutual funds (the only thing Dave recommends investing)

a.       25% in growth and income funds

b.       25% in growth

c.        25% in international

d.       25% in aggressive growth

** REMEMBER:  No one gets hurt on a rollercoaster except those who jump off.**

11.    The average college student graduates with $42,406 in student loan debt.  This is usually to finance a lifestyle and not the education.  Take the time to research the cost of college and make the student get a job!

12.    According to a 2008 study by Sallie Mae and Gallup, only 9% of families use college savings funds like ESA’s and 529’s.

a.       An ESA is an Education Savings Account that is an Education IRA.  You can invest $2,000/yr into this and it works just like a mutual fund... you can even pick the fund!  $2,000 x 18 = $36,000 in principal for school!  That doesn’t even count any earnings!!!  If you earned 5%, you’d have $56,264. 

b.       Did you know that his ESA is considered a tax break for the rich?  It was only extended when Congress extended the Bush tax breaks for another two years at the end of last year.  Doesn’t sound like tax break for the rich? Sounds like it could help the middle class pay for their children go to college to me.

13.    According to a 2008 survey by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, roughly 76 million adults say they do not have any non-retirement savings.  Of those to who have a cash fund, 61% don’t have enough to cover three to six months of income.

14.    The real meaning of a FICO score:  Let me go into debt so that later, I can go more into debt.  Think about it… the only way to have a FICO score is to go into debt.  Once you’re in debt, it’s what you do with it that raises or shrinks your score.  But, we only care about our score… so that later, we can go into more debt.  What’s happening to us?

15.    MYTH:  It is wise to keep my home mortgage to get the tax deduction.  WRONG!  Tax deductions are no bargain.  Let’s do the math:

You have a $200,000 mortgage at 5% interest.  OR:  $200,000 X 5% = $10,000 interest paid.

You make $75,000 salary.  OR:  $75,000 - $10,000 = $65,000 amount calculated for taxes to be paid

You’re in the 25% tax bracket.  OR:  $10,000 X 25% = $2,500 amount in taxes paid.

So… would you rather:

PAY $10,000 in interest or SAVE $2,500?  DUH!  You’d rather save the $10,000.  Still worried about losing those tax savings though??  Well, since you don’t have to pay $10,000 in interest every year, you can give $10,000 to a charity and use it just like we did above for a charitable deduction… and you are right back at the $2,500 in tax savings!

Never thought of it like that, did you?  Me either.  But now I am.

*****

So, yeah, the man is real genius.  NOT.  He’s not a genius.  He’s just full of common sense and shares it.  And he’s not afraid to hurt your feelings either.  Trust me, I’ve heard him on the radio and sometimes I feel really bad for the people that called in.  But, they need it.  You need it. 

We can’t be like Congress and keep spending what we don’t have.  It will catch up to you.  What happened to all those people that bought a house they couldn’t afford?  They got foreclosed on.  They’re hurting.  But… we can’t just sit around and wait for the government to help us.  Only you can change your life.  Only you can stop spending what you don’t have.  Have you ever met a President that has changed your life?  No.  Has either one ever written you a check and said.. “Here you go… it’s okay that you spent more than you had.”??  No.  When you watch football and see that quarterback throw an interception three times… do you think that coach is out there saying, “one more try hunny, it’s okay.”  Hell no.  They are ripped off the field and sat on the bench.  Do you think that a batter who consistently strikes out gets to keep batting?  Do you think they say it’s the “pitcher’s fault?”  Hell no.  Replacement please.  So, why is it that when it comes to finances, we only want to blame others or hope that one day a handout will come our way?  Only you can change your financial life.

That’s my small little rant.  It’s not about being Conservative or Liberal.  It’s about embracing what you can do for yourself.  I think we tend to all get caught up in what the other side has to say or can or can’t do for us.  When in reality… Only I can do for me.  Only We can do for us.  No one is going to just hand you money for the sake of handing you money… it’s about working hard or harder.  So that when you get to a place where you can give, you WILL give and help that single mom who is struggling or the family that just lost their house to a fire.  You can’t help people when you are broke.  As Margaret Thatcher once said, “No one would remember the Good Samaritan if he didn’t have money.”

So, pretty good stuff, right?  That’s what we spent our Saturday listening to.  And man, I am fired up!  (As if you can’t tell from above).   Let me also add, at Dave’s event I also got a book signed by Jon Acuff.   Jon Acuff is the author of “Stuff Christians Like”, “Quitter”, and “Gazelle’s Baby Steps and 37 Other Things Dave Ramsey Taught Me About Debt”.  I had previously read his Quitter book… which is the book that inspired me to find what I wanted and quit my job.  So, I got two books signed this weekend.  Pretty awesome!!

For someone who has never been to a book signing in her life,
I somehow got two books signed in two days!

That pretty much wrapped up our weekend.  We went to Outback where we used our Free Steak coupon and watched the Hogs kick some Auburn butt!!!!  So, a pretty spectacular weekend.  Yeah, I know.  We’re weird.  But normal is broke, so I’d rather be weird any day.

I’m posting a link here to Dave Ramsey’s website so that you can become a little weird too.



One weird, happy girl.