So I'm writing this down so that I can come back in a years time (or so) and see how things have changed. I know things will work out but man am I stressing. I don't have a timeline but the clock is ticking on when I will have to move. When I was looking for an apartment all those years ago the big challenge was figuring out where I wanted to look not knowing the towns and neighborhoods being a newbie to the state.
Now, there are no apartments. What happened? I guess it was the housing market crash. I vaguely remember hearing on the news that there are a lot more renters now. Didn't worry me as I was comfy, nestled into my sweet digs. Now, I'd kill for any of the apartments I looked at before settling on this one.
And then there is the housing market. At least there are some of houses on the market. But living in a big metropolotin area means the prices aren't cheap. I could afford the mortgage/taxes/insurance on a bunch of nice places, but it's the downpayment, that is the kicker. I've done the math forwards and backwards, and nothing.
The thing that I'm stresing about is that I have no plan, no back-up plan, nothing. Initially I thought, find a new apartment, won't be as nice, but that's ok. This would be my back-up plan as I look into purchaing a place. I've run a ton of scenarios and now I wonder, how do people afford to live in this city. I know it will all work out, just like it has in the past, but I feel like any of my options is moving me downwards and backwards. Frustrating. Little did I know how much I was taking for granted my little home sweet home.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
Presidents Day Weekend
On the bus ride home after work Friday, I ended up sitting behind the younger sister of an old college friend, Andrea (does that sentence refer the name to the sister or the friend? – ah grammar). Haven’t seen or talked with either since just after college – ages ago. Theresa just moved to my town a few months ago – looking forward to catching up after all these years. Small world.
Just found out this weekend that my landlords are putting my apartment on the market this spring. I have a month or two to find a new place – or consider buying this place. I’ve found over the years that I don’t mind change, as long as I get to make it. Not the case this time so I’m stressing. Between trying to find another wicked cool home like this one and the thought of packing and moving everything- I’m not a happy camper. I’ve definitely nested here. Wish me well on my search.
My way to deal with things I don’t want to deal with is to organize. Having organized most everything, I went off script a little and decided to memorize the US presidents – finally organizing them in my head. Don’t ask me why, but over the years it’s useful to know so-and-so was in term during such-and-such a time period. So I made flash cards and everything. Don’t know how long it will stay in the old noodle, but I can comfortably say I know all the presidents in order, their terms and number. I even started learning what their home state is/was. Did you know there were four MA presidents? There’s the three you expect – the two Adams and Kennedy. Do you know who the fourth was? Bush Sr! Who knew?
And you know what I just put together as I enjoy the last part of my long weekend. It’s presidents weekend, specifically presidents day. I had totally forgotten what holiday it was. Strange that the subconscious must have been working and came up with the idea of memorizing the US presidents. About time!
Just found out this weekend that my landlords are putting my apartment on the market this spring. I have a month or two to find a new place – or consider buying this place. I’ve found over the years that I don’t mind change, as long as I get to make it. Not the case this time so I’m stressing. Between trying to find another wicked cool home like this one and the thought of packing and moving everything- I’m not a happy camper. I’ve definitely nested here. Wish me well on my search.
My way to deal with things I don’t want to deal with is to organize. Having organized most everything, I went off script a little and decided to memorize the US presidents – finally organizing them in my head. Don’t ask me why, but over the years it’s useful to know so-and-so was in term during such-and-such a time period. So I made flash cards and everything. Don’t know how long it will stay in the old noodle, but I can comfortably say I know all the presidents in order, their terms and number. I even started learning what their home state is/was. Did you know there were four MA presidents? There’s the three you expect – the two Adams and Kennedy. Do you know who the fourth was? Bush Sr! Who knew?
And you know what I just put together as I enjoy the last part of my long weekend. It’s presidents weekend, specifically presidents day. I had totally forgotten what holiday it was. Strange that the subconscious must have been working and came up with the idea of memorizing the US presidents. About time!
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Not your average commute
I’ve been slowly shifting my schedule of when I go into work. I’ve been catching an earlier bus each morning. Although more crowded, it feels like I get into work faster. Although, I just noticed this morning, it still takes me about an hour. I grabbed a seat yesterday next to a fellow and opened up my book. I do have to say, for good or bad, there a more and more of the ebook tablets in the hands of my fellow commuters. My neighbor had one and I glanced over to see what he was reading before diving into my own book. (Side note: I was reading “March” by Geraldine Brooks and although an interesting tale and some parts of the story will stay with me long past the reading of the book, I didn’t think it warranted the Pulitzer Prize. Still - a fast read if you are looking for a book).
I forget the title but it was something like thermodynamics. On the page was text but also higher-level equations. My initial thought was it must be interesting but a dry read for the commute. I learned in my early twenties that although I love the Russians, they were not meant to accompany me on my daily commute - hard to give the requisite attention required.
And then I find my place on the subway train and am about to dive back into my book when I glance over to my new neighbor. He, thankfully, is reading a good old fashioned paper based book (I’m a bit of a luddite when it comes to the ebooks). And strikingly, on his page is text and higher-level equations - more square roots and a bit of calculus thrown in.
And if that wasn’t enough, on my bus ride home that same night, once again I’m about to pick up my book and finish off the last chapter when I realize the two ladies in front of me are animatedly discussing the latest episode of “Downton Abbey”. I had held off watching this show on PBS, mainly because I missed the first few episodes and never really got into “Upstairs Downstairs” - a similar PBS show from an earlier era. But this month, I caught up on season one from last year and the first chunk of season two that started airing in January. And I’m hooked - only one more episode to go and then it’s all over - until season 3 starts up. It’s quite a well-written series and a classic PBS quality period piece even if it is a glorified soap opera.
The events were interesting book ends to the day and a far cry from what some of my colleagues face on their daily commute. I definitely have one of the higher-brow/more educated commutes.
I forget the title but it was something like thermodynamics. On the page was text but also higher-level equations. My initial thought was it must be interesting but a dry read for the commute. I learned in my early twenties that although I love the Russians, they were not meant to accompany me on my daily commute - hard to give the requisite attention required.
And then I find my place on the subway train and am about to dive back into my book when I glance over to my new neighbor. He, thankfully, is reading a good old fashioned paper based book (I’m a bit of a luddite when it comes to the ebooks). And strikingly, on his page is text and higher-level equations - more square roots and a bit of calculus thrown in.
And if that wasn’t enough, on my bus ride home that same night, once again I’m about to pick up my book and finish off the last chapter when I realize the two ladies in front of me are animatedly discussing the latest episode of “Downton Abbey”. I had held off watching this show on PBS, mainly because I missed the first few episodes and never really got into “Upstairs Downstairs” - a similar PBS show from an earlier era. But this month, I caught up on season one from last year and the first chunk of season two that started airing in January. And I’m hooked - only one more episode to go and then it’s all over - until season 3 starts up. It’s quite a well-written series and a classic PBS quality period piece even if it is a glorified soap opera.
The events were interesting book ends to the day and a far cry from what some of my colleagues face on their daily commute. I definitely have one of the higher-brow/more educated commutes.
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
12 in 12 in 2012
I’ve decided to copy my friend Amanda who recently came back to life in blog-land (yay!). She’s working on making 12 changes over 12 months. There is always that list of things hovering in the background that you never get to. I’m quite efficient at work cranking through project after project, but when I get home, I seem to lose momentum and focus. So besides having a catchy title, this is really a way for me to focus on tasks at hand. I don’t quite have each month planned out but am tweaking the goal to knock out projects not necessarily behavior (although that might be in the mix).
Well, month #1, what did I get accomplished that I’ve had hanging over me? Loans. I hate debt. I was brought up to not buy anything you can’t afford, with the one exception of the mortgage. I’m proud to say I’ve never had credit card debt, and until this century, never had any loans. But college number 3 (or 4 depending on how you count), pushed me into student loans. And then a few years back I decided to get the car I wanted with the assistance of a car loan (I struggled with this one for a long time).
I sat down this month and put together a plan to accelerate the payoffs. I just finished all the paperwork implementing the new plan. And boy does it feel good. I wrote the check to payoff the balance of the car loan – yay! I wrote another check towards the student loan – yay! And I just doubled my monthly student loan payment. If I did the math right, the loan will be paid off by year’s end! I’m on a super tight allowance but it’s doable – I’m good at economizing and this is not the first time. This 12 in 12 in 2012 helped me get out of limbo. All the guidelines say to keep the low interest loans and work on your savings. But in today’s market, with such low returns, it just didn’t seem right. So I finally went with my gut feeling. I may not have a lot in the savings account but being debt free will feel so good. I’m glad I have a plan finally and look forward to seeing the loan balance quickly reach zero!
Next up for February? I think I’ll stick with finances and work on my retirement. I’ve accumulated a bunch of 401ks and can’t remember the last time I rebalanced. My goals for February:
- Consolidate retirement into two accounts
- Update Retirement Record Book
- Determine portfolio allocations (30% mid-cap, 10% bonds, etc)
- Determine best balance between savings and retirement (how much can I manage to put away each year)
Well, month #1, what did I get accomplished that I’ve had hanging over me? Loans. I hate debt. I was brought up to not buy anything you can’t afford, with the one exception of the mortgage. I’m proud to say I’ve never had credit card debt, and until this century, never had any loans. But college number 3 (or 4 depending on how you count), pushed me into student loans. And then a few years back I decided to get the car I wanted with the assistance of a car loan (I struggled with this one for a long time).
I sat down this month and put together a plan to accelerate the payoffs. I just finished all the paperwork implementing the new plan. And boy does it feel good. I wrote the check to payoff the balance of the car loan – yay! I wrote another check towards the student loan – yay! And I just doubled my monthly student loan payment. If I did the math right, the loan will be paid off by year’s end! I’m on a super tight allowance but it’s doable – I’m good at economizing and this is not the first time. This 12 in 12 in 2012 helped me get out of limbo. All the guidelines say to keep the low interest loans and work on your savings. But in today’s market, with such low returns, it just didn’t seem right. So I finally went with my gut feeling. I may not have a lot in the savings account but being debt free will feel so good. I’m glad I have a plan finally and look forward to seeing the loan balance quickly reach zero!
Next up for February? I think I’ll stick with finances and work on my retirement. I’ve accumulated a bunch of 401ks and can’t remember the last time I rebalanced. My goals for February:
- Consolidate retirement into two accounts
- Update Retirement Record Book
- Determine portfolio allocations (30% mid-cap, 10% bonds, etc)
- Determine best balance between savings and retirement (how much can I manage to put away each year)
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