My New Blog!

 I started a new blog, and I'm pretty excited about it! It's called Not Pinterest. Here's my description:

"Oh, hello. I didn’t see you there. Please, pull up a cozy chair (that you re-upolstered yourself), brew a cup of tea (that you keep in a mason jar with twine tied in a bow around), and sit in your perfectly cleaned living room (with pictures of your perfectly clean, blonde, children).

Oh wait. This ain’t Pinterest. And I’m me.

In that case, flop down on the couch, grab that last popsicle that’s been in your freezer for a questionably long time, and try not to look at the clutter on your coffee table. This blog’s for you, my friend.

I used to blog about personal finance, but after I got out of debt, that got a little dull. I miss writing, and want to write about life as a teacher and life at home. I like to share recipes, ridiculous stories about teaching seventh grade, cleaning and organization tips, and whatever else pops into my head. I’m actually pretty good at those things.

But, I’m going to be honest and real and tell you that I am not “Pinterest-good” at them. If I took a picture of my dinner, it would not look amazing and artistic. In fact, sometimes pictures of my food don’t even look appetizing. But the meals themselves-great.

My cleaning tips are more “real lazy” than “Real Simple.” My organization strategies are effective, but not in matching drawer liners with trendy contact paper.

So, I decided to own it. Join me for the ride as I live my life, share some ideas, and hopefully make you laugh. It’ll be like Pinterest, but it won’t make you feel bad about yourself."

I hope you'll check it out, link me, and maybe even read it, despite the fact that it's not personal finance focused. I'm going for a mix of practical and funny. I hope you'll enjoy it!

Update

Well, I became what I was always annoyed with: the blogger who gets out of debt and promptly stops posting. Yup. I'm just not that interested in blogging about PF anymore, to be honest. But, I am working on a new blog, which I will get up and running in the next month or so. I'll definitely post the link here, and I'd love it if you'd read it. l

Basically, I'm alive, all is well, and I still read your blogs. I like them. Don't be like me, keep posting.

Smooches.

Getting Money Back-Moving

When BF and I moved out of the old apartment, we did the things you usually do in hopes of getting back my full $500 deposit. We cleaned like fiends, basically. Patched holes in the walls, scrubbed, soaked, and deep-cleaned the place. I think we did a pretty good job, so I am hoping for almost the full deposit back.

The other way I hoped to get some funds back is in my July rent. We had to pay for the whole month, but we were actually completely out of the apartment by July 7th. So, I emailed my landlord and asked if she could pro-rate the rent for us. She said that if she found someone to move in before the end of July, she would be willing to refund our rent for those days. SCORE!

I helped her along by posting the Craigslist ad on my Facebook, showing the apartment while I was still living there, and of course cleaning the place so that it would show well. And on Tuesday I found out that our efforts paid off: the apartment was rented and the new move-in date is the 20th! So, we will be refunded most of the deposit (I always expect a little to be taken off) plus ten days of rent! YES!

That money is going straight back into my Emergency Fund, since that's what I used to pay the deposit on this apartment. That will put me only $500 away from a completely stocked E-fund!

So, I encourage you to be assertive with your landlord when moving. She wouldn't have offered, but when I asked, she was willing to work with me, and it paid off!

Market Research...Cha-ching!

A few weeks ago I was walking out of the Whittier Public Library when a woman and I made eye-contact. She asked, "Do you live in this area?" I had a moment of panic, because I grew up here and just moved back. I thought she might ask for directions, and that's not my strong-suit to begin with. :/ I said yes, hesitantly. She then asked if I would be interested in doing some paid market research on July 17th. She also said, "It pays $300."

WHAT?! Hell yes I am interested! So, she asked me several questions to see if I qualified, and then gave me a letter with the info. I had to go to LA, arriving by 8:00. The session went until 6:30. I would be paid in cash as I left and provided with lunch.

I looked up the organization to make sure it was legit, and according to Yelp reviews, it was. So, on Tuesday I headed out at 6:45 and attended. I signed a confidentiality agreement, so all I can say is that it was on local issues. We watched presentations and filled out questionares. At the end of the day, they put us in groups to discuss the issues while the watched and videotaped us. It was a long day, but the topic was fairly interesting. It's not how I'd want to spend every day, but when they handed me an envelope with $300 cash in it, it definitely felt worth it!

So, what am I going to do with the money?
$50=Desk for second bedroom from Walmart. I already bought this and put it together.
$50=Mac eyeshadow kit. My friend Rene works for Mac and got me to pre-order this item.
$100=New work clothes. I got rid of a few ancient pairs of pants and need some new shirts, so I'm going to start rebuilding with $100 at the outlets (I love you, Banana Republic Outlet).
$100=Vacation! We leave on our massive road trip next week, so I stashed $100 away to take on the trip.

I thought about putting some of it into savings, but I actually feel good about how I split up the money. I think it's a good mix, and since this month was VERY expensive, with moving and all, this couldn't have come at a better time.

I emailed the woman who recruited me, told her how much I enjoyed participating, and that I would love to be a part of more studies if she needs people. Fingers crossed she calls me again!

Have you ever done market research for money? Was it worth it?

So, About Being Debt Free

A few posts back I casually mentioned that I paid off my student loans and am 100% debt free. I did it in the midst of some other posts, and after a long-ish absence, so I thought I'd go back and write a bit about it, and reflect on how far I've come.

I was able to pay off the last chunk of my student loan because as a National Board Certified Teacher in LAUSD, I am able to earn money for additional hours of professional development (both as a leader and a learner) each year. This is money on top of my regular check and is part of the incentive to get the certification. (Alas, my new district does not participate, but hopefully they won't lay me off every year either). When I got that extra chunk of money, I decided to go ahead and just pay off my entire student loan amount and be done with it all at once.

Honestly, there wasn't the fanfare I felt when I paid off my credit cards or my car loan. I think  in part because I don't have any regrets about my student loans, and they never bothered me as much as my other debt. Also, I didn't entirely plan to pay them off that day, so it didn't have the build-up that the other debt payoffs had. To top it all off, I was/am going through HUGE transitions right now-laid off, new job, moving, etc.

Don't get me wrong; it feels pretty great to be debt free. But I guess I thought there would be more glee or jumping up and down than there actually was. I do occasionally think, "I am debt free." And it always brings a little smile to my face.

I did some number crunching, and from what I have figured, I have been on this journey to be financially responsible for 31 months (two and a half years). In that time, I have paid off approximately $28,000 of debt to become debt-free. I've also saved almost a three month E-fund, 25% of a house down payment, put money in a Roth IRA for seven months in a row, and increased my funding to my 403(b).

I got super serious about budgeting, tracking every cent I spend. I was really intense in the beginning, and have relaxed as I've gotten out of my high-interest consumer debt. I still took vacations during this time, and prioritized for the things that are important to me.

I remember taking Financial Peace University and hearing that it takes most people two to three years to pay off all their debt if they get gazelle-intense. That seemed like FOREVER. But, I have to say that being on the other side, it doesn't seem so long.

So, am I excited about being debt free? A little. But I think the better word to describe it is proud. I am proud that I did what it took to get here. That I worked hard for it, changed my patterns and habits, and became a financially responsible person. And that's even better than giddy, short-term excitement.

Do I Need More Discipline or a Looser Budget?

For the last few months, I've gone over my budgets in areas like gas, groceries, and eating out/fun money. The fact that I've been absorbing other expenses into my "cushion" money hasn't helped (my CSET test and auto registration come to mind). I've also done a TON of driving to my new school/district office and back and forth from my old and new apartment. BUT, that doesn't explain all the overages.

On one hand, I think that I could be more careful in my spending, and get back down to what I've been spending in the past. I still have savings goals, and want to make sure that I don't start overspending when I don't need to.

On the other hand, I now have zero debt. ZERO. My budget can loosen up a bit, and I will still be able to max out my Roth IRA this year, as well as contribute to a 403(b), and save $550 per month. Which is great, and I'm thankful that I have found a job where I am able to do that. BUT, if I lock down and get more careful, I could add another $100-$200 per month to that number.

I think there's a reason people talk about being Gazelle-like in debt payoff. Not that I'm suddenly buying designer purses or throwing money out the window. But I think now that I've accomplished that big goal, I want to loosen the reigns a bit. Maybe when I am closer to buying a house or paying for a wedding, some of that gazelle-intensity will come back. I know I have it in me. But for now, I'm going to enjoy being debt free and slow down to a leisurely jog...more giraffe-like. Or excited puppy-like. I don't know, I don't like animals enough to know which one to compare myself to. But you get my point.

We Found an Apartment!

Well, it's official: I am moving back to my home town. Yes, Freddie and I are moving to Uptown Whittier. We get the keys on Thursday. The apartment is two bedrooms (so no more printer in the living room, and we'll have his fold out couch as a guest bed). I'm excited about the size, since it was feeling REALLY crowded in our one bedroom apartment.

It also has a garage with room for one car and some storage space in the back. The other person can park their car in the driveway in front of the garage, so that means we both have a parking spot. Holla! After living here, where parking is INSANE, it will be a relief not to have to worry about that.

It is about halfway between our two works, so that's better than some of the other places we looked. We're going to be paying $170 more per month, but the other places we looked were almost that much more for a ONE bedroom, so I'm satisfied with the price.

I am sad that we will no longer have a washer and dryer in the unit, and that there's no dishwasher (again. I haven't had a dishwasher in forever). But overall I think it's a good move for us.

The worst part is that we have to pay deposit, first month's rent, and our rent for this apartment all at once. Ugh. The current landlord told me that if we're out early (we will be) and she can rent it before the month is over, that she will refund us money/prorate the month of July. So, if anyone's looking for a lovely one bedroom apartment in Long Beach, let me know.

I'll post pictures once we've actually moved, but if you're wondering what I'll be doing over the next few weeks, it will be hauling loads of boxes and bags to my new apartment, packing, trying to convince boyfriend to goodwill things, and figuring out how on EARTH we're going to get my couch out of here. (It came in over the balcony, hoisted on top of the moving truck. I don't know how this will work in reverse).