Home and $$$

Mr Oh and I are officially aiming to buy a house before December 1, 2009. One huge incentive is the $8000 tax credit for home buyers, of course. There was much debate and discussion between the two of us, as well as with family, about whether buying this year is a smart move. We can see the pros and cons to both, but have just decided that it is now our goal. Hopefully, if it's the right thing to do, we'll still feel this way in the fall.

Now that we have this lofty goal, we are determined to save like madmen. We've been tracking our money for the past three months, and I feel like we've been smart with our purchases. But now it's time to kick it up a notch. Now we're actually BUDGETING! Odds are that our first month of budgeting won't look too pretty, but I'm confident that we'll still be able to put a nice chunk away into our "Let's Buy a House" fund. Because we need around 25% of the home's value (for the down payment and other closing costs), we have to be diligent every single month. The faster we can stock our fund, the sooner we can seriously look for a home.

Another big factor in this decision is our tax refund. Yes, I know I'm supposed to hate tax refunds because giving the government an interest-free loan is not financially smart. But it's hard to hate when you get back $150 PLUS all that was withheld. What the $#@^$#@?? In the very near future, when both Mr and I are bankin' it up, I'll be furious with the fact that there are people who make sufficient income, yet pay no federal taxes. Our system is seriously screwed up. But, like I said, this year it benefits us GREATLY and I'll keep my mouth shut.

This isn't really a blog for me to write about finances, but since I got a little off-topic last post, why not keep it going?...

As Mr Oh and I sat down to go over our April 2009 Budget, we decided to open a few more accounts. Originally we had the following:

1. Primary Checking Account - Mr's checks are deposited into here and this is the money we live off of. Rent is paid from this money. Groceries are bought. Etc etc.
   
2. Primary Credit Card - I say that we hardly ever use this, but we did charge my tuition in January (and paid it off in full that month!) and we did use it a lot in March (to buy plane tickets and almost all of our travel expenses for another trip - lodging, food, knick knacks). We paid it off in full again. The reason we've used it for some more expensive items is because it has a rewards program. It's nothing terribly fantastic, but we can redeem points for fun stuff like restaurant gift cards and movie passes. I'm so frugral that paying for meals out irks me, and this is a nice way to treat ourselves. (Our primary checking account is tied to this rewards program, but only earns half the amount of points.)
3. Secondary Checking Account - My measly paychecks are deposited in here. It's considered our emergency fund, but it's not so funded, so hopefully no emergencies arise!
4. Checking Account We Need to Close - It's my old account (under my maiden name). There's only about $100 in it. You know, I think Mr has an old account too...but with around $1.00 in it! :) We should really close these and throw the cash into....
5. Let's Buy a House Fund - This is through ING Direct. I still love ING, but the interest rates are so pathetic now. :( Why, oh why, were they great when I had NO money??
6. Europa 2010 - This is where we keep the money (through ING) that we'll use when we go on our trip to Spain and Italy (hopefully in January 2010). It's sitting pretty good, thanks to the generosity of wedding guests, but still needs a little more for cushion.

The new accounts we opened are:

1. Insurance/Travel Savings - We pay for our auto and renters' insurance every six months, so needed a place to stash the cash as we go. Also, it was just a convenience place to include money for travel plans other than Europe. (There are two out-of-state weddings we hope to attend this year.) The convenience stems from the fact that it's linked to our primary checking account & primary credit card, so if we do make semi-big purchases for traveling purposes, we can quickly re-locate the money.
   
2. Car Fund - Yet another ING savings account! I am a huge fan of paying cash for a car, so we've gotta save. You never know when your ride will up and die. We'll set aside a set amount each month (only dipping in it for repairs/maintenance of our current cars) and hopefully it will be funded by the time we need to purchase.

New account we will open at the end of April:

1. Gift Fund - Don't you hate it when there are eight weddings in May? PLUS Mother's Day and graduations? Some months are much more costly than others (think December & Christmas versus March). In order to spread out the expenses, we want to start a gift fund.

Wow. I hadn't even counted them up. Nine (technically) separate accounts. Might seem like a lot to keep up with, but I love the organization.

In an effort to actually tie budgeting into homes/housing/this blog, let me conclude with this:

I think it is very very important to have control of your finances. If you don't, it's harder to enjoy life. I'm not saying you have to be rich. Just have control. If you dictate where your money goes (for having a nice home, cooking meals for friends) rather than always owing (student loans that last longer than your career, credit cards that paid for unnecessary purchases), you've gotta be happier, right?

And if you're happy, your home is happy.