Moving In With Mom?

My fiance, Chris, and I had an exploratory discussion about what we want to do in the near future regarding our housing situation. We currently rent a 750 square-foot apartment for $1000 per month. It's a second floor walk-up with easy access to the highways and centrally located near the center of town and shopping centers in two directions. We have a huge living room and bedroom. The kitchen and bathroom are on the small end, but it's okay for the two of us and our dogs. It's lacking a fenced in yard and we share the driveway with two neighboring houses. So it wouldn't be a home we settle down with a few kids.

We had brought up the subject many times in the past, but with our wedding coming up soon, it's more than a passing thought. It's the beginnings of our future home plan.

Some Advice for Paying Off Student Loans

I posted yesterday about my burden - student loan debt - and how we're not alone in this. I came across an article, How to Pay Off Student Loans Now, that gives some advice on tackling student loan debt and why we should do so now rather than later. I am currently doing two out of the four strategies. I live with my fiance, prior to that, I lived in a house with 3 other roommates. My current living situation is cheaper that living with my roommates, which is surprising to me, but not unexpected.

Chris and I try to be energy conscious. We turn off lights when we're not in the room, turn off computers when we're not using them (I usually use the computer during the weekend), keep the thermostat set at 68 degrees in the winter, opt not to use an air conditioner unless it gets extremely hot inside the apartment (so far it's been actually okay), and we don't buy food we will not eat during the week. Small things, but they add up. When I was living with 3 roommates, I couldn't control all their money-wasting habits.

The other strategy that I try to follow is to not get into more debt. I pay off my credit card in full every month.

The other two strategies - get a second job and drive a beater - I didn't quite make it there. I'm still going back and forth about a second job, which I mentioned in my last post. I gave my 2001 Chevy Malibu to my mom since her 1996 Dodge Caravan was on it's way out. I decided to get a new car, a 2012 Mazda 3 hatchback, since I knew I was going to keep it until it dies. I also drive 40 miles a day to work and back, so I wanted a reliable car that wasn't a maintenance nightmare. I knew I could have bought a used car, but after going back and forth, I decided to buy new. I worked out all the numbers and with the payments, I was still able to contribute to my savings, Roth IRA, and still have money left over for extra student loan payments. All in all, I'm doing okay, but I will be stepping up my student loan payments more aggressively in 2013.

The Burden of Student Loan Debt

I know I'm not alone. I have student loan debt, more than the average, but I have it. According to the Project on Student Debt, the Massachusetts state average for 2010 grads was $25,541. I wish that was the amount I owe. Multiply that by 3 and that's closer to what I still have left to pay - I started repayment in December 2009. I went to a private university and it wasn't cheap. It could have been more affordable, but I wasn't as smart as I am now about my finances. See my post One Year After Graduation.

I came across an article about a Harvard Business School graduate who got rid of his $90,000 student loan debt in 7 months. That's amazing. His story is the extreme of what one person will do to be done with the payments. At times I feel like I should do something drastic. I'm caught in a current state of analysis paralysis.

Marriage and Finances

The current count down is 52 days until our wedding. Actually, that's until the wedding reception. My fiance, Chris, and I decided to get married in June. I wanted to do it on the first day of summer, June 21. We're still trying to plan that bit out.

I came across an interesting article in the NY Times a while back (mid-May). I finally got around to sharing it. In Marriage, the Unseen Bottom Line - it's interesting to me how many women do not want to be involved with the household finances or don't want to share their spending information with their spouses. Growing up, my mom and stepdad seemed to have that relationship. He makes the money, she spends it. I never heard them take about money or finances in front of us. I can tell you that my mom is still a mess with her personal finances and my family end up giving her money to make ends meet.

How I Got My Financial Life In Order

It wasn't always easy for me to deal with my finances. I used to be happy spending money every weekend on things I didn't need. It wasn't until my student loan payments were due that I realized that I needed to change my ways or I'll end up in a bad financial situation.

Here's how I got my financial life in order:

Financial Wake Up Call

To be honest, I don't recall the exact date that I became this personal-finance-obsessed person. It most likely happened in the fall of 2009, probably in September after I joined Mint.com. The grace period for my student loans was almost up and the thought of shelling out $800 per month scared me. I was a big spender back then and I knew I couldn't keep up with the payments if I didn't change my ways.

I remember looking at the MintLife blog and reading some interesting articles. After reading through most of the posts there I decided to search the rest of the internet. I came across a lot of PF blogs and websites like Wise Bread. There's definitely a lot of information out there. It can almost be overwhelming for a novice like me.

I started slow. Baby steps. Breathe. It's not the end of the world, but it felt like it. At the time I was still sending money home to my mom on a monthly basis. I felt like the Bank of Patti. I also felt like I wouldn't be able to pass the stress test should something big come up in the future. I didn't have a lot of money saved up and I was surely spending too much. That thought ate into me day after day. What to do? Where to start?

I knew I had to do something...

Where Have I Been? Where Am I Now?

It’s been a while since I last wrote on this blog – almost a year and a half. A lot has happened. Here’s a bit of a run down by year.

2010

•  In June I moved into a new apartment and gained 3 new roommates. We were all engineers, two guys and one other girl. Fun times there, good stories that I hope to revisit in the future.
• My college boyfriend and I broke up a few hours after my last post on August 28. I was a bit heartbroken, but knew we weren’t meant to be together for the long run. It was good while it lasted and I was grateful to have him in my life. Moving on…
• I started seeing someone I used to date back in college. There’s probably a reason why we stopped dating the first time but it took me 6 months to remember it all again.

2011

•  It was good for the short time we were together, but I think I choked a bit. It’s funny that in December 2010 I wasn’t ready to get married or at least get married to that boyfriend, but in December 2011, I was singing a different tune. Post-college boyfriend and I didn’t work out for the reasons it didn’t work out the first time we dated and our relationship ended in March.
• I was living the single life-style with my guy friends and it was very expensive. I don’t regret any of it, but boy, all that eating out at restaurants killed my wallet and my slim figure.
•  I started going to a knitting group in May. I love the ladies and everything they talk about. I get to learn from their wisdom on child rearing and get a glimpse of their life and adventures. One of the ladies lives in the UK a few months out of the year since her husband’s family is there and he travels there for work every now and then.
•  I met my current fiancé, C, in July. We hit it off right away and I just knew. He was someone I can see myself settling down with in the future. He had a terrier, I had a terrier. We both come from families with money problems. There were more similarities and I might get into that at a later date.
• We moved in together on Halloween. It was snowing!
• He proposed to me in December and I said yes! Some would say that we’re moving too fast, but I think it’s the right thing for us. Besides, he’s 30 and I’m 25. I can hear the clock ticking.
•  I bought a new car! I gave my 2001 Chevy Malibu back to my mom and bought a 2012 Mazda 3 5-door (aka Hatchback). I love the car, not loving the finance manager at the dealership. That’s another story.

2012

• C and I are preparing for our upcoming wedding.
• I'm still at my first job after college.
• I'm thinking about going to grad school (paid for by my company).
• I'm just trying to be in the moment and live life one day at a time.

I added another section to My Money History - Where Am I Now. It's a bit more in depth about my life so far in 2012. I plan to update it every now and then. I might edit it and make it shorter or move some things around. So much to do on my first day back on this blog. I hope you join me as I try to capture my life in this blog.