Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. Yin and Yang. Opposites attract. Well, by golly, my hubby and I are overachievers. Hot Damn! I like to sleep in until noon, and he's up and at 'em before the roosters, I like to stay out and close the bar down, and he's ready to go at 10, I love clothes, and he's perfectly content wearing his t-shirts that are twenty years old and his dress-up Polo's still have Warthogs on them from Britches... which has been out of business for a decade, he's an extremely private person, and well, if ya read this blog, I guess you could say I'm not, I like it on top, and I know if I continue with that, that private person is not gonna be happy with me.:)
As much as that man drives me crazy and gets on his my last nerve, I love him. Forever. And he's stuck with me... And I'm sure people are wondering "Why is that family moving when they love their house, their hood, the schools... sounds stupid, right?" Don't worry, we think so too.
But ya see, my hubby is like Dave Ramsey on crack. Over the years, I've learned that's a good thing. No wait, that's a great thing- even if I might use the word tyrant when we're really having it out.:) Unfortunately for him, that ultra saver and planner is married to a fly by the seat, let's home equity that bad boy and have a party, I'm gonna die if I don't get my plantation shutters kind of girl. Yin and Yang I tell ya.:)
So, how do I write a blog about money without my best friend dialing me right up and calling me tacky, or my mother getting on my case? Can I do this tactfully... I hope.:)
Ya see, if it weren't for the hubster, I'd be in debt. But instead, I go to the grocery store on a "budget"- and yes, I've learned that Target is not a grocery store and everything in that store does not get to be filed under groceries on the hubby's little money tracker. I am the queen of being in the McD's line pulling up my account on my phone and checking my balance to see if I have enough for my Sweet Tea, and more often than not, the hubby gives me a call because he received a "ding" to let me know I only have 17 cents in my account. He knows me all too well.
Thankfully though, I have him looking out for us... and tracking every penny. We have no debt, I'm convinced I'm going to be rich if I live long enough because he saves for retirement like no other, every month our credit cards are paid off, etc.... But things are expensive.
One night, the hubz called me into the kitchen and said what he usually says... "I had to take money out of savings this month to pay the bills." Dag. It wasn't like this a few years ago- but add the cost of propane, kids that are now in activities, another baby, higher insurance, and our budget has gone up so much. And we look at things and there's nothing we can cut. Sure, he suggested we cut cable and watch TV on the internet and I might have snapped like he asked me to give up my kidney, but its all good. And then he said it, "we're living above our means right now." And I knew, with my hubby, things were going to need to change. Shit.
Sure, we could live here for years and keep dipping into savings a little every month, but the fact of the matter is that we are on the verge of braces, we have another baby that will need a preschool payment, and a car for our first born isn't too far away. Things are just going to keep going up.
So, we decided to sell our house. The one that we love. Ok, maybe it wasn't a decision that we made in a hot second. Sure, I could go back to work, but I'm lazy as shit. And we might have a hundred other reasons why that's not an option, but that was out. We could move into a townhome- and while that crossed our minds because there comes a point when you are just over a big home and you envy those that live in a townhouse and live life doing things, when we looked, we decided prices are high now, we'd be paying market price, and that's almost what we paid for the house we're in. We considered Winchester and were convinced that was the solution. We could get away from the rat race of Nova, save a ton on taxes, and call it our home. But after a few trips out there, that was scratched, because let's face it- Loudoun is my home- and as my brother and mother would quickly tell you "I'd get out there and hate it." And then we talked about how building on land has always been our dream... let's just move that timeline up, use the equity from our home sale to buy a lot, and do it. Fingers crossed it works out...
And the next time on a real housewife of Loudoun County... watch Shelley go bat shit crazy as she tries to deal with a move...
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