We decided to build the fence with the lumber faced horizontally rather than vertically to reduce waste. We used every inch of lumber we bought!

We’re done with home improvement… for now anyway.

It creaked. It groaned. It fell. I cried.

We have a couple options:

a. We can leave the fence broken, give away our dogs, and hope nothing larger than a hippo wants in or out of our yard.

b. We can do yet another band-aid fix – i.e. buy more chicken wire, bazooka bubble gum, and a load of hope and prayer.

c. We can construct what I consider a perfectly acceptable but perhaps not aesthetically pleasing Preskool bubbly plastic play gate in a rainbow of colors available at garage sales everywhere.

Or

d. We can build a real fence.

Now is not a good time for this to happen (when is?). My husband started his job on Tuesday and won’t receive a paycheck until next week. Fortunately, those of us who are paid bi-weekly receive three paychecks in one month two times per year. January just happens to be my three paycheck month.

Sniff. Goodbye extra car payment.

We decided to build a new fence with my third check. Over the last three years, we could have paid for a new fence several times over but never seemed to have enough to do anything more than band-aid fix after band-aid fix. My husband is constructing the fence and stringing it with power so we can add lighting in the future. Looking at the perfectly dug trenches in our back yard, it appears as though I am haunted by a 170 pound gopher who looks a lot like my husband.

It’s time to stretch ourselves. I’m tired of continuing to make bad temporary financial decisions.

When I call Bank of America, they never know where to transfer me and my call is often magically ‘dropped’. We never received paper statements and our online statements have been a nightmare. Other than a statement of monthly payments, no other information was made available. I had no idea if or when our property taxes or mortgage insurance where paid and I could never find our principal balance. I called to ask why our mortgage payment jumped $150 a month and the best answer they ever offered was ‘I don’t know. Taxes maybe?’

Bank of America finally listed my full account information online this month.

Holy. Cow.

First, we were not notified that the cost of our homeowners insurance jumped by 50%. Call me crazy, but that’s kinda something I’d like to know.

Second, the extra money we’ve been paying on our principal balance the past two and half years has been offset by a reduction of our monthly payment.

This is hard to explain, but it’s sneaky by Bank of America none the less. We pay $20 extra per month on our second mortgage through Wells Fargo. They apply the $20 toward our principal balance but keep our payment the same. Since our principle balance is reduced and our payments are the same, our $20 is stretched to around $50-$75. Our $20 a month to Wells Fargo has paid off around $3,000 of mortgage debt instead of $720.

Bank of America has taken the $20 we designated toward principal and reduced our balance by exactly $20. Then, since our principal balance is reduced, they reduce our monthly payment. Unlike our loan with Wells Fargo, Bank of America has made it so we aren’t shaving any time off the life of our loan and we’re saving no money. Very Sneaky.

Realistically, I should have pushed harder for the information from Bank of America and demanded an explanation of the $150 hike. I assumed it was all from the recent property tax hikes, and most of it was, but I could have saved money by knowing there were other reasons behind the higher monthly payment. And, I would have liked to transfer the $20 I’m spending for no benefit at Bank of America and switched it to our Wells Fargo account.

I assumed my mortgage was the one payment I didn’t have to monitor closely – but I was really, really wrong.

Thank you Bank of America for making me your babysitter.

“I have good news!” he said with delight.

Did he get a job? Did he find a thousand dollars in change while cleaning the couch cushions? I thought.

“The neighbor rented an industrial size rototiller and if I help him at his house, he’ll bring it over here and we can use it! We can dig up the backyard!” he said.

It has become painfully obvious that my husband and I have differing meanings of ‘good news’.

In his defense, we have wanted to tear apart our backyard for months but we haven’t had the time or the money for a giant rototiller.

I don’t know how you spent your weekend but my hours passed painfully. I followed my husband with a shovel and a water hose while he smiled with glee pushing the manliest piece of machinery our yard has seen. The layer of dust is so thick on my scalp, I’m on wash number two and I can still do a good impression of Pig Pen from Charlie Brown. I may have ‘accidentally’ sprayed my husband’s face with water a few times out of sheer spite but it failed to wipe off his giddy look.

Next weekend our neighbor is renting a cement mixer… and has made the same offer. My husband said, “Sweetheart! We can finally widen our driveway – for FREE!! All it will take is a little bit of elbow grease!”

How is it that in less than a week, the Swine Flu is suddenly looking like a good way to spend Thanksgiving weekend?

The big question…

How long can we hold on without my husband’s job?

Our initial numbers (without unemployment benefits) put us at 8 weeks. Our reductions to debt paired with our cash in savings and unemployment benefits put us at…

9 months.

Had this happened before we had taken control… had this happened before we made the decision to live below our means and reduce debt… we would have made it through a month, maybe two tops.

But now, we’re looking at 9 safe months. 9 months to find a job before things get hairy. Sure we won’t make progress other than minimums and we certainly won’t eat anything other than Ramen noodles but, we can hold on.

I have four words to say –

Thank. You. Dave. Ramsey.

1 – If you are hoping for a huge change… this is not the answer. Not all changes are permanent and/or large. Some adjustments may last as little as 3 months.

2 – Loan modifications are not quick. If you can’t wait the standard 9 weeks for the review of your file and another 5-9 weeks for paperwork processing, you don’t have enough time and you may want to move forward with other options like a short sale or foreclosure.

3 – Give an accurate listing of all your expenses. Don’t exaggerate but don’t minimize either. Have a good understanding of exactly how much you are paying. Keep this information available for when you call the bank.

4 – You will be rejected if you have recently made large purchases or if your credit score is low. You shouldn’t be making large purchases anyway so I can’t say as if I blame the banks for this stipulation.

5 – If you have a second mortgage with another lender, they will likely require you to get approved for the Making Home Affordable Program on your first loan before they will consider a change to your second mortgage. If you are accepted for the program on your first loan, it’s easy to submit the same paperwork for your second mortgage.

6 – This should not be your only option. It’s worth a try, but don’t fool yourself into thinking this will solve your problems.

7 – If your home is not a Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac mortgage, this program does not apply to you… BUT some lenders are still willing to modify other types of loans.

8 – This is a voluntary program. No one HAS to help you. Sure it’s good business sense to lessen foreclosures on the banks part, but if you are a problem child, don’t expect any help. Banks don’t want to keep you as a customer anyway. Be kind, courteous, and polite even if you are frustrated.

According to the bank’s calculations, my husband and I qualify. We are now in the first 9 week waiting period while they review our files. We have stellar credit scores and we haven’t made large purchases in a long time. We are good candidates for an interest rate reduction from the over 7% it is currently, down to the market rates of 5-6%.

Do I really think it will really happen?

No. But it’s worth a try.

and applying for the Making Home Affordable program.

Yesterday, I left work early and made THE call. My call started at 5:07 p.m. and ended at 5:57 p.m.

I called the Making Home Affordable number on my Bank of America mortgage website and waited 17 minutes on hold. Someone answered and transferred my call since my mortgage used to be a Countrywide mortgage and they had a separate division.

I’m fairly certain they routed my call around the world because really, what else can explain the 24 minute hold time and the gentleman who sounded like had lunch in Bangladesh. He asked for my name, account number, checked my account, thanked me for paying on time, and told me I would be transferred yet again to a representative. 9 minutes later, a message said, ‘Our office is now closed. Please call back another time.’

I would give you advice on dealing with the Making Home Affordable program but since I didn’t talk to anyone, I will tell you this… you need more than an hour.

Dear Bank of America… I had far better things to do than spend 50 minutes of my life listening to Kenny G. and the recorded reminder that someone will be with me shortly. Obviously you and I have VERY different definitions of ‘shortly’ AND, I had to drink three glasses of Chianti just to keep my ears from bleeding.
Ugh. Kenny G.

I’ll let you know how it goes… if I ever get through.

Our realtor praised the beauty of the townhouse until he spotted… termite dust in the corner.

A LOT of termite dust. And the more we walked around, the more we found. Those hardwood floors showcased the busy work of those nasty bugs.

The place was loaded – so our realtor recommended we move on. I had wanted the townhome badly and was heartbroken at the sight of that nasty termite residue.

Fast forward three years to two mornings ago. I had flipped my head upside down while blow drying my curly mess and was staring at my bathroom floor thinking a nice mop job would go a long way when suddenly I spotted IT. IT was a pile of termite dust.

I dropped my blow-dryer – and screamed.

I looked heavenward and said, ‘Gee thanks Lord. As if I don’t have enough to worry about – job loss, money, etc. You send me pestilence?!?!’

I ranted and raved for three days. I cried. I told Chris that if we didn’t lose our house to job loss, we’d lose it to the dang termites that we can’t even afford to eradicate.

Then this morning, I dropped my sweater on our driveway. I bent to pick it up and noticed termite residue on the asphalt. As I start to scream in anger, the wind blew and ‘termite dust’ tickled across my face and into my hands.

Turns out, our tree is shedding tiny bits thanks to the sudden turn in the weather. The ‘termite dust’ is actually our tree sneezing into our bathroom window located directly under it and across our yard.

So. Um. Sorry for the yelling Lord. And, um, if it’s not too much of a bother, could you keep the real termites away?

I left to housesit for a co-worker and came home to …

My husband explained that he had discovered mold under the floor and in the walls and decided to replace everything to be safe.

So why… why… why… did I assume that when we intended to insulate the separation closet wall in a 50 year old house, that we would simply be able to insulate the closet wall?

This is our spare bedroom as of today…

A few days ago, my husband asked if he could insulate all four walls. We both agreed that as long as we had one wall down, we should take down the remaining three walls, fix the electrical, and fix the phone line. Total tab so far? $142. I am so very thankful to be married to a talented construction man.

When making decisions like these, it’s hard not to want to put it off until later or take the easy way out. What we constantly have to consider is: Is this going to cost more later if avoided?

My nearly $200 electric bill tells me… I should have done this two years ago.

The good news? Energy improvements, including insulation, are tax deductable. Yes!

Want more info? Go to: energystar.gov/taxcredits

I’m fortunate to be married to a hardworking construction genius who can do the work himself (plus, my husband looks irresistible in safety goggles). We only have to pay for the materials which should run about $100.

Why are we insulating? Our house was built in the 1950’s and no insulation was used on any interior or exterior walls. Our heating and cooling bills are much higher than they need to be. The initial expense of the upgrade will be quickly paid for in lower electric bills plus, it’s better for the environment. And… our new roommates are newlyweds – that’s reason enough in itself.

It always seems like when we have an opportunity to get ahead, the necessities of life burn through the cash. Between tuition costs, new dog vet bills, and the two weddings, we have had to pony up more than $3,000 in the last two months.

These expenses would have buried us in the past, but careful planning and frugal spending have kept our heads above water.

Then, he casually mentioned that the guests were old high school buddies and this was really important to him.

On the inside, our home is nice. On the outside… well, let’s just say we usually wait until the sun has set and our guests have had a glass or two (preferably three) of Chardonnay. We can’t afford landscaping so our yard is a grouping of well mowed weeds and raked dirt piles.

Before we went on this recovery from debt diet, we had planned to landscape our backyard and remodel our 50 year old kitchen. Take out another loan – it would have been so easy. But now, we’re living within our means and paying off debt. It will likely be another 5 years before we can pay cash.

It’s hard to deal with the pressures of keeping up with our peers. It’s hard to not feel a little embarrassed at our less than presentable yard (though to be fair, his friends had nothing but nice things to say).

Sometimes it’s hard not to feel frustrated but…

It’s not hard to feel relief from the lifting debt. Seeing we’re only about a year away from being debt free is like breathing again.

After a long wait, I finally received a letter in the mail approving my appeal. We will be receiving a check for our over payment in the amount of…

$1,100

AND, we will be paying less next year, saving nearly $100 a month.

Check into whether or not your city has the option of property tax assessed value appeals. Don’t pay a company to do it for you! You can do it yourself!

It’s worth it!!

I hate our couches and I think they are ugly.

This week, my husband did what good husbands do – he attempted to solve my dilemma of ‘seating space’. He came home with a behemoth of a recliner and said, ‘Look honey! More seats!! Can you believe someone was going to throw this away?!’

I bit my tongue before a ‘Yes’ slipped out. Instead, I said ‘Wow hon, it’s… wow.’

‘And they have TWO! I’m picking the other one up tomorrow. How awesome is that?! Seats!!’

He happily jumped in the chair and reclined, a big grin spreading across his face.

How could I be mad or ungrateful? He solved my ‘seating dilemma’. Sure I have an ugly blue giant in my living room (err… soon to be two), but I’ve learned to take his efforts for what they are. That ugly chair is a monument to the fact that my husband listens to me and he’s doing his best to make my life easier… without spending a dime.

I’m going to stop whining about the sofas for a while. Who cares about sofas when I have a man like that?

But then again…

This is the same guy whose ‘sound judgment’ created the likes of Junior and Jingle All the Way.

And now, he wants to prolong it for several years through a special statewide ballot?

When I make less, I have to spend less. I can’t demand more money. Why can my state live financially irresponsible in a way that I can’t?

I didn’t give my approval on May 19th. I have to figure out how to survive on my new tiny salary; can’t I demand the same for my taxes?

Is this just a California thing or are you spending a couple extra Benjamin Franklin’s a month on taxes?

My husband loves this system. He turns on the hose for a few minutes while he eats breakfast and turns it off before he leaves for work.

Or should I say… he lovED this system.

I came home from work on Thursday and heard water running. Confused, I headed to the backyard and was greeted with a mass of water and a geyser like spray erupting from our hose bibb.

Turns out, hubby darling forgot to turn the system off and the pressure built until the backflow device exploded. This water mistake will likely add $150 to our water bill.

To make matters worse, my ever so annoying dogs like to kill every living thing in their territory. The new lake in my backyard caused dead, tailless, lizard and mice carcasses to float to the surface. I guess I can be grateful my dogs aren’t bigger. I don’t think I could have held my gag reflex quite so well at the sight of bucktoothed bloated squirrels.

To the state of California – I am sorry for wasting our precious resource. I have decided to make amends and cut my already short 5 minute showers to 3 minutes. So, when you see me… and I stink… remember, I had a choice to assault your nose or assault my wallet. In these desperate economic times, I chose your nose. Please forgive me.

And yes, we learned from this. Thanks to a $30 timer, this won’t happen again.

What was your biggest home accident?

Realizing my planting skills barely rivaled a 4th grader, I sought planter packs designed for small children. I spent $10 on supplies, read the directions (twice), and gently planted the seeds.

According to the seed packets, sprouts would appear in 10 days.

2 weeks passed and there was no green in sight.

After another long week, I finally gave in after day 24 and threw the sproutless pots into the green recycle bin.

A few days ago, while trimming some hedges, I opened the bin, tossed the branches, and noticed something funny…

Every single pot I had angrily thrown away was sprouting with life in my recycle bin. Plants are safer in my trashcan than they are with me.

I can’t afford a landscaper… but my husband is hereby the official garden keeper in this house. I’m sticking to what I’m good at – cleaning!

Stupid Plants.

This is when I made Mistake #1 – Recommending this before actually trying it.

And followed it with Mistake #2 – Not understanding the actual size of ‘1 cubic yard’ of mulch.

$6.00 at your local garden supply will purchase a bag, maybe two at most, of mulch. I didn’t think it was unreasonable to assume $6.00 would stretch to three, maybe four, bags at the greenery.

My husband asked, ‘Two yards will fit in my truck right?’

We made Mistake #3 when not stopping to ponder the question mark at the end of her response, ‘Uhhhhh. I guess?’

Mistake #4 was not asking ‘Why are you starting up a tractor?’

Two tractor loads later, I was shocked at the distance $6 stretched.

For the first few years, we didn’t need the money to clear our bills and we certainly enjoyed using it on dinners out and hotel stays. When I lost my job last year, the rent from our two roommates was vital in keeping our heads above water. Sure, it’s awkward to be nearly 30 and referring to ‘my roommates’, but it’s significantly less awkward than saying, ‘My debt collector’, ‘My bankruptcy attorney’, or ‘My foreclosure officer’.

If times are tough, maybe roommates should be a consideration.

Fortunately we haven’t had a bad experience yet, but this is a very serious decision and should be heavily thought out. We’ve stuck by some clear, yet simple, guidelines:

1.) Write a lease agreement – even if (and especially if) it’s a friend and you only expect them to stay a month or two.
2.) Have very clear rules – i.e. don’t go into my bedroom, don’t eat my food, don’t leave messes in common areas.

Some recommendations for roommates:

Firefighters: Their 24 hour shifts give you some much needed space – plus they are good to have around when you accidentally set something on fire.

Guys with girlfriends: I saw our roommate’s rent check more than I saw him.

Brothers/Sisters: You survived growing up with them, what are a few more years? Plus, it’s easier to yell at family about dirty dishes in the sink.

Some people you should never consider:

Perfect Strangers: I’d rather my family not appear on Dateline talking about how the new roommate seemed so nice… until he killed me.

College Girls: I lived through that once and it was enough. More drama than Jerry Springer.

College Boys: Not a lot of drama but I was over keg stands and frat parties eight years ago.

People with animals and/or children: Who needs pee on the floor and chewed shoes – oh, and animals are destructive too.

Do any of you have roommates? How is it working out?

I excitedly went to our local nursery and realized the 15 bucks I budgeted for landscaping each month would allow me to complete my dream backyard sometime in 2037.

Um. Someone forgot to tell me how expensive plants are.

Disappointed, I went to work and lamented to a co-worker about my landscaping situation. She sweetly offered me some cuttings of her plants – several of which were on the list from the landscape architect. While we were talking, another one of my co-workers walked by and joined the conversation. He suggested I contact local garden clubs including water saving cactus clubs. He happened to be moving and offered to bring in several of his plants that matched my list. Let’s just not tell these generous co-workers about my history of plant killing OK?

Inspired, I can home and did some research and thought I’d share it with you.

I found several garden clubs – some of which offer spring plant sales.

Our local college offers a degree program in Ornamental Horticulture. Students grow plants and sell them for less than half of what they retail for at nurseries.

Our local dump (should I be politically correct and call it a ‘Solid Waste Disposal Site’?) offers high quality mulch in several different colors and sizes. If you are willing to load it yourself, you can save a fortune.

And perhaps the most odd place to find plants… our local 99 cent store!

Any ideas I missed? Where do you get your plants?

But I guess that’s part of a journey.  It can’t be all fun right?

I worked a tough job for a ‘big box store’ to pay the bills while applying for any decent job available. I finally landed a great job in December. 

I’ve struggled with unexpected expenses – like a monthly $150 property tax hike and a 1% sales tax hike…

I’ve made lifestyle changes – the biggest one is my use of public transportation…

I’ve struggled with monotony…

And I paid off my car.

Here is where I am on my debt journey.  Somehow, we’ve squeezed $10,000 toward our debt – $30,000 to go.  Sure I’d like it to be more, but $10,000 isn’t a bad number.

I can’t wait to finish this journey and finally become…

DEBT FREE!!

During my childhood, my parent’s water source was a well (actually, it still is. They’ve lived in the same house for 30 years). They never worried about water rates rising. They never had a water meter on their house. They simply had to worry about…

Their water source drying up.

Try selling a house with the very minor problem of no water.

Conservation was always a big deal in our house.

City living has spoiled me. I learned that showers longer than 2 minutes are a gift from God.

But our latest water crunch and water hikes have reminded me that conservation, in resources and in money, is my responsibility. I have conformed to the water company’s request that I take shorter showers (sometimes I skip all together… this has NOTHING to do with the fact that I usually skip a shower when I wake up late for work) and stop watering at least 20% of my lawn (since we don’t have a lawn, it’s fairly easy to stop watering it) but we’ve gone a step further – we rerouted our washer.

For $15, we bought some pipe and fittings to connect to our washer. All water now drains to our trees and roses.

We water our landscaping for free.

Those living in the southwest should consider this. Not only are you doing good for the environment, you’re saving money on your water bill.

(Just don’t forget to make sure your detergent is biodegradable)