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Dec 8, 2021    |       12 comments

Let’s Talk About Christmas Spending

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We managed to keep our Christmas spending down to less than $450 and I was super proud of myself… until I read this stat:

In 2018, the average American spent $511 on gifts and gift cards. (Source Fortunly.com) $511? I understand the average household doesn’t have 4 kids but $511 seems low. The article mentioned the average American spends $123 on their spouse and, on the years we buy gifts for each other, that’s about spot on. But $511 overall? Is that accurate? What is your average spend per person?

Want to know the scariest part of all??? 22% of Americans believe their spending will leave them in debt. Hope that Playstation is worth it. Ugh. So dumb. I can say that because I’ve been there, I’ve bought gifts on credit cards I had no intention of paying off anytime in the near future. I paid so much ‘stupid tax’.

I think that number is inaccurate. Sure, maybe only 22% fessed up to putting gifts on credit cards but I think there are two more groups of people. The first group, they just don’t admit they put gifts on credit cards. The second group, they don’t have credit card debt, but they have other debt (school loans, car loans, etc.) and instead of paying down that debt, they bought gifts. No, I’m not saying to skip Christmas until you are debt free. I am saying your Christmases should be pretty tight while you are paying down debt. When we were in the thick of paying down debt, our Christmases were paltry but it helped us keep focus.

Put the Playstation back. Put the credit card back. It’s not worth it.

Dec 1, 2021    |       12 comments

Seeking Housing Advice!

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Our goal for 2022 was to settle in Texas, decide which city we want to move to, and purchase a fixer-upper house. We learned so much remodeling our San Diego house and considering that we can do almost all the work ourselves, it seems like the best decision financially. We can build a lot of sweat equity and may be able to pay completely in cash.

We’ve started preemptively looking so we can identify a good deal. We sit at the computer a couple times a week and have fun finding houses that look absolutely terrible. While we are open to cosmetic disasters, we are not open to structural disasters. We found a house that was barely standing and determined it would need to be completely torn down. The property was beautiful and it made us think…are we open to building a new house?

We started looking at land and discovered Texas is loaded with 1-2 acre parcels (our dream size) in predesigned neighborhoods for custom homes. The problem? We’ve never built a home from scratch. Sure, my husband has expertise in commercial new construction but residential? It’s a whole new world. We would need to hire subcontractors for the slab, framing, drywall, and roofing but everything else could be done by my husband if we are patient…and we’re really patient. We would live on the property in our trailer during construction.

I’m missing something, I’m sure of it. But I don’t know what I don’t know. Have you built your own house? Share your wisdom! Extra points if you have remodeled AND built from scratch and can compare the experience.

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