Decisions and how they affect which road I travel on...

I've been thrown in a lurch lately and I have to make a lot of decisions.

Now if you know me well, then you know that I'm a constant planner. I've normally got everything planned about 2-4 months in advance.

Why?

Because while I love change, I don't like surprises. I like to know that I have a little cushion in case something were to go awry.

Right now I can't plan. Or at least it feels that way.

I have offers on seven (soon to be eight) houses right now. I'm hoping to hear back on a few this week to see if I can cross them off my list or keep hoping I'll go into escrow soon.

My lease is up at the end of the month and I don't have a place to live. This is due to the houses and being afraid to sign a six month lease and have to lose money or a house if my offer is accepted.

So right now, my decisions are lease a new apartment for 6 months or get a house. I'm giving it until Thursday. Really no matter what, I'm ready to go somewhere. I spent all weekend packing. Everything, but basic necessities are in boxes. C says he has faith in me that I'll find something soon. I hope that I do.

If I do move into an apartment I guess it's a good thing that the home-buyer tax credit was extended. It's not such a rush, so I may have a chance to get something or just to be able to save money and have a large down-payment so the banks are more content with my offers.

Thoughts...

I've come to the conclusion that whatever thought physically comes out of my mouth seems to come true.

I'm just going to keep my mouth shut and things should stay the same, right?

I'm at a loss for what to do right now. It has nothing to do with money. In fact, money isn't an issue. I gave up looking for a house so I have enough right now. I'm actually debating paying off a credit card with a portion of it.

I need to create a new budget now that I'm only working one job.

Things I love right now:

Driving past pumpkin patches on my way home.

Falling in love with my fall and winter clothes all over again when I unpacked them tonight.

The cooler weather.

Being happy with who I am and not needing someone else to make me happy or feel whole.

( This last one is something I'm seeing a lot with women my age right now and it frustrates me.)

Change...

M moved out Thursday. The apartment echoes, but it's clean and spotless. I broke down and bought a new vacuum for $70 because the cat's is exploding. The sucker works amazingly well. It's rather gross when I have to empty it. I vacuumed Monday and tonight and both times it was full.

I've gone vegetarian until October 7th. I can do it. I'm only allowed to eat fish when it comes to meat. So far it's been fun deciding what I'm going to eat. I like having all these veggies around.

C is sick. Haven't been able to see him because of it. He keeps texting me, even though I tell him to rest. I hope he's better by the weekend. If not then, I'm going to feed him oranges while we watch a movie. ha

I dug into my savings for about $100. Not too proud of that. I do have a $56 paycheck that I'm going to put toward that deficit though. That way the dent doesn't seem so harsh and I have another $25 from a friend who owed me money that I'll probably put towards that too.

New Plan...

Cancelled the offer on my house yesterday. I haven't given up the search. I just stepped back to re-evaluate and not put myself into a bad investment. I've decided I'm going to start looking at house early next year. The market isn't going to skyrocket in the next three months and homes aren't going to stop being available. I will find something and hopefully I'll have a higher pre-approval at that point.

I'm going to pay off CC debt really fast here. I just want to get rid of it. I think that's definitely possible. So keep an eye out for that. I promise to update my current networth to show my progress. I haven't dropped, I actually improved. :)

I get a paycheck this week from the chapel for about $40-50. I'll probably either throw that to food or to gas. Maybe both. I'd really like some chicken in my fridge. Ground turkey would be nice too. I've been eating a lot of tofu lately, but good thing is that I've been cooking again and in the process I've been emptying my pantry. I like it when all I see is soup left. That soup, well, it's Ramen. It's about time I go shopping and stock up again.

I did find that I had quick rising yeast in the pantry so I may make some polenta bread tomorrow night or Friday night. I've been craving it. It's so good with garlic, pepper, and olive oil. I'll probably eat it with a salad. YUM!

Went to the doctor yesterday. Stress seems to be attacking my body. He gave me a one-time prescription that should help. Also wants me to get rest and be healthy. So I'm guessing I'm sticking with the gym for awhile. ;) Didn't plan on giving it up anyway. I'll be glad when all this drama is over. I may quit my second job if it doesn't get better. People keep asking me how everything is and it's really none of their business. There is a lot of third party involvement which I don't like at all. I feel like I'm a sophomore in college again. I'm over it.

Harvest Festival

I went to the Harvest Festival today at Cashman Center. Lots of fun, but definitely a madhouse.
Found Mom's Christmas gift. It's super awesome. I'm half tempted to keep it, but I bought myself this awesome necklace for $14. I love it!

I found a shop that I like the decor, but the lady is going to create the colors for me that I want. Check her out www.imnotspoileddesigns.etsy.com

She told me to convo her and let her know what I want. Super excited! Plus, she's local.

Left there and went to Ulta for cosmetics and face stuff. I hate that makeup and facial products are so expensive. And I buy the CHEAP stuff! Still, though, spent over $60. I shouldn't have to buy for at least six months, though. I guess $10/month isn't bad. Especially if it curbs my breakouts. If this acne doesn't stop, I'm seriously contemplating Proactive. I don't want to spend the extra money, but my face is getting splotcy from all the pimples. Not good.

I'm also pulling my offer on the house. I'm pretty sure there is a good chance I'm not gonna get it. So instead, I'm going to rent cheap, and focus on my CC debt and look for more income so next summer I can try again with a higher pre-approval and possibly get into a new construction home. We'll see. I'm looking into options now. I have a few ideas in this small bean-sized head of mine.

Plan B

Did some thinking last night about the house.
If I don't hear something back by Friday or if I do and it means I have to wait another two months then I'm taking my offer off the table. I'll get my deposit back. And I'll have a mean savings waiting for me in case of an emergency.
I've already researched apartments and condos in my area and I can get a 700 sq/ft 1 bed/1bath for $550-700. That's not bad at all. If I do that then I can consider quitting my second job and have my weekends back. OR I can keep the job and just take those checks and relegate them to my CC bills which would be paid off by March of next year. With the house, I'm looking at May or June. My cc debt is around 5k. It's not too bad considering last year it was around 10k. I just need to make it through this week.

Also, if I back out of this house deal I may apply for a different job in the next few weeks. I'd be doing the same thing, but traveling and getting paid about 7k more a year. Dad says to stay where I'm at, but I don't really know how much I'm going to grow there. If I move to another company who is just as successful, but the plan is different then I might have a chance at moving up. It doesn't hurt to apply right? At my current job I'm not going to break 40k in the next eight months. This new one would start me out there. That's a big interest for me.

So that's Plan B...as of right now.

Debacle!

I've just been bleeding money lately. In August I paid almost $600 for my car insurance. It wasn't due until September 11, but I have to shell out another $300 to register my car in September! It's nice that Nevada doesn't have state tax, but they end up sticking it to you anyway. They get it through everything you own!

Luckily, I have two jobs and I can make a mean dinner with rice and beans and whatever else happens to be in the freezer or pantry.

I don't need to spend money anytime soon either to have a good time. I have so much I need to get done in the next few weeks. I'm in the process of buying a new wardrobe for work. They are forcing us to dress in business casual. I found a few pieces. My pants need hemming and a shirt's sleeves need altering at the shoulders. I still need another pair of dress pants, maybe two. I'll save that task for next month.

House situation took an unexpected turn of events today. I felt so sick to my stomach that I wanted to cry. Apparently, the sellers paid extra for the title company to write up the deal and submit it to the bank, but the title company filled the paperwork out wrong. You think since they work with houses, they would get that part right? Especially if you have to pay an extra fee!!! The seller's agent is remedying the problem tonight and tomorrow. I've been sitting on this deal for 10 weeks. It's not supposed to take longer than 12. I told my broker that if I don't have an answer by Friday of a decent timeline of closing by November 1 I'm out of the deal. I'm not waiting another 12 weeks. It's ridiculous! Short sales suck!

Hoping I'm working on Saturday. As tired as I am, I REALLY need the money. I have $8 right now. I have more I can use, but it means going over what I've made for the month. I don't really want to hit that. I like the feeling I have of living on less than what I earn. :)

Things are going well in my social life. I'm seeing this great guy who lets me be independent. We don't talk every day and maybe only see each other once a week, but it's totally cool with us. I work six days a week and he works four long ones and has lots of other stuff he has to do, so when we get together it's exciting because we haven't seen each other for awhile. Most of the time we chill and watch movies and talk, but some nights he'll take me out for some event with friends. It's tons 'o fun! I prefer a relationship like this. I don't like smothering types, and I hate types that can't keep their promises because they are too busy and won't make time for me even for an hour every two weeks. I understand people are busy. I'm one of the busiest, but if I can make time, he should be able to also. If you really like someone it shouldn't be work to get together with them.