Well this winter has been very different in Iowa. Typically we have lots of snow at least the majority of the time and cold temps all the time. I believe the forecast right now says somewhere in the 60's for next week. Along with the weather being different my family's total environment has changed. The kids have been taking everything really well and we are so thankful for that. It is nice to not have the stress with the added stress of our living situation already on us.
As you know in late December we were contacted about possibly selling our house and letting someone look at it. We said sure and she loved the house. We began the process of selling our house on our own and things we relatively smoothly other than all the trouble we ran into with our radon system. After shelling out over $500 and still not having things resolved we went ahead and agreed to sell it as is and our buyer can move forward how she chooses.
During this time we found a house that we love and feel like would be the perfect place for our family of five to grow together. This process however has also not been as pain free as we had hoped. The house had been purchased by the owners last summer and due to things out of their control they needed to move. So this brings us to the short sale process. This process is by no means fun or easy - for us as the buyer or for the seller/agents. We have been waiting on the bank for this and that for over a month and after renegotiating a slightly higher price from us the contract is moving to the investor meeting and we should hear back in two to three weeks. I by no means have hard feelings towards any of the parties in this fun mess with us other than the darn bank. This is not a route I would go in the future just because we have been feeling abused and not respected as the good buyers/homeowners that we are by this process. Jeremy and I owned our last house for seven years and we never late or missed one payment. We are responsible with our things as God calls us to be and it feels like the bank it taking out their pain from the short sale on us rather than the previous owners. I know things happen that we cant control everyday and we don't know what other peoples lives are like so we shouldn't judge but it has just been a very long and stressful process.
We are however very thankful that we are in the position to wait out this house since my parents are allowing us to live here at their house and they have actually been gone all but one week of the time we have been here. This is giving us time to save lots of money and make some decisions for our family's future and our budget planning.
I have decided to stop buying pop which doesn't truly affect the kids at least not at this point since they want nothing to do with anything with carbonation. Jeremy has gone along with this - a little grudgingly at first but now I think he is doing OK with it. I have given up pop for Lent so I don't drink it anywhere at this time. Jeremy will still have it at our family's favorite restaurant McDonald's - OK the kids favorite but it is inexpensive and we don't have to keep reminding them to eat their dinner. Plus not much beats a drive through when you have kids! I may buy some pop again this summer to have a little on hand for camping and car shows but I am hoping to find a healthier alternative for us by then.
The second change for us is something that I honestly never thought we would actually do and I am very excited about the options. This will sound silly to some of you who already do this or it isnt a big deal for your family but we are giving up our dish and not having cable! If you know my husband you understand this better! He is a sports nut to say the least and loves to watch the Hawks, Cubs, Cowboys, Bulls, you name it! We have no off season at our house!! I mentioned trying to save a little money in this area of our lives and my concern that the TV is on way too much. The kids, like most kids, will sit and watch darn near anything for hours on end and between video games and TV this was becoming a concern for me. Jeremy talked to some friends at work and was actually quite excited with the options he came up with. He can get a years subscription to MLB TV and B1G Network for $125 each. We were paying around $70/month for Dish Network and nothing against them but this was just too much. By cancelling our contract with them and purchasing a smart internet ready TV we will be good to go. Now you may be asking "what will the kids watch?" After getting some great feedback from my Facebook friends we are going to get Netflix online so we can watch pretty much whatever they have available whenever we want!! Not sure what the commercial situation is like on this option but I am excited about it. We were spending approximately $850 a year and that will be knocked down to $350 a year! That is a savings of $500 a year!! We will not have that saving the first year though since we will use that money to go towards our new smart TV. We were already buying a new TV for the new house so it will just be a little more expensive this route. We may also have to pay a little more a month for a higher internet speed but we will cross that bridge when we get there.
Just like everyone else we are looking for ways to save a little cash and maximize our budget so we can continue to pay for my classes upfront and make ends meet on one income. It is amazing how God does supply.
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