The Good Life on a Budget

• Posted by JvW on December 29th, 2009 filed in House, Real estate, Savings

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

At the beginning of 2009, our primary goal was to save a down payment for a house. We got sidetracked and lost sight of this goal, then completely derailed when we learned that our home’s value has dropped considerably.

In the meantime, we have made strides towards paying off more debt, including a new business loan and one of our car loans. We then made the decision to work on paying off the final car loan, and have paid off half of Car Loan #2.

Since then, we’ve been talking about finances and our goals for 2010 (Coming Soon!). My husband’s main goal is the same - live closer to work. He pointed out that even if we save for a down payment and still can’t sell our house, we can always redirect the money to pay off the car.

So. Back to saving for a house.

Last year, we were aiming for $20,000 for a down payment. I am now thinking we’ll need $30,000. We’ll see how it goes, but that’s the number I’m aiming for. All debt payments will be the minimum payments, and all extra money goes directly into the house fund. If we work hard at this and stay focused, I think we can have our down payment by fall 2010.

Unless we change our minds again.