We would like to finish the basement but the job of getting rid of things and organizing things is quite overwhelming to me. I have spent my post high school life going from one big thing to the next without EVER having a real chance (or, more importantly, real skill) at getting rid of things. I've got a lifetime of memorabilia and junk to deal with. It has been a bit stressful as we have had this self-imposed deadline to get the basement started. Dejunking with a nursing/napping baby in a cold basement while also feeding, dropping off, and picking up older kids from school and other activities has been nearly impossible.
Here is Dezi wearing one of the many 'treasures' the boys claimed for themselves while they were downstairs decluttering with me. His pose cracks me up! Such a little goofball :) I am amazed that many shirts I wore in high school and even college actually fit Dezi. He was especially excited about the Aquabats shirt (we've been amping up for the new Aquabats Super Show to start on the Hub, even though we don't have cable). I was happy to pass on some of my old things to them, though I'm pretty sure moving something from the basement to their bedroom doesn't really count as dejunking. Too bad they were claiming treasures faster than I could put things in the garbage or donate piles! Note to self - never try to get rid of things with kids around.
It is a good thing we told my brother-in-law, Brian, that we wouldn't be doing framing during their Utah visit because there is NO WAY I can be ready. In fact, I think we will just put off the basement indefinitely…well, at least until our home refinance, taxes, and Hawaii trip are wrapped up nicely (all of which I seem to be in charge of doing as I switch between my secretary, accountant and travel agent hats!).
So, the refi is underway. We got some bids via Costco, but it still took a lot of my time to research the best deal for us. I ran all kinds of scenarios to find out where we would "save" the most money in longterm interest payments. In the end, we will be refinancing to a 15 year fized rate mortgage at 3.125%. We had a 30 year at 4.625%, which was amazing when we bought the house 2 years ago. We managed to save a bunch of money so we put 30k into the house which means our refi is only on $150,000. By putting in the extra money, dropping the rate, and having a plan to pay down the house by the time Ryan is 40, we could "save" over 80k in interest payments. I hate interest! I'm glad Ryan hates it too. Even though this isn't our dream house and we know we don't want to live in it forever, we know we want to own something. It gives us something to work towards right now since we aren't savvy investors, but it will also provide for a sense of security. For example, we could go on sabbatical when the boys hit junior high and use the rental income to live/travel wherever we want. We could subsidize the rent income by savings or random work without a ton of financial stress. How nice would that be?! We always talk about having the freedom to just pick up and go, but it is always nice to know you have a place to retreat to no matter what happens financially.
Taxes. I actually tried to get everything gathered and ready to go before 2011 even ended! We even met with Rachel at H&R Block to make sure we were on track. I am loving their Best of Both program. I do my own taxes online and then they check them and meet with us to make sure we have maximized all opportunities. It is more work for me, but we spend a lot less than hiring a professional to do all of it while still having the assurance we did everything right. Not bad. Now that I can stop the basement madness, I'll be able to start focusing on finishing taxes (gathering all my business data, which is the hardest, and then actually doing the taxes online).
Then, Hawaii! Ryan worked really hard last year and something amazing happened. He finally hit his quota. Not only that, but he surpassed it. A nice little cash bonus plus… a trip to Hawaii! His company his paying for the two of us to go and I've been working to coordinate using frequent flyer miles for Dezi and Cai. If we have to take Tiago (nursing), there is no sense leaving the boys behind. With Vision Solutions paying for the hotel and giving a spending stipend, we figured we would take the kids and extend our stay to make it an awesome family vacation. So, in all the spare time I have ;) I am also trying to plan our trip which is next month!
Ahhh!
Here is Dezi wearing one of the many 'treasures' the boys claimed for themselves while they were downstairs decluttering with me. His pose cracks me up! Such a little goofball :) I am amazed that many shirts I wore in high school and even college actually fit Dezi. He was especially excited about the Aquabats shirt (we've been amping up for the new Aquabats Super Show to start on the Hub, even though we don't have cable). I was happy to pass on some of my old things to them, though I'm pretty sure moving something from the basement to their bedroom doesn't really count as dejunking. Too bad they were claiming treasures faster than I could put things in the garbage or donate piles! Note to self - never try to get rid of things with kids around.
So, the refi is underway. We got some bids via Costco, but it still took a lot of my time to research the best deal for us. I ran all kinds of scenarios to find out where we would "save" the most money in longterm interest payments. In the end, we will be refinancing to a 15 year fized rate mortgage at 3.125%. We had a 30 year at 4.625%, which was amazing when we bought the house 2 years ago. We managed to save a bunch of money so we put 30k into the house which means our refi is only on $150,000. By putting in the extra money, dropping the rate, and having a plan to pay down the house by the time Ryan is 40, we could "save" over 80k in interest payments. I hate interest! I'm glad Ryan hates it too. Even though this isn't our dream house and we know we don't want to live in it forever, we know we want to own something. It gives us something to work towards right now since we aren't savvy investors, but it will also provide for a sense of security. For example, we could go on sabbatical when the boys hit junior high and use the rental income to live/travel wherever we want. We could subsidize the rent income by savings or random work without a ton of financial stress. How nice would that be?! We always talk about having the freedom to just pick up and go, but it is always nice to know you have a place to retreat to no matter what happens financially.
Taxes. I actually tried to get everything gathered and ready to go before 2011 even ended! We even met with Rachel at H&R Block to make sure we were on track. I am loving their Best of Both program. I do my own taxes online and then they check them and meet with us to make sure we have maximized all opportunities. It is more work for me, but we spend a lot less than hiring a professional to do all of it while still having the assurance we did everything right. Not bad. Now that I can stop the basement madness, I'll be able to start focusing on finishing taxes (gathering all my business data, which is the hardest, and then actually doing the taxes online).
Then, Hawaii! Ryan worked really hard last year and something amazing happened. He finally hit his quota. Not only that, but he surpassed it. A nice little cash bonus plus… a trip to Hawaii! His company his paying for the two of us to go and I've been working to coordinate using frequent flyer miles for Dezi and Cai. If we have to take Tiago (nursing), there is no sense leaving the boys behind. With Vision Solutions paying for the hotel and giving a spending stipend, we figured we would take the kids and extend our stay to make it an awesome family vacation. So, in all the spare time I have ;) I am also trying to plan our trip which is next month!
Ahhh!
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