Concert and a new plan!

Yesterday we went to see Ani DiFranco in concert.  It was TOTALLY awesome, she is so great!!  Just a girl and her guitar on a stage.  So much emotion in her songs, it was absolutely amazing and I love her new album!  We also discovered a new band called Pearl and the Beard who opened for her, they were really great as well and Jer bought their album on vinyl :)  It was a really wonderful evening and it was just what we needed to unwind after that last couple of days.

Going forward, we have a new plan.  After the landlord with the "friend from bible study" who told him that we have garbage piled up outside our unit (which I almost want to post pictures to prove we don't but I won't), irresponsible fires (which are burned in a Chiminea, pictured below, on a patio stone ...least "irresponsible" fire ever!) and that we "inappropriately holler" at our children....we took stock and really talked about what we want as our end goal.  I'm trying to have a positive outlook on this.  Do I yell at the kids too much??  I didn't think so but after this, maybe I'll think twice before I raise my voice and try to discipline them in a more constructive way.  As for the other things, there is nothing to change because they are absolutely not true.  Why someone would feel the need to give us a bad review like that, I have no idea.  I just have to think, there was a reason for it....meaning there is a reason we didn't get this house because it wasn't meant to be and we would have likely had problems in the future.

All of that pushed us to really tighten our wallets, strive to save up a down payment and buy our own house.  While we can't afford to get a mortgage right this minute, come December when Jer moves over to 5th year apprentice, his salary goes up and we'll be able to then.  I did some research on mortgage prices and interest rates and even if we had the highest interest rate, we'd still only be paying $50 more a month to BUY a house than we would be if we were renting from the landlord who listened to his friend.  If we have the banks interest rate where it's at now (3.49% or something similar) we'd be paying about $20 more a month (plus a water bill every three month) than we are at our apartment right now!  I've looked for about 3 weeks and rent on a 3/4 bedroom house in the are and neighbourhood we're looking runs anywhere from $1250/mo to $1500/mo!  If we bought our own, in the same neighbourhoods at the prices we can afford, we'd be paying about $800/mo for a mortgage!!  That's a HUGE difference and therefore it doesn't make ANY sense to move right now as much as I dislike the neighbours and how bad I want to.

So our plan now is to put every penny away that we can toward our down payment.  Then in December, go the bank and start the process and likely buy by the spring of 2013.

It's 1 year or less.  We can do it!  I plan on spending a lot of time away from home this summer though to keep my kids away from the kids here since they aren't the greatest influences!!

I'm off to buy a coffee maker to keep us from buying Tim Horton's in the morning!

Have a great Sunday!