5 Reasons We Love Renting (Right Now)

Well friends, we finally made it! After all the craziness that came with making the decision to move, finding a new job, finding a new place, selling our house, and driving all of our crap over the mountain- we're here and moved in! It's been a whirlwind 3 and a half months.

Having been a home owner for just over 9 years, I figured the adjustment of renting was going to be a real challenge. Boy, was I wrong! I LOVE renting right now! Wondering how that could be? Here's a few reasons:

1. Financial Freedom. Seeing the mortgage come of your credit report and your overall debt balance dramatically decrease was pretty sweet. We are really into the Dave Ramsey Debt Free program so not owning a home gets us closer. Our expenses are similar since we still pay rent, but it feels so much more liberating right now as we work towards other goals.
2. Fixes aren't on us. Most fixes don't come out of our own pocket. For example; before we moved in our area had a major hail storm that did some serious damage. Apparently the screen door on our rental was one of the casualties. Our landlord set up, paid for, and scheduled the replacement. My only job was to be here and sign saying I saw the dude install the door. I didn't have to pay a dime! No stress trying to balance the budget or figuring out how to DIY it. That, was pretty great.
3. More for our money. This is sort of relative considering we moved from a small-mid sized town to a city but for us it is the case. I'd purchased our previous home at the height of the market in 2008 so we were overpaying for the value for a very long time. It was a larger space in terms of square footage compared to our rental but it didn't have other features that had become more important to us. Our rental is a "REAL" house (previous was a manufactured home) that is brick and has an attached garage, a great big backyard, proximity to shops and restaurants, and a spacious front yard that keeps the house off the street. We also have a really great back porch where we can entertain friends and family.
4. More time for us. I still love getting to decorate and organize, especially since we plan to be in this house while we're paying off debt, but I'm not spending as much time worrying about remodeling and updating. I think this house would look great with painted cabinets and new tile in the kitchen and dining room, but since I don't own it I'm more apt to just deal with it. I'll put down a big rug or something. I now use that money to go explore different neighborhoods with B or put into savings for the wedding, or pay off debt.  Plus, we get to see which area we really want to be in before we purchase.
5. Minimalism. We went from a 3 bedroom 2 full bath to a 2 bedroom and 1 bathroom. As a result, we really had to work to minimize a lot of our possessions. Read truly: I had to get rid of a lot of crap from before we were together. B is already quite the minimalist, I have more of a problem. This has helped me to pick what is truly valuable and brings us joy. We sold and got rid of a lot of furniture and other decor items before moving and I am so glad we did! The only 2 things I regret getting rid of was my 2 bookcases. But maybe I just need to sort back through my books and donate a bunch more. 

Overall, I'm really excited for this adventure. I go to my new school to get started next Monday and I just feel really good about this change. I'm so happy and can't wait to see what we do next!

6 New Things You'll See on #TMB

Helloooo, again, everyone!

I am back and you may have noticed... This Messy Business has a new look! It's pretty fantastic. Stream-lined, simplified, and easy to manage. Now that we've got a new look, we're also going to have some new content. I'm super excited about it!

Here are 5 of the things you'll spot on the new and improved #TMB.

1.  You'll still see house updates! I love my little house and plan on still sharing any and all updates that I've got going on. It may not be anything major, like a kitchen remodel, but it'll still be great and fun!

2. Finances! and our Debt-Free Journey. We are working on becoming totally debt-free (except the mortgage) by 30, so you'll see some tips on how to stay motivated, what happens when you lose steam, resources, and money saving help. This will be linked under the "Lifestyle!"

3. Clean living. We are also making a shift towards more clean living and eating in our house. From changing products to investing in our community and learning to grow our own herbs. We are working to minimize, simplify, and live more with less. Check out the "Cook Book" tab for recipes!

4. Fashion! Though we want to minimize and live more simply, I still love my clothes and shoes! So, that's gonna happen. You'll see more posts about that and more! Another one for the Lifestyle tab!

5. Colorado lifestyle and adventures. We are looking to take advantage of the great country and county we live in! We are going to go on some fun adventures this summer from helping with weddings, to camping, hikes, wine tasting, or whatever strikes our fancy. Find these under the"Lifestyle" tab.

6. Teacher Tips. I'm a high school English teacher and High School Speech & Debate Coach. I absolutely love my job. But it is hella hard sometimes. I'll be posting ideas on how to manage and balance teaching, life, and staying sane. Check these out under the "Teacher's Corner" tab!

Have something else you'd like to see featured on the blog or advice as i get restarted? Let me know in the comments below!

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Living Single: Monthly Update

Back in March I started talking about how I wanted to start working towards financial freedom, especially since I'm now out of college and don't have that extra interest backed cash coming in every few months. (High five to those student loans!) What is starting to become a challenge is the fact that those student loans have to be paid back.

I know. Crazy. I don't remember being told that. Damnit.

So I have heard a lot of buzz around about Dave Ramsey and even recall my parents following his lead when I was a kid. I found his website {here} and found a lot of great advice. I wanted to know more! So I used my fabulous Google Chrome set up, seriously, I heart the Googlie; and found a ton of videos online.

I spent all morning on Sunday watching these videos and getting some great tips and steps to success. One thing that I noticed is that though a lot of his info is tailored to families and people in relationships (#singleladyfun) there's some things that I can incorporate into the single lady life I'm living.

For instance setting up a budget. My new favorite thing is Google Drive. You can create all kinds of documents just through Google without having to buy expensive software that if you're like me, you can't really afford at the moment. Plus it's fairly dumdum proof which I appreciate.

In my Google drive I set up a folder for all my "budget" goodies. Everything from paying off student loans, car, credit card debt, monthly budget, and a spending register. However I have no clue how to use or set up a spreadsheet.... I'm an English teacher... numbers are not me friend.

So in the truest nature of Google... I googled it! Managed to find some great resources and even found a preloaded spreadsheet that you can modify and fill in the blanks with your amounts, etc. (Shown in screenshot above) Here's the link if you want to try it out for yourself: Budget Spreadsheet

This page explains how to use the budget planner and even gives a pretty thorough tutorial if you need it. Plus it's just a great website for people like me who are starting out and want to get ahead in this money game. Check it out here: 20somethingfinance.com

For my debt repayment spreadsheets (sorry no screenshot) I used this one: Cardan Avalanche Spreadsheet. It was great because it allowed you to put in the interest rates and see how paying extra has an IMMEDIATE impact. For example if I pay even an extra $100-$200 on my student loans each month I end up saving a couple THOUSAND dollars in interest over the life of all of my student loans which is roughly 15 years for the federal loans.

Plus the handy thing about Google Drive... They've got an app for that! This is what it looks like on my Samsung Galaxy SIII. Of course my phone is an android or Google based phone which makes it easier but the app is free and easy to use, the larger documents take longer to load if you're not on WiFi but it you are using the register to track your purchases it's handy so you can just get on it, add it in, done.

I am a girl that loves clothes, shoes, nail polish, purses, and buying dog treats and toys. So for me the hardest part of this whole process has been just simply doing this:

I think if I can demonstrate enough discipline I can do it. I know I can do it, but it's not going to be easy. If you have any tips/tricks/words of wisdom or advice. Please feel free to share! I'm all ears. 

*PS. Google didn't ask me to do any of this. I was just sharing awesome things I found, for free, that work. :)