When should we start buying baby things Crib, stroller the whole nine ?
We started from day one of the pregnancy for many reasons. We didn't have a lot of people to help us when my partner was incapacitated during the last few months so we started when she could still lift things, put them together, etc. We also didn't have a lot of money and wanted to buy things when they were on sale, when good things came to the local consignment shop, etc. It turned out that over the whole 9 month period, because people knew we were looking for stuff, they gave us SO MUCH STUFF free! We had the baby shower at 6 mos along so we knew what we still needed to buy afterward. The nursery was all put together at probably 4 mos. along! (we wanted it gender neutral anyway!) Bottom line, don't listen to ppl who tell you you have to wait. Start preparing whenever you want!
I am planning to buy my first house in the next 6-9 months; what advice would you offer, and what would you have done differently the first time around?
There are many things to consider before purchasing a house especially if you are a first-time homebuyer. You should be prepared with as much information about the process as you can learn before you begin. The more you know, the better. These are the things you must consider before buying a house:(1) It's important to have an idea of how much you can afford.(2) If you're going to buy an old house, you must give time on checking any issues with the property. You must know everything.(3) You should know the kind of mortgages you should consider. In this case, ask you mortgage banker about this or ask an expert about this.Read more tips here: What to do: A Home Inspection Checklist.
What was the first thing you bought for your new house?
My first home…I didn’t know what I was doing. I was 23 and engaged and we weren’t planning on having to finance a house for a few months yet. We were sure it would take many months to find our home, so we started early. However, the second house on the second weekend of searching took my heart. My fiancee asked me if I wanted it, I said yes, we made an offer over asking price with the stipulation it was a take it or leave it deal. They accepted this bold second offer on their first day on the market.We met them, we’d asked to have this giant bookcase convey and I think they asked us to pay $200 for it which we accepted. They then showed us around the house asking if we wanted various items, most or all of which we accepted; bar stools, a dresser, a love seat, a small tv stand, and a pot rack.I only have the stools and pot rack today, and of course that giant white bookcase we call the white monstrosity. I also have a different husband now than I did for the first 5 years I owned the house.But all this started because you wanted to know the first thing I bought for this new house of mine, not gifts but a purchase of mine. That was probably the fridge. They’d recently remodeled and all the appliances were stainless steel and black, GE branded, but the fridge they took with them and wasn’t new. So I got it in my head we needed a GE fridge to match. The only one we found that would fit the space was on back order and would come from Canada in a month. So the second thing I bought for my house was a mini fridge to hold us over.That fridge by the way was delivered the same day I totaled my soon to be husbands car as I was coming home from picking up my wedding dress (I was fine, and not at fault). The delivery people were stuck in the traffic jam caused by my accident. The fire truck took me home and I arrived as they were setting it up :)It’s still in my kitchen.
Do you think spending 200,000 on my wedding is too much?
My Boyfriend and i are getting married next summer and he loves to throw the best parties. i am 26 and he is 28. i don't have a budet on the wedding but i want it to be BIG but not over the top.my parents and his parents are each giving us 50,000 for the wedding and we are putting in the rest. HELP!!
How to deal with my husband who buys expensive things without talking to me first?
HE IS PROBABLY A SHOPPING ADDICT! Read oN: Many people love to shop, perhaps women slightly more than men, but you need to be careful because excessive shopping can lead to financial disaster. So how do you know when your addiction has gone too far? How do you pay down the bills after you've shopped till you drop? CNBC's Sharon Epperson, author of the book “The Big Payoff,” has tips on how to kick the habit. Are you a binge buyer? Does retail therapy make you feel better after a bad day? How often do you hit the mall or shop online? How much are you willing to spend to make yourself feel better? Shopping without ever thinking about the costs is a big problem. It may even be an addiction. A study by the American Journal of Psychiatry found one out of 12 people (nearly as many men as women) are compulsive shoppers — and their shopping habits often damage their work, relationships and finances. If you’re juggling credit card bills and pouring money into finance charges just to be able to shop a little more, your spending has probably spun out of control. You may not even realize how much credit card debt you’ve accumulated, or how many other bills went unpaid as you added another pair of shoes to your shelf. Did you think about how much you could have socked away in your retirement nest egg, or for your kid’s college education, or put into emergency reserves, if you’d saved just a little of that money you spent? You need to stop financing your future. To do that, you have to change the way you shop. 1. Know what you have Look in your closet or around the house before you shop. If you have enough shoes, dresses, kids’ clothes or electronics to last you for the next year — or at least for this season — stop! You don’t need to buy another couple of outfits from Gymboree for the kids, a new gold chain or purse.
First time home buyer questions?
My fiance and I are thinking about buying our first home. We are in our mid 20's and have no idea how to go about buying a house. Between the two of us we make good money, and have ok credit. not great, but not awful. We are able to get credit cards and finance a car (for a higher interest rate). Any advice would be much appreciated. Im so sick of throwing my money away renting! My questions are 1) Ive heard about loans and such for first time home buyers, what makes these different? Are they at a lower interest rate? Do you have to put less down? 2) Are HUD houses a good option? Are they ok houses to buy? 3)If you are buying a house do you have to have a real estate agent or do you work with whoever is selling the house you are looking at? 4)Are you more likely to be approved for a loan if you go through your normal bank? 5) Can you be qualified for a loan with negative things on your credit report? 6) Are things like closing costs and inspections included in your loan? 7) When making an offer on a home is it ok to offer less? If so, how much less is acceptable without being ridiculous? 8) I do have a couple negative things on my credit report(including a judgement from an old apartment) These things will be aging off my report in about 2 years. Would it be a wiser decision to wait for the bad things to come off and save money for the next couple years? 9) Do you always have to put a down payment down? If so, how much is it usually? Thanks :)
I'm getting married and our first priority for both my fiancée and me is to buy a home, but weddings are very expensive. What are the best ways to negotiate with wedding reception venues?
One thing I’ll add: public venues often can’t charge a lot of money, because it’s considered a conflict of interest. And many churches don’t charge a lot on principle.What I mean by that is, a country club at a cheap golf course may cost $5000 for a day. But the gorgeous county courthouse, or the public library, or the ballroom at the college, may be $500. Because as you may intuitively understand from watching fights over Trump’s holdings, public places cannot be seen to be in competition with private businesses. Especially places funded by those private businesses’ taxes.I’ve been to receptions at the library above. I think at the time they were $250.I was married in an absolute cathedral that was completely free.And, as everyone else said, look at any place that doesn’t do wedding receptions. My office rents its basement for parties, and that can be $500 and has a lot of charm (because it’s a 150 year old building on a downtown southern square.) We haven’t done a wedding yet, but we’ve done events for wineries, for the city, adult birthday parties, musical events, etc.And don’t forget restaurants. Just a few years ago we threw my high school class’ 20th reunion at two restaurants and a park, for about 130 people. Greatest party ever, nice restaurants, a whole weekend long… And we didn’t pay a dime for any of the event space. One place I simply made a reservation for 100 and they were like “what, you gotta’ pay us for that!” and I said “well I’m looking for a place that will simply be excited to have a reservation for 100” and they gave in. The other place I believe we gave him a guaranteed price floor, that if no one showed up and he sold less than $1000 in food and booze, we’d pay him $1000.
First time home buyer information?
My fiancee and I are looking into buying our first home. I have no knowledge on where to start, what to look for, or how to go about it. I've been told there are loans you can get as a first time home buyer that doesn't require any money down. I make 25,000/year (+overtime) and my fiance makes 20,000/year. Anyone have any ideas on how big of a loan we could get. Any tips and advice is appreciated. Thank you.
If a family member offers to buy you a house, do you take it?
If you have the money to buy your own house, but a parent offers to buy you that house as a wedding gift, should you take it? Considering they also paid for the wedding, which you could have paid for yourself as well? My cousin's father recently offered this, and her fiancé is concerned because he feels that there will be strings attached, or that it's "charity." My cousin says their are no strings, and that it's only "charity" if they couldn't do it on their own, which they can. They've already started the process of buying the house, her father just recently offered to write them a check for it. She asked me what I thought they should do and I didn't know how to respond, because in principal buying your own house is a milestone, something to be proud of, an accomplishment. If someone else offers the money, it seems to degrade that. but on the other hand, it's a FREE HOUSE. How do you say "no" to that? What do YOU think? What would YOU do? I told her I think that if there are really no strings attached, she should take it and put her own money into savings, IF that's something her fiancé can agree with. Obviously they both have to be comfortable with it, which I also told her.