I have really been loving fall in Alabama. The weather has been gorgeous with very little humidity and quite a few sunny days. It’s winter in Alabama, that I’m not so sure about. It has been raining non-stop since Saturday. That’s four full days of rain. I’ve been waiting for flooding and an ark to float by, but this clay does a pretty good job of soaking it all up. Not to say there aren’t some areas of Huntsville/Madison that could flood. Ryan and I were perusing the realtor sides, you know, typical Saturday night stuff for twenty-somethings, when we found this house for sale at a STEAL in a neighborhood we love.
Author Archives: Lauren Hooper
PMI + Potential Year-Round Capsule
In my last post, I mentioned that the reason my husband and I are holding out to purchase a home is because we don’t want to pay PMI for having less than 20% down. One of the reasons I chose to start talking publicly about our finances is because it allows me to look at things from an outsider’s perspective. When I edit blog drafts, one of the many things I do is ask myself questions I think my readers would propose as they read through. Of course, immediately after I typed out, “I don’t want PMI so I’m saving up the 20%” I realized “but if you’re planning on paying off your home, there might be some overall savings if you take the small hit from the PMI instead of paying rent every month”. For instance, if you’re paying a $50 PMI on top of a $850 mortgage, that’s still cheaper than $1000 in rent.
October 2015 Budget Review
How is it already November! I feel like October completely flew by! I remember starting the month with a checklist of activities I wanted to do. Somehow I let the month get away from me, and I accomplished maybe half of them. Guess I’ll be waiting another year to carve a pumpkin, visit a haunted corn maze, and watch “Hocus Pocus”. I need to stop letting my adulting get in the way of my fun. October was pretty laid back as far as activities, and it definitely reflected in the budget actuals. But before I get into a review of the October budget v. actuals, here’s a quick explanation of how I budget each month.
Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
During my time as manager for a student housing company one of my absolute favorite responsibilities was going through the monthly financials. I didn’t so much view it as a responsibility so much as an exciting treat. When my property accountant would email me that our financials had been posted, I would literally drop whatever I was doing to see how we had done for the month. For those that work in the same field, you’re probably thinking “well, duh, you wanted to see if you would made your month and earned your bonus”. Yes and no. My first year at my property, I didn’t earn a bonus. The projected budget I came into was pretty tight, and we had a lot of expenses that needed to happen to improve the community. I could have stayed within my budget and earned my bonus or spend what needed to be spent to achieve our goals of 100% occupancy as well as keep the facilities well mainted and our residents happy. Guess which I chose.
My Debt Story: How I Paid Off $32,000 in 4 Years
When I made the decision to make this blog more finance-focused and less consumer-driven, I realized it would be important to share when and how my interest in personal finance developed. When you decide that you need to change the course of your life, it almost helps that you have hit rock bottom and have no other option, but to go up. And that’s where I was over six years…
Money Matters
When I started this blog, I had the idea that it would be your typical lifestyle blog with a green twist. I would blog about beauty products, skincare, recipes, all of which would be geared towards safer, healthier options. Eventually it would morph into a money-making opportunity with lots of sponsored posts and ads. I wanted it to be like those aspirational lifestyle blogs you follow because they’re beautiful and you want some aspect of that in your life. The problem with this type of blog is that it is consumer-based. And I am not someone who wants to encourage people to buy what they don’t need. Once you purchase the items you saw that one time in that flat lay, your life will not be perfect. You will just move on to wanting that scarf from your favorite Etsy shop or that field jacket you were never really into, but now you see EVERYWHERE so you feel like you MUST have it in your life. This is not the person I want to be, and this is not the person I want to inspire other people to be.
Fall 2015 Capsule Wardrobe
A couple weeks ago I talked about what I learned from my summer capsule wardrobe, and how I was going to apply those lessons to my fall capsule. Here’s how it went:
7 Steps to Longer, Stronger Hair
This is me (well, this is my hair) six months ago. About two weeks after this photo, I chopped it all off, donating 10 inches to the American Cancer Society during Relay for Life fundraising efforts. I was so happy to support a wonderful cause, and I was really loving my new “lob”. Fast forward to about two months ago when I realized I was really, really missing my long hair. During the summer months, all I want to do is throw it into a fun ponytail or top knot. There is still not enough length for a full bun and there is nothing “fun” about my stubby ponytail. Suffice to say, I’m ready for it all to grow back. I measured it out recently, and I realized I have grown back almost 4 inches in the past 6 months! Hair normally grows only half an inch a month, so I must be doing something right! I’ve also noticed how much thicker my hair is. It used to require 2 twists of my ponytail holder to secure it and now I only need to do one. Frizz is pretty much nonexistant unless I step outside during the sauna that is the Deep South after a summer afternoon storm. Now that I am paying closer to attention to my hair, here’s what I do to help my hair grow stronger and longer.
Et Cetera I
Reading…..Lessons from Madame Chic: 20 Stylish Secrets I Learned While Living in Paris by Jennifer L. Scott. This is probably my 4th time reading this book.
Listening…..to the Hip-Hop radio station on Apple Music and Nicki Minaj’s The Pinkprint album
Watching…..lots and lots of football. GO GATORS! / my fantasty team starters!
Eating…..chorizo sliders with green chile sauce, tons of berries because the season is almost over, and these yummy frozen macarons by Looka Patisserie.
How To Create an Aspirational Schedule
When I was working, I was like a machine – up at 5am and going til 11pm, maybe midnight. I was enjoying my life, but, at the same time, I wasn’t focused on my personal growth whatsoever. So when Ryan and I decided it would be best for me to stay home instead of working once we moved, I was ecstatic. But transitioning from career woman to stay at home mom wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. The newfound freedom was a little bit debilitating. When you have all the time in the world, there is no rush to accomplish goals, especially when they are just your own personal goals. I knew I wanted to make the most of my time at home, but still feel like I was getting to enjoy every moment. So instead of setting a strict time schedule, I created an aspirational schedule for myself.
Lauren, Etc. 