Think Small!

Bigger is better, right? Well, I'll take a bigger piece of cake, a bigger salary or a bigger blanket to avoid cold toes, but I don't think bigger is always better. For instance, take housing.

Since we've had baby on the brain for the last 9 months or so, people keep asking us what "stuff" we need. Baby stuff can be endless and take up a lot of space in your house. But my husband and I have been pretty good (in my opinion) of avoiding "stuff" for stuff's sake, primarily based on the fact we don't have room for it in our 1400 square foot house. It got me thinking that maybe having a small house is the way to go. How else can having a small house save you money?

*Energy costs - this is kind of a no-brainer, but the less space you have to heat or cool, the more money you save! Right on! Not only that, but if you have fewer rooms, you likely have fewer electrical appliances plugged in, meaning the "vampire draw" (or appliances that suck up energy without being used) will be less!

*Less space to fill - just like my husband and I refuse to get "stuff" for our baby because we don't have room for it, this can apply to just about every space in our house. We have a small kitchen, so our cabinets are full of things we use frequently instead of the random appliances that we'd use once a year. I can't be a crazy bag lady and have multiple half-used bottles of beauty products in the bathroom because we have 1 bathroom with 4 shelves of storage. If I don't have 7 rooms to fill with furniture, I'm saving thousands of dollars! It keeps us conscious of what we buy and helps us better identify when it's time to give other things a better home when we're not using it anymore (tax deductions or garage sales put money back in your pocket!).

*Less upkeep - whether you do it yourself or hire someone to do it for you, the less space you have means the less time and money you spend on cleaning, renovating or replacing. I can tell you I already hate spending half of my Saturday cleaning my 3 bedroom home (and I'm too cheap to pay someone to do it)...I would absolutely cringe spending my entire weekend cleaning a 5 bedroom and multiple bathroom home. Who wants to clean more than one shower? Not me.

*Healthier in a small home? - I could be reaching here, but I would argue you could be a healthier person if you live in a smaller home. Think about it - a smaller home is easier to keep clean, meaning there would be less germs and air pollution. Although I guess you could argue you might be in better cardiovascular shape if you had a bigger home (walking further, climbing more stairs, etc).

Image from MyBallard

Obviously, you have to have a space that works for you and your family. But if you can get by with a smaller home, it will benefit your bottom line in multiple ways.



Anyone else who loves living in a smaller place and saving money? Anyone who lives in a big space that feels it's worth it?

What is it About 20 Somethings?

Ugh. So I was reading this article in the New York Times Magazine last week, and I just had to tell you it kind of infuriated me. Please read it and let me know what you think.

It boils down to this: kids today are putting off "adulthood" longer than 20 somethings did a generation ago. What's adulthood? A magical age? When you feel like a grown up? Apparently, there are five milestones that mark the transition to adulthood: completing school, leaving home, becoming financially independent, marrying, and having a child. In 1960, 77 percent of women and 65 percent of men had reached all 5 milestones by the time they were 30. By 2000, less than half of the women and 1/3 of men had reached those same milestones by 30. I would not be surprised if the 2010 census data reflects even less.

But is that because 20 somethings are entitled or lazy? I don't think so. I mean, of course, I'm a twenty-something and I'm going to stand up for my age group. First off, the economy is really to blame. I really think having one of the worst economies in a generation is a ripple effect for everything else - how can you leave home when your job barely pays you enough to live (if you even have a job)? On top of that, are you going to be attracting potential mates from your childhood bedroom? Probably not. And don't even think about bringing a baby into that mess.

I'm going to look at the positive aspects of not achieving these milestones - first off, many 20 somethings are "putting off" getting a job right out of school to do something altruistic, like AmeriCorps, the Peace Corps, or getting involved in other national and international service groups. The rate of service has exploded in the last 20 years. Also, I'd like to think that marrying older (the average age for marriage now is 26 for women and 28 for men, compared to 21 for women and 23 for men in the early 70's) would mean you're better prepared emotionally to handle the responsibilities and the seriousness of marriage. The divorce rate hovers around 50% - maybe because of the 20 somethings holding out, the divorce rate will start to go down in the next 10-20 years. By waiting to have children until you're older, parents are more likely to be financially stable, as well as prepared for the intense and lifelong commitment to be good parents. When did waiting because you're preparing become a bad thing?

What do you all think? Do you think that 20 somethings are putting off becoming adults or do you think they're taking time to make decisions that will impact the course of their lives?

Saving Money Moving

As you've seen from other posts, my husband and I are preparing to move into our new home! While we're busy picking out paint colors and new furniture, we are grudgingly acknowledging that we have to actually move. Ugh! Can't we skip that part?

Since 2000, I have moved a whopping 7 times. Eeek! While I moved every year in college, I could fit everything in the back of my Jetta. Now that I'm married with a king-sized bed, I'm lucky to fit my closet in the back of my car. And of course the more stuff you have, the more it costs to move it from one place to the other. No more moving in laundry baskets and tupperwares - it's time for boxes and packing tape. Here's how I've lowered my overall moving costs in the past, and I hope it's helpful for you if you're in the process or will be soon:

1) Look for boxes before you buy them - this may take a little work on your part, but buying boxes can definitely add up (it takes an average of 30 boxes to move a 3 bedroom home). See if any of your recently-moved friends or neighbors have boxes in good shape that you could use. Go to your local grocery store or retailer and ask if they have any boxes. They are usually in great shape and places like bookstores or drugstores usually have a ton of smaller boxes that are useful for packing utensils, books, or other small items that add up to be pretty heavy.

2) Pack with linens - instead of buying newspapers, bubble wrap to protect my delicate items, I pack with towels, t-shirts and sheets. I'm going to have to pack them anyway, and why not have them protecting my wine glasses or my teacups and saucers? It's definitely a greener way to move and it saves money.

3) Forgo hiring movers and ask friends to help - hiring movers can cost a small fortune. If you're lucky enough to have a handful of friends in the area, see if they have a free afternoon to help, and buy them pizza and beer. It's definitely a lot cheaper and more fun to move with friends.

4) Ask for discounts when looking for a rental truck - do you belong to any clubs or alumni associations? Make sure to ask if the company offers any special discounts - you could save 10% or more on your total bill!

5) Sell/donate things you don't want - you know when you're going through all your stuff and you come across that one item that you've never used yet you KNOW you'll use it when you go ice camping in Alaska or when you pick up curling? Yeah, you'll never use it so get rid of it. It's taking up more space in your boxes, and it'll be one more thing to unpack and find a space for in your new home. When you donate your items to a non-profit, you can get a tax write-off. Or you can also try and sell your items on eBay, Amazon, Craig's List or the good ol' garage sale.

Anyone have any other tips for moving without breaking the bank?

How Much Should You Save for a House?

Now that my husband has a good job and the real estate market is friendlier to first-time home buyers, we've decided to start the search for Our. First. Home. Exciting! Scary! Nervewracking! EXPENSIVE!!!! All of these words come to mind when buying a home and definitely the last word...here in Seattle, the median price for a home is between $400,000 and $500,000! Not a super affordable place to live, but I know those of you who live in California are going to tell me I'm lucky prices are so low.

So we've been doing a little research about how much to save. As mentioned before, we did a really good job of saving over the past year, but factoring in all of the costs for a house, I'm not sure it's enough.

I'd love to get some tips and hear stories from those of you who have been in my shoes before. Besides a down payment, what else did you save for when buying a house? Closing costs? House emergency fund? Anything you wish you did differently in your search? I'd love any of your advice! Thanks, readers!