2016 in Review and 2017 Goals.

2016 in Review:
Wow, 2016 has truly gone by in a blur.  It's been an awesome year because every one is happy and healthy. Our lives have become much brighter ever since becoming parents. We enjoy every moment we have with our daughter. I learn a little bit more about myself everyday as I try to navigate my role as a mom. Watching my daughter grow has been the most rewarding experience. She's an incredibly loving and friendly child and I couldn't be more proud.
2017 is going to be even greater with baby #2 coming. Our finances has gotten better too with my husband's new job. We were able to save more and pay off some debts. But after buying the new van, we're back to square one in terms of savings. However, no regrets, we love our new car.

Our major successes:
 I paid off $20k of personal loan.
Husband paid off $6k owed on his Subaru.
We bought a new to us van with $12k down and gave the Subaru to my father in law ( we did take $2k from them, but the car is worth way more than that.)
We did not increase our standard of living even though we made more.

Our one major fail:
I'm the money person in our relationship and I'm simply did not keep track of our spending. We have a set amount of money we can spend on everything (my income). Although we never went over that. A lot of money was left unaccounted for, including the extra income I gain from my rental.

Our one goal for 2017- Buy a house.

Our place is ok  as a short term solution before you move into a more permanent place. The things that we were able to overlook due to the cheap rent is starting to annoy us. The lack of kitchen space is not allowing us to enjoy our at home life. Even making a pot of coffee is a hassle. The power always jumps anytime we have more than one appliances on. It's really effecting our everyday lives. Oh the laundry! Our landlords don't share their washer and dryer so we have to haul baskets of clothes to my mother in law's place to wash. She's very understanding and is more than happy to accommodate us, she even folds them after it's out of the dryer. But we're adults, we just wanted to do laundry in our own place.

The following are four major steps we'll take to make sure we get the funds to buy a house ASAP.

Save all of my husband's income
This one is just plain and simple. He's income goes to a different account and will stay there until we're ready to make an offer.

Save all of my rental income
If I can leave my rental income untouched it will expedite our savings for a house tremendously. And by house, I really mean a condo or a townhouse. We might be able to afford a house on paper, but that really is going to make us house poor. And plus, it'll take longer to save for the down payment. We're really ok with just having enough house for our family of four, even as the kids grow older.

Be more organized
Part of the reason why I felt like we failed in our finances is not keeping track of where everything is going. This year, we're going to be more diligent with our money. We're going to cut off more unnecessary spending. I even bought a chic planner to help me write down my goals  and set reminders to keep me on track.

Borrow money
Yup, I said it...We will borrow money to make up the difference that we need in our down payment. We'll save as aggressively as possible. But some interest free money is going to help a lot. Although, I still stick to the age old advice of not mixing family and money if anyone asks. But there are some lucky people who have relatives that don't tie money to obligations :).

I hope you all have a wonderful 2016 and Happy New Year~

Our No Gift Christmas

This may be a post from the Grinch...

This year, we are opting out of gift giving and exchanging. The main factor pushing for this decision is money. We wiped out much of our savings this year, with me paying off a personal loan, my husband paying off of his car and then with us getting a van (still no regrets in getting a car we can't pay cash for, it's amazing). We need to build it up again and this time we're saving for a house. Our place doesn't have a proper kitchen and it's starting to irk us that we don't have a proper place to make a meal. Husband and I love to cook and host get-togethers, but not having kitchen has not allowed us to do any hosting. Some days, we appreciate the low rent when we're too tired to want to cook. But the desire of wanting a place to call our own  is growing greater and greater.  I think even more so for my husband than me. I think his goal has always been getting a house when he finally have a decent job.

Another benefits of not doing gifts is the time I'll save from not shopping. Ever since I had my baby, I have more respect for time. I understand now that it's my most limited resource. Maybe because work has kept me away from her for most of the day, so any moment that I do have with her is more precious. Shopping to me feels like a waste of time since all my friends already have everything they need. I think they're a little relieve to not have to deal with gift shopping neither. This doesn't mean I'll never give any more gifts. I will, I actually enjoy giving gifts. My gifts now will be even more thoughtful because I give because I wanted to, not because a holiday mandates that I do. And isn't it more rewarding to see the surprise on someone's face when you unexpectedly gave them something?

And finally, we already have everything we needed and because we have more stuff than we have room for.  Ever since discovering minimalism and reading Marie Kondo's book, my mindset has shifted. I don't see a pleura of things as joy, but a responsibility. If you bring it home,  you have to house it and it take care of it. So if I bring something home, I must really love it or need it. I'm trying to simplify my life, not complicated.

So this year, we just want to enjoy people's company instead of things. We'll have pot lucks. I have family coming in from out of the country for a visit. We'll enjoy a short trip to Vegas with my husband's side of the family for a little get away.