Back on Track - Doing the Smarter Thing

It's been a CrAzY couple of weeks. Hubby interviewed for a job that could've moved us to Carlsbad. After that didn't pan out, it got us thinking about moving in general as our place seems to be shrinking and doesn't have air conditioning. Summer could be a challenge with me and Will home most of the time in the sweltering house... So we thought maybe we'd rent our house out and go rent something bigger for us with more storage and a/c.

After several weeks of looking, nothing seemed to be quite right. We would leave a potential new place and shake our heads that it just wasn't us. We couldn't see ourselves living there, and what were we really gaining? A/C - maybe? A garage? An extra bedroom? Is it really worth messing with our budget for an extra 100 sq ft?

I made us hit the pavement hard Sunday and we looked at 7+ houses that afternoon. Will was such a trooper! Hubby and I, on the other hand, were none too pleased....especially with a realtor that was 15 minutes late to our appointment, leaving us chasing Will around outside for that time to keep him entertained, only to feel like there was something shady going on and the faint smell of an extinguished reefer upstairs. At the end of the day, we came home to our little condo and were filled with apprehension, frustration, and worry. Were we making the right choice? Was this really going to help us get where we want to go?

Monday was a new day. We looked at one place that was a disaster. The inside was nice, once you looked passed the current tenant's Hustlers, Penthouses, and general disarray of living, but the outside was awful. So we went for a walk at the Spectrum. After much deliberation, we're going to continue on our current path. Batten down the hatches and continue our debt diet so we can start our savings diet in 2011. We will spend a smidge of money to make sure that we are at least comfortable this summer and get an additional a/c unit or two. There might be a few afternoons we camp out at my parents' house to beat the heat, but that's not too bad.

Now we're back on track with our home projects. Accessories for the kitchen to come, we put up a cool pic from Auntie Cyd that Will got for his birthday, touch up paint, shelves for the office area, shelves for the laundry area, and reorganization galore! I will be cleaning out closets and rearranging LOTS of stuff to just make our current place more functional. Our condo is our home. It might be a little tight at times, but it's ours and it is us. Sometimes it pays to take a step back and look at the big picture and plan for it.