Gamecock's Mind over Money

"Prepare to enter the poorhouse- you little b*!^h." -That line from the TV show "Entourage" has been playing through my mind all day long.

I know it's because I closed on the "Impulsive Purchase" today. It was very anti-climatic and I really feel somewhat- I don't know- disappointed maybe.

BB wasn't here to go through it with me so the responsibility was on me. I was so afraid something would go wrong I refused to let myself get excited about it. I really wished BB was with me- maybe it would have been more exciting. And since it is currently rented I didnt get the satisfaction of walking into the building after the closing.

I just cleared out my bank account, signed all the documents and handed over almost $12,000.00 for what feels like nothing in return. The realtor didn't even bother to bring the keys to closing, telling me he will drop them off "later" (he lives next door to me so it's not shady- he can just be lazy sometimes). After I handed over the big giant check I was given some papers and told I was done.

On the way home I drove by the property. "Yup- that's the house- it's still standing" I thought as I drove by it.

What worried me was that the seller (also the selling realtor) did not bring me the $1000.00 in rent deposits the current tenants paid. I was expecting the money at closing- as some sort of perk me up. But nope. The woman waited for me to bring it up and just nonchalantly goes- "oh yeah. Ok. I'll get that to you."

I was kind of thinking- "When!? When will you get it to me? And How?!" But it seemed like everyone had their own agenda at the closing. My realtor was busy checking to be sure all his docs were in order to present to his real estate company- the lawyer was monotonously handing me papers to sign- and the seller/realtor was bantering with my realtor.

So I let it go and tried to trust her.

I have to chase her down anyways because 1 of the renters is Section 8 housing and the housing authority said it is too late in the month to re-route the rent check to me. The rent for March is going to the old seller who will need to give me the money.

Nobody brought up the 2 days of prorated rent that she owes me either. I was going to let it go I guess. It's $85.00 which hurts me to lose but I feel like I am already going to be chasing her for the $1000.00 deposit and the March rent- so might be better to let the prorated rent thing slide in my pursuit of the bigger money.

It makes me nervous. But BB called my realtor and asked about it and was reassured that if I don't get the rent money and the deposits by the end of next week- we can go and try to revoke her real estate license.

I don't want to revoke anyone's real estate license. I just want to build my bank account back up.

So I thought today would be fun and exciting like it was when we bought our first place- but it wasn't.

I am also annoyed because although I put down $5600.00 on the loan- the loan only reflects $2898.00 was paid towards the principal because an FHA charge was wrapped into the mortgage. And no one told me about it. Sneaky sneaky these mortgages are. So I handed over almost $12000.00 to see $2898.00 come off the principal.

But we own it. It's not completely cash flow positive but close. If the 2 units collect the rent the owner says they do- I will have to cover a gap each month of $83.00. Neither unit has an existing lease- 1 family has lived there for 14 years and the other tenant has been there since 2002. The seller was sneaky and listed in her advertisement that the place was collecting $1700 a month- a good $500 a month more than what she disclosed after our offer was accepted. But looking at the property appraisal- it says that the building collects $1350 a month- which would pot me in the profit margin of $55 a month (which I would take!) So now I just have to wait and see what the rent money is when it's handed to me I guess. Because the seller has been so conflicting with the information-I don't really trust her at all.

I have taken to calling the new duplex/townhouse our "Impulsive Buy". It was impulsive- having looked at only 1 other property and putting in an offer on this place 3 days after we decided to start looking. And the place is currently a duplex but we live in a duplex so it gets confusing calling it a duplex. So it has come to be known as the impulsive purchase house.

We close on it tomorrow. Almost 13 months after we closed on our current home (It's still my dream home). I want to record my experience with the closing cuz I found it so helpful to go back and read my entries from our last home purchase.

This time:
Our closing costs are $5770.00 ($2130.00 less expensive than last year)

Interest rate is 4.875% (less than 5.5% interest rate of last year)

We were accepted for the loan on the first try! (different lender than last year too)

But this time they needed different documents than last time. This time the bank asked for proof that there is no mortgage on the CA property. Well how do you prove that? They did a title search on the property and found no liens on it-they ran my credit report and saw I was not responsible for paying a mortgage on it. They saw my bank statements for the past 2 months and saw I never made a payment for a mortgage on it. ...not good enough. They wanted more proof. They also asked for this info on Tuesday. Closing is on Friday. That left me scrambling. But we got through it.

This time BB is in FL for baseball during the closing. The lender was supposed to FedEx him the papers to sign and have him send them back. The plan was to send the documents by 11am Wedensday morning to ensure a timely trip for the documents. No they did not get sent out at 11am. Or 1pm. Or 2pm. About 3pm I get an email saying the documents will be emailed to BB when they are ready and he will need to sign/notorize and send them back.

BB does not have a computer in FL. (We thought he would get a free one through the team but it never panned out...he doesnt need/want one anyways.) So I called/emailed the lender that this was a new plan and BB has no computer. If the lender wanted this new plan to work she would need to call BB when the docs were emailed so he could drive to a printing place like Kinkos and print them out. The lender emails back that she thinks she can send the docs through FedEx in time to get them to BB. So she FedEx's them at 6pm (7 hrs later than planned!). But then she emails me that she forgot the Truth in Lending disclosure and will email that to BB in the morning (today)(Totally defeats the purpose of mailing them- dont cha think?).

BB got the package about 2pm today, drove to Kinkos and printed out the last document. He was annoyed because the lender never marked where he was to sign anything. So he told me he is hoping he signed everything but will not be surprised if he missed somewhere.

BB went to FedEx the paperwork back but the shipping label the lender included for BB to use is not an overnight label. So BB had to purchase an overnight delivery label (for $50.00!)and I am really ticked off because I know they built the label into a price somewhere. So we paid for a label we couldnt use- and had to purchase a new one.

So hopefully the documents make it back before the closing. I am a little ticked off that everything waited till the last possible second- it would have been nice if BB had more than a 3 hr timeframe to review everything before he had to ship it back.

But what can you do- at least we are closing.

Had a fabulous weekend. BB left last week for Spring Training and this was my first weekend alone. It was glorious! My time was truly all mine- I ate what I wanted, I slept and woke up when I felt like it, and I did whatever I wanted, when I wanted.

I bought a Camellia tree to plant in the front yard. For those that dont know- it blooms in the winter and has large beautiful flowers that almost look like Roses. They are in bloom all around Savannah and I wanted one of my own. Now I have it!


I went for a leisure walk with the dog Saturday in the georgous mid 60's weather. The walk was so enjoyable we went for another Sunday morning and another Sunday evening! I love walking downtown on Sundays hearing all the church bells ringing.

I went out with friends Friday night and we stayed out till 3:30 in the morning! It's been a long time since I have been out that late. It was nice not worrying about BB at home and knowing he was going to stay up to wait for me, or get me up early in the morning.

It was a beautiful weekend. I hope everyone else enjoyed theirs as well.

Doing well here in GA. The weather is warming up a few degrees. Makes me want to be outside.

BB left yesterday to start the baseball season in FL. Saying goodbye was not too bad. Brinks dying over the weekend used up all the tears I had and put BB leaving in perspective. BB will only be 6 hrs away and we already have plans to see each other once a month. Thats much better than once a season as it was last year.

BB settled into the house in FL. He went by the baseball school where he used to give lessons and re-negotiated his pay rate to do lessons. He is now going to be making $50 a half hour to teach baseball lessons. He has 3 lessons lined up for tomorrow!

Teaching the lessons is very hard on his back- I am pretty sure he is not going to be doing them very often once the routine of coaching for the professional team and then working a second shift at the baseball school starts up. But for now- while he is enthusiastic- go BB.

I'm doing well. Trying to keep the numbers working with this new house purchase. Still not positive how it's all going to work out but we will get there.

He went pretty peacefully

Brinks is sick. I am sitting on the couch right now keeping an eye on him- figured I will blog about it as I have too much nervous energy in me about him and no where to direct it. I don't want to clean because I want to keep the place as peaceful as possible for him- no walking around and making noises.

When we adopted him from animal control in December we knew he had heartworm. But he was also underweight, had kennel cough and was unentered. So we fixed him, got rid of the kennel cough and worked to put some weight on him. We couldnt put on more than a few lbs on him- so 10 days ago he got the 1st round of heartworm injections.

I guess its a toxic poison they inject in him and it kills the heartworms, but also damages a lot of other areas, and the dead heartworms in the body are dangerous themselves because they can get lodged in the lungs and cause damage. So it's important to keep the dog quiet for up to 2 weeks while the toxin and heartworms dissolve and get out of the system.

We have kept Brinks quiet and he has reacted so well to the injection. He has gotten healthier and his appetite really increased a lot.

Last night he was totally healthy. He ate a big dinner and jumped on our bed to go to sleep.

This morning he was not on the bed when we woke up. That was odd...and he was slow to respond when we called him back into the bedroom. I had to lift him back onto the bed. So we knew he was sick- just thought he was a little mopey.

He ate no breakfast but he was very finiky eater as early as a week ago.

Then about an hour of waking up, BB left to go grocery shopping and I noticed Brinks kept getting up, moving a few feet and plopping back down. Like he was uncomfortable.

After about 10 min Brinks tried to get up again and had no use of his hind legs. He collapsed on the ground so quick I thought it was my imagination. I called Brinks to come to me- he got up and dragged his hind end as he tried to walk.

I called BB to get back home and made an appointment at the vets. They said they were slammed and couldnt see him for an hour. BB came home and we waited around. After 20 min we just carried him out to the car and decided to wait at the vets.

When they saw BB walk in carrying a 70lb rottie, they saw him right away. The vet said his heartbeat was very low, his lungs are filled with fluid and she thinks he might have had a stroke as a result of the heartworms in his system. The vet wanted to immediately get some x rays, EKGs and start medication. She said she was "cautiously optimistic" about his condition. So we left him at the vets.

BB and I came home and went for a walk. After an hour we got a call that he was stable and resting. They would call later with more news.

Then the vet tech called us 20 min later to say Brinks went downhill and we needed to come see him.

When we got there- they had him on the floor hooked up to an IV. Apparently he had vomited a huge amount of blood in his cage. His body had gone into shock and his organs were shutting down. His temperature had been low to begin with- but now its about 10 degrees below normal.

They were working to get him back and the vet said they had just given him everything they could give him- the next few hours would determine which way he went. So BB, me and the vet tech sat with him on the floor for an hour. We put heating pads on him to warm him up and just kept checking to be sure his eyes didn't turn yellow (another sign of organ shutdown). He had massively bloody diarrhea but the vet said that was a bad sign- but better than vomiting the blood.

The vet closed at 1pm- but our only option at that point was to move him to the emergency clinic or leave him at the vets in a cage with only techs coming in to check on him every 2-3 hrs. I didn't leave him alone in that critical state- but the emergency clinic is very expensive. So the vet tech offered to stay after hours with us for awhile until he either stabilized or had to be put down. So we stayed at the vets with him and he did better. He slowly became more alert and stopped the diarrhea.

After almost 2 hrs the vet came back to check on us and make a decision. She said he is not out of the woods but he's stable. If he's going to make it he just needs a regular IV and sleep. So we decided to take him home where we could keep an eye on him. The vet called the emergency clinic to let them know he might be coming in tonight, and loaded us up with IVs and medication.

We carried Brinks to our car in a stretcher and loaded him in. The drive was stressful with a lot of turns and bumps. Getting him out of the car into the house was hard. The whole thing took every ounce of energy he had earned.

We have him in the kitchen now. He is sleeping on 2 comforters with 2 heating pads and sheets. He is sleeping. He has no alertness at all. Basically we were told that if he throws up blood again- we would likely be facing putting him down.

I just heard him moving and checked on him. He had been sleeping on his side but just shifted so he is now sleeping on his other side.

That's a good sign. Not only because it takes a lot of strength to move under all those heavy blankets- but also because the fluid in his lungs pool up when he is on one side too long. I was going to shift him onto his other side soon- but he did it for me. And he didn't puke or have diarrhea.

So now I wait I guess.

Things between me and BB are back to normal. Things were normal again 2 days later. The fight helped to clear the air and we are back on board with each other again.

Regarding the new townhouse we are purchasing: The selling realtor (who is also the owner) wont list the house as "under contract." She still has it up for sale. She is afraid our financing will fall through- or she wants higher offers. My realtor is fuming mad over this. He is first a friend of ours- but since he is a realtor we used him to buy the place. He got tipped off that something was off when the owner/selling realtor called him ansd asked for the keys to the place because she was showing it. Then over the weekend our realtor got several cash offers for the place and he is sure the owner/seller has received about the same volume. But together we double checked our contract and as the seller- she signed and dated everywhere- so it's binding. We got the place. The mortgage appraisal is today.

In other news- someone somewhere got hold of my credit info and started buying things in France. My CC company was great in alerting me and shutting it down.

Thats about it. Off to read all of your blogs now.

So BB and I had a good looonnng fight last night. Tears/threats/yelling...it was awful.

It started when BB called me at work to say he talked to a bank about getting a HEL to renovate the townhouse and learned they are nearly impossible to get nowadays. He said we would need to get a consdtruction loan.
I lost it. I know construction loans are very complicated/very expensive, require 20% down, and must be paid back in 1 year.

I took his call and said: "This project is already getting more expensive than we planned. You were in charge of organizing and making a plan. I knew it was going to get messed up because we were so impulsive and there was no research first...and now you want to use my inheritance for the 20% down to fund your construction loan. No. No Way. NO WAY!"

So we argued on the phone and hung up. I simmered at work and when I got home I really went after him. I told him I was tired of him coming to me for money, I was already tired of this project and that the down payment money I was fronting under the promise he will pay me back half was the last dollar he was getting for this project. ...those were the nicest things I said.

Then he keeps argueing with me and makes some good points and I start to weaken.

Then he goes in for the kill. Oh this hurt.

He said "Gamecock- you keep controlling the money with your plans and your ideas. But you had the biggest chance in the world to make money and you blew it. You made the worst business decision ever 4 years ago and I have never opened my mouth. I have never mentioned it. You just go on with your plans and have never even seen how stupid you are with your biggest asset."

He's talking about a condo I inherited 4 yrs ago in San Fransico. At the time of the inheritance it was appraised at $600k. The unit had been purchased by my parents in the 70's for $43k. When it was passed to me it had no mortgage, the taxes were locked in at less than $2k a year, and it had been rented by the same family for 6 years (the same family still occupies the unit.) The rent it was collecting was a little low for appraised value/cash flow standpoint. Basically my family had not been to CA in over 15 years and we really dont know what the rental market is like. But the place has not been updated so my mom had the rent at a price she thought was fair- and I kept the rent at that price, raising it just 3% a year for 2 yrs till the real estate market tanked at which point I have not raised it all all for 2 yrs.

My financial advisor/BB/ and BB's dad ALL tried to convince me to sell it.

I was leary of the financial advisor because I figured he just wants a bigger stock portfolio to manage so he can get a larger commission.

And I thought BB wanted liquidity so he could live like a king.

BB's dad was the most rational- showing me that $600k sitting in a bond fund was earning about 2x the interest as the rent was collecting without all the liability...but I looked at his charts and passed on the idea of selling.

The place is sentamental to me because it was my parents. And I personally dont trust myself to have access to that much money. Plus the rent it collects is plenty for a normal person to have as extra income- why get myself accustomed to a lifestyle that I dont need? I wanted something solid to pass down to my kids. And most of all- this might be awful- but I think once I sell the place while I am married to BB it becomes OUR money because it was accrued while we were married. Then if we ever get a divorce half of it goes to him. But if I keep the inheritance intact, in the event of divorce- it stays with me- because it was given to me only before we got married. True? I dont know. (Do I think we will get a divorce? I dont know. Does anyone ever think they will get a divorce when they get married?- yet 50% do.)

So for years I have not really given the property much thought.

Well the property value has of course tanked. Foreclosure listings in the building are selling for $450-$470.

So last night BB explained to me that I have mismanaged away $150,000. That people are predicting California will never boom again the way it was- that every year I own it the property is that much older and has more disrepair than the last year. BB told me that every week during the real estate crisis he would think about the CA property but never said a word. And I continued to live my life never even aware of the money that was being lost.

So ouch. That more than stings. It stings bad and you know why? - I think he is right.

Holding onto the property will just be trying to recoup losses. The property is getting no regular maintance and every year that passes a problem could be getting worse- leading to more inspection issues when it does sell. And having the property so far away with no ability to regularly look after it does increase liability issues.

I think I actually should sell it.

Should I?

So BB and I had a heart to heart last night. About the new Townhouse purchase.

Over the last few days it has quietly dawned on me that I am really really in love with our current house and the idea of moving out of it causes me to cry.

I have been fighting this feeling because logically- moving to the townhouse is a big step up. Plus I was initially excited about the whole thing and never told BB in the beginning that I dont want to leave. So I have kept quiet.

But last night I just kept bursting into tears every time I thought about something in the house that I would miss.

Last night it was the thought of leaving all the huge oak trees that line our street and the crepe myrtle tree directly in front of the house. It is so fun to watch squirrels running up and down those large oak branches in the summer.

The new street has 1 large oak tree and the rest is all skinny sapling trees.

So I confessed to BB that I dont want to move. I dont love the new townhouse- at best I Kind-of-Like-It. I explained that I put everything into this house- every decision with this house was heavily pondered and I always wanted to use only the best materials because I love the house and considered every expense a long term investment. My heart sings when I pull up to this house after work and this house makes going to work everyday worth it.

The new townhouse is good. I dont love the house- but I do love the location. But I cannot say that I wont have fits of regret leaving our current house.

BB surprised me. He loves our house too! He completely understands and he said he feels very similar. He is excited for a big kitchen. He is excited for more room and to live in a reletively safe neighborhood. But he much prefers our house to the townhouse.

But he feels very strongly that moving into this townhouse is a step towards increasing our net worth. I actually agree. The townhouse purchase price is insanely low. It's in the worst condition of a completely renovated middle class location. If we renovate and upgrade it- we should have no problem selling it for a profit.

We dont want to try to "flip" it because that seems risky given the market and numerous flip failures everywhere.

Plus- this might be a one time opportunity to really make some money and we dont want to be impatient and lose a very marketable property by selling in a down market.

Plus- if we do "flip it"-we are still living in a house in a bad neighborhood. Though I personally love the neighborhood and the city is making strides to crack down on crime in the area- it's still one of the best houses on the block. BB wanted to wait a few years for the market to rebound and our neighborhood to improve before putting more money into it.

So thats the decision we came to. We will go forward with our plan to renovate/ upgrade and move into the townhouse. We will live in it a few years and wait for the market to improve. When renovations on the townhouse are done, BB and I will talk about the potential future value of the house. When the townhouse hits that pre-determined value- we sell. Meanwhile- the craftsman home duplex will be earning rent and still be ours. We then take the money and re-asses the craftsman home neighborhood. If we want- we return back so I can enjoy the oak trees and coffered ceiling.

I just had to make BB promise me I would not get "trapped" in the townhouse. He has been so excited about the place I could not determine if it was the thrill of the deal-the idea of demo and renovation, or if we were going to be constructing his dream home. I was worried that BB would enjoy the townhouse so much that he never wanted to leave.

Luckily- BB is on board with me- and see's this as a temporary adventure to get us to a more secure future.

So I am not too huge a fan of this rental property deal. I am still coming to terms with all the events and regularly go from excited anticipation to anxiety/worry. I still love this 1st home and consider it the ultimate betrayal to move out- even if we are not selling it, and plan to return to it one day.

BB is SOOOOOO excited it is as if he has hit the lottery. I am not so sure why he is so excited. I know he is tired of no dishwasher, and a tiny bathroom...but really? He is that sick of our small unit that he is nearly dancing at this project?

I think it's the chance to be Mr. Handyman. It's all about the demo and reconstruction.

And I think he is excited to go back into the shopping spree mode we were in when we first bought this place.

When I think of the long term consequenses of buying the property I am happy. In a year from now construction will be done and we will be enjoying it. Our networth will be up and we will be able to plan better for the future.

But short term- my financial Mojo is all messed up.

THIS WASNT IN MY BUDGET! This was not a part of my 2010 plans or goals. I had everything nailed down to the dollar and cent for this upcoming year. Now everything is screwy.

Now I have to spend $1k in ernest money this month, $12k for closing costs and down payment next month, and $400 for a home warranty.

BB keeps adding on expenses after expenses and he is in full blown planning mode. I am tired of babysitting him. I feel like he logically cons me. He lays out a logical plan about how "the roof needs to be replaced within a year but the home warranty will pay for it."

I say: "Huh? Home warranty? I forgot we need one of those. How much is it?"

BB: "$400.00"

Me: "ok. Well if it will replace a roof I guess we should get it."

Him: "If there is a big storm that comes in the first year then the warranty will replace the roof. Theres only a $500 deductible."

Then I get off the phone feeling like..."Wait. what just happened? I thought the roof was fine?"

So you see folks? He just managed to get me to commit to a new roof, a home warranty, and to a $500 deductible all in the span of a few minutes.

He never once talked about how HE would pay for any of this. Grrr...

I think I need to have another talk with him.

Inspection went well- I guess. Since we are planning to almost gut the place and start over I guess there was no need to really go over everything with a fine tooth comb. Our contractor acted as the inspector, and basically talked numbers with us.

Learned a few things:
The upstaires renters have been living there for 14 years. So there is no lease- and I do not feel the need to create one. They pay $600 a month.

The building is coded for section 8 housing. The upstaires renters are section 8 and the downstairs renter is section 8.

The downstairs woman has lived in the unit several years as well but is ill and has gone to live with her daughter. She is planning to move her stuff out and vacate the apartment- but the government assistance checks will continue to pay her $500 a month rent until that day comes (and based on the stuff in there I dont think it's coming too soon).

The air conditioning unit is about 3 years old, the water heater is about 1 1/2 years old.

No sign of termites.

The building is in better condition than the contractor expected, it is only tilting about 1/2 an inch instead of 3 or 4. (I guess this is good news?!)

Because it is section 8 housing the place has lost a lot of it's historical character. The molding is 80's, most of the wood floors have been covered in tile or carpeting and we are not sure of the condition. The ceilings were dropped down to make room for ductwork, and almost everything is a handyman special repair.

Now for the down and dirty numbers:
The contractor gave us a worst case scenario price for everything we might possibly want to do and it is up to us to whittle down our wants into our price range:

Structural
Lift the house $2500
New electric $2500
1 Window repair $500
Stairs (build Trim & handrail): $3,000
Total:$8500

Downstairs
Kitchen: Heart Pine & Raised Floor: $4,000
New ½ Bath under the stairs: $4,000
New Kitchen (Including appliances & labor): $14,000
Raise the ceiling $2,000
Plaster, paint, trim $2,000
$26,000

Upstairs
Guest rooms (Carpet & raise floor): $2000
Plaster,paint & trim $2,000
Bath upgrade $1200
Masterbath/Master bedroom $7,000
$12,200

Finished Attic
Carpet/paint/demo $3500

Total:$39,220

So those numbers dont scare me. When we did a walk through to look at the place he told us he could do a complete upgrade for about $40k- so thats what we had prepared for.

The plan going forward is to continue renting the units through August while BB is away. The combined rents will pay for the mortgage and expenses -$120 / month. If the downstaires renter chooses to vacate by April- we already have a plan to rent to some baseball players in town for the summer and can charge them $800 a month. Therefore the mortgage/taxes/insurance will be completely covered.

In September when BB returns- he and the contractor will work everyday together to get the project completed. The project is estimated to be a month long.

BB and I will take out a $40k HELOC to complete the project. BB has promised me to stick with the budget- he promised he will not come to me requesting more money. He knows that after $40k the well is dry. If we stick to the $40k HELOC our finished investment will still be about $80k below what the current upgraded comps are for on the street, and I want to be sure we are definately in a position of immediate equity when the reno has finished.

Monthly mortgage/expenses plus HELOC will leave us paying about $800 a month out of pocket once we have rented the unit of the house we currently live in.

So thats where we are with the project. I know things will go wrong but the whole project is too far away to even worry about right now.

I am just glad we have a gameplan.

Well I feel justified in our duplex purchase.

BB went to the bank yesterday and I THINK our mortgage is nearly completed. I had all the docs I thought they would need in order (learned from last year)- and the woman was equally organized. She ran the numbers to do a FHA loan or a conventional loan and the FHA loan is cheaper for us. We don't have 20% to put down on this one so we will have to pay PMI regardless, and the FHA loan has lower interest rates. We locked in at 4.8%. Our closing costs are $5500 +/- $200. I am not completely sure how much we want to put down- we COULD put down 10% but that would wipe out our expendable cash reserves completely. I plan to run the numbers tonight but I think we might put down 5%.

The woman told me the bank manager already approved our loan and she was not counting our rental income because that would mean we made too much money to qualify for the loan!

When BB heard that he says to me: "Gamecock, I TOLD you we could afford it! Why do you always act like we are broke? Will you relax now and let me have more spending money?"

I actually had a good reply:
"BB, I save all our money so we can do impulsive things like buy houses when we recognize a good deal. Everyone we know thinks that buy was a steal but we were the only ones who had the cash to make it happen."

Talking to the bank lender who told me we have plenty of money and that this loan would be no problem was re-assuring. But I hope BB's head doesn't swell and get him dreaming...

So today is inspection- I think. Our realtor has had a heard time getting ahold of the other realtor to get keys to the place. Plus it is raining so I would prefer to put off to tomorrow. I dont think the inspector will spend as much time on the important things like termites, roof and foundation in the rain.

Oh yeah- everyone remember the BIG yellow Colonial type house from 2 posts ago that spurred this whole house buying process? It is holding an open house today and the auction is next weekend. I'm going to check it out- just to see what the inside looks like. I am leaving my checkbook behind!

We got the place. I cant believe it. We found out late last night.

We submitted our offer (7% off list price)first thing in the morning- and I guess they countered in the afternoon sometime- but our realtor never checked his email until 7pm when the other realtor called him and asked when he was going to respond! They countered back at 5% off list price which we accepted. They must have been nervous when they heard nothing from us all day- but we were nervous because we thought we heard nothing from them all day! Before our realtor told us about the counter offer I checked realtor.com and all the listings for all the units had been pulled from the site. I was sure we had lost the place.

The property is one of 3 attached Federal rowhouses all for sale. All started out listed over a year ago for $150k over the final sale price. This past weekend the reduced price was reduced further causing a flurry of activity. BB and I didnt know all this of course. We knew that when we were house hunting last year this property was way out of our budget- but we didnt know about all the recent price reductions. We just looked online and noticed that it was now listed reasonably- so reasonably it was the cheapest place in the city!

So we requested to see the place and learned there were 3 offers that all came in the day before or that day. Our realtor explained to the selling realtor that he was showing it to an interested couple (us) and our offer was likely to come in. We wrote an offer that night.

The next morning we learned that 2 full priced offers were in on 2 of the properties. Another offer was on the table not full priced and we didnt know what unit it was for. We had already submitted our 7% off list- price offer but our realtor told us to go in full price. We didnt- because we thought we were competitive enough to at least be given a "final and best" chance. I still and likely never will know what the other offer was for but the seller chose to counter with us which we accepted. We saved ourselves enough money to buy all new kitchen and laundry appliances when the time comes-so we were happy with that. The other 2 units were sold for full price to a single buyer who I believe wants to convert 1 unit to a SFH like us- and rent out the other unit.

After over 350 days on the market all 3 units sold the same day! That seller must be doing a happy -happy dance.

So I am in shock. BB is stepping up to the plate- he scheduled a meeting with a bank for a mortgage for this afternoon. He is handling it all himself. Thankfully- because I have still not recovered from the mortgage hell I went through last year.

I am excited because it is 1 block from a favorite bar I like to go to. $1 drink night on Thursdays!

Anyways- it's bittersweet because I am in LOVE with my current home. Far more in love than this new place. But the new place has renters in place so it will be another 6 months or so till we figure out if we want to move into it or not. The only reason we would want to is because of the KILLER location. And it's resale value will hold up whether it is converted into a SFH or not. My current property is worth more as a duplex right now because we are in a low income/high renters neighborhood.

Without further ado:


Pocket doors!


Floor to ceiling windows!


Primo neighborhood

So BB and I have found a property we are going to make an offer on. It's a 1900's Federal style duplex located 1 block from the main central park of the city.

Right now there are 3 offers on this foreclosure. We would be the 4th. So I dont have much faith in getting it. But we'll put in an offer and see what happens.

The plan right now is to leave it as a duplex with the 2 active leases. This is how haphazard we are doing this: We have not even seen the leases yet.
We know they are leases because people are living there. The real estate listing states that it collects $1600 month in rent. This would cover the mortgage, taxes, insurance and give us a $2-300 extra a month (depending on the interest rate we get).

When BB returns from baseball season in September- we will re-asses the situation and see if we have the cash saved up to convert it into a SFH. Hopefully we will- and we will renovate it in a month and move in. We will rent out the unit we are currently living in and that will almost pay the mortgage on the SFH.

I am giving BB lots of rein on this one. I remember how AWFUL it was getting a mortgage last year and BB has promised to do everything.

Truthfully- I dont think we have a chance to get it. Even if we go in full price- the comps in the city show it is listed for about $70k below what anything else is listed for. I am familiar with the property- it was listed for sale $150k over the current foreclosure price when we were looking for houses last fall.

So BB and I looked at a house yesterday. We didnt have any kind of formal thought process going on. It's just that in our walks around town we see "For Sale" and "Foreclosure" signs and out of curiosity we get online to see what the price is.

Well yesterday during our walk we found this house:


And on it is a big fat "Auction 2/6 -starting at $99,000" sign.

This house is 4100 sq ft.

So BB and I go home. BB's best friend who is a realtor stops by and we ask about the big yellow house.

Realtor says "Listen- forget that house- you need to see the Victorian I will be putting on the market in a few days. All original everything. Gamecock you would love it." Asking price is $200k.

Now I know everyone knows I LOVE our house we just bought a year ago. The issue is that our house is a duplex and we are guessing it would be over $50k to turn it into a SFH by adding an internal staircase, move the water heater, enlarge the kitchen downstaires and add a master bath upstaires as well as repair the upstaires plaster walls.

So we were thinking maybe it's smarter to use the $50k as a downpayment for a SFH that already has all that and rent both units of our current duplex. This would collect over $2k a month in rent (paying both mortgages) rather than lose the 1 rent and also start paying the mortgage ourself.

So we decided to see this "steal of a deal":


The house turned out to not be for us. It looks like it could be magnificent- but BB was quickly turned off by the fact that the siding is asbestos. In addition the roof is over 100 years old and NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. The current owner has done patch jobs so no leakage. In addition the owner has not kept up the place. The hardwood staircase and floors were painted (commonly done during some era not too long ago), the plaster is peeling everywhere, and the 2 balconies were enclosed into rooms...and done poorly. The upstaires flow was really bad with odd sized rooms and a horribly narrow and weird hallway.The realtor comes from a construction background and kept saying it was all no big deal but BB and I were sharing ESP thoughts that it was all a very big deal.

Last night we really talked and figured out what we wanted to do. After looking in the MLS we could not find a house that offered more than our current house. Every SFH house listed either had less to offer or was very expensive. We kind of came out of our thought process realizing that if we bought a SFH it would have to be bigger, more updated, on a larger plot of land, in a better part of town to make us move. That might be hard to find in a price for less than the cost of us converting our duplex into a SF.

We decided that I would look around this baseball season while BB is away but more than likely we will stick with our plan to convert our house into a SFH.

Update: So I thought that was our plan. BB just called to tell me we are going to see this house tonight:

I just had a yearly "State of Gamecock finances" talk with my financial planner.
I inherited the services of this planning company when my mom passed 3 years ago. She and my dad used the head boss for years. I never liked the boss- going by my mom's irrational spending habits I didnt think the guy did a very good job. Maybe logically I know that no one could keep my mom in check and it would have been my responsibility to do so over the financial planners...but I still dont like him. Even today 3 years later I get angry and annoyed at the thought of him.

So I was reluctant to keep my business with the company when I had the inheritance. I guess the boss knew that because after my first meeting with him I was then partnered with a young guy who was my own age. I initially thought it was because my business was less important than the other clients. My mom had spent down a lot of my fathers accounts but the boss continued to work with my mom out of loyalty to my dad. Now I was working with smaller numbers and was only worth the time of the young guy fresh out of school. My dislike of the company grew. I decided to keep them until my situation had settled then take my business elsewhere.

But then I got to like the new guy. He was "on my level" with communication styles and I was not intimidated to ask questions...He was never too busy to talk to me. Now it's been 3 years and I still continue to use the new guy. I still dont 100% trust him- I dont know if I will ever really trust anyone to handle my finances. But I am satisfied with him.

So todays meeting went well. I am 60% stocks and 40% safe. Thats where I feel comfortable being. Through 2009 my account went up 26.3% - which I can hardly believe with the stock craziness we have been having. But stats are tricky- though it's math and math doesnt lie- I know it is easy to twist numbers to tell whatever story you want to tell. And I dont know how to read the charts that were provided to me enough to read any bad stories that might not be told to me (my distrust peeking through).

But I use my own math formula. I know I inherited $xxx in late 2005. I know how much I have spent out of the account since it was put into my name. And today it is only about 10% less than what it was when I inherited it. I have spent much more than 10%. So according to Gamecock math- the account is doing alright. So I am satisfied.

So there was a situation last night regarding the tenents who live upstaires. (Background: We have 3 college kids who are 4 months away from finishing up the 2nd year of a 2 year lease.)Last night around 3:45am a fight broke out. I was woken up by the banging and stopming. I woke up BB and we immediately assumed 1 kid was locked out and was banging on the door to wake his roomates to let him in. BB went outside with the keys to let the kid into his unit and on the 2nd floor balcony was a 2 kids just going at it. BB yelled at them to stop which they immediately did- but one kid immediately asked if he could spend the night downstaires in our unit, to which we responded "Of Course."

So the kid sleeps in our guest bedroom and when he gets up in the morning he and BB talk about last night. Seems 1 roomate is graduating in 4 months and all he does every night is get belligerently drunk. The other roomate wanted to call 911 last night on the drunk roomate but they didnt. And the fight broke out.

The kid who slept in our unit wants to move out. He finished up his associates degree in December, has not been able to find a job, and wants to return to New England where his parents are- but he has been staying because he is tied to the lease. To make it worse- the kid who wants to leave was in AA recently and now no longer wants to be around drinking or drunk people.

I was already at work when this conversation took place. BB sent the kid back upstaires to work it out with the option that if he can get the other 2 kids to take over his 3rd of the rent- he can go. I am inclined to let the kid go anyways and absorb the $350 month loss because the long term consequenses of an AA recovering person living with a drunk is worse than the $1400 we would be losing. BB is not on board with that- telling me I am not their mother.

So I think regardless- the lease ending in 4 months is not going to be re-newed. We will have to find new tenents. BB and I are going to go over our options tonight about this situation- and what to do about getting new tenents.

Offhand I think our best bet will be asking a realtor to find us a tenent. The realtor can let the applicants in and out of the unit (because I work so much)- and screen their background checks. (I dont know how to do that.) I think we pay a small fee- like 10% of the first few months rent?

Hey guys,
I am still around. Working is getting busier as I have learned to do more and gained my boss's trust.

Not so much posting time.

I also had some setbacks with my new dog and the stress over what to do was hindering me from focusing on anything else. (aggression with strange dogs.)

But BB and I just went away for the weekend and he took it like a champ (people coming into the house to take care of him and other dogs). I was really worried about that. Now I can focus on other things... like finding him doggie training classes!

BB and I are going to test him this weekend with some excersizes and then reevaluate what his needs are.

But because he was so good for our neighbors this weekend I have had a large burden off my back and will hopefully get back to regular postings.

Christmas caused me to get out of my regular blogging routine. I miss my routine. I am back now- and I am back with 2010 goals.

Now that BB has a salaried job- making goals this year was fun. I have no idea if these are achievable or optimistic- but these are my well thought out/well planned out goals for next year.

By December 31st 2010:

1. Have at least $5123.00 in 401k.

2.Save $7000.00 for eventual house renovation.

3. Get windows for the entire house reballasted, insulated and painted.

4.Save $2400.00 towards new car for BB.

5.Have $5024.00 in emergency fund.

6.Have $5000.00 saved towards purchasing another property.

7.Start horseback riding again

8.Save $13840.00 for eventual 1st rental property renovation.

9. Still be married.

10.To weigh the same that I weigh now. (unless I am pregnant- which is NOT a goal!)

I am currently doing research at work and recently found out that Marriott Hotels and Publix supermarkets offer tuition reimbursement for all employees.

At Publix you only need to work over 10 hrs a week!

I am passing this along because I read about posters going back to school, or kids currently attending school and want to remind everyone that this could be a money saving way to attend college. Most kids in college have a part time job- might as well do some research and get some tuition reimbursement!

I also noticed that Delta Airlines, Home Depot, UPS and some banks also offer assistance.

If anyone else knows of companies offering tuition reimbursement, post the info here. (Include the companies city/state for easy reference.) This could be a good resource for parents or college kids.

I saved myself a lot of money yesterday.

Yesterday morning I poked myself in the eye and I think I scratched the cornea. Of course my eye is teary and it's awful. I tried to drive to work an hour later and ended up turning around. The sunlight was so painful.

I called work and explained I would not be coming in for a few hrs till my eye cleared up. I fell asleep and woke up 2 hrs later and felt way better. I called work to tell them I was headed in.

Driving to work was brutal. I immediately went into my office and just sat in the dark to calm down my eye. My 2 boss's came in and immediately told me to go to the hospital. One boss started calling Dr offices to set me an appointment.

The thing is that I have not used my health insurance yet this year. I have a $750 deductible and it is set to reset in 2 weeks with the new year! BB and I mutually decided not to go to Drs this year and to wait and do everything next year. So I was trying to protest the whole hospital or Dr idea. From looking online, a scratched cornea only requires antibactirial drops to heal, and then heals on its own within a few days. The only thing a Dr would do is give me eye drops.

I convinced my boss to drive me home. My vet tech friend brought me some antibacterial eyes drops and I slept on and off all day, then all last night.

I woke up today HEALED! I am at work, and aside from the fact that I am VERY head shy about anything coming near my right eye- I am healthy. Phew! Saved myself a big Dr bill.

BB and I were invited to a fundraiser for the arts a few months ago. It was a free party to attend in a museum- and the party was intended to gain memberships to an arts society.

Membership prices get a person a yearly pass to the museum, and an automatic invitation to attend the 3-4 fundraising events that are held throughout the year.

BB and I attended the party out of curiosity. While there, we were provided plenty of free alcohal and mingled with a crowd of young professional people that we didnt know.

Due to the alcohal, I got a bit swept up in the idea of becoming a member and paid the $100 dollar a yr membership fee for BB and myself. I didnt quite understand what I was paying entrance into- but several friendly people told me they had been members for years and so I figured it probably was a good deal and I just wasnt in the frame of mind to completely comprehend the benefits.

I think BB and I kind of liked the idea of "supporting the arts" and mingling with "high society" and we got swept up in those types of ideas.

The next day I really looked at this membership and no longer thought it was such a great thing for us. We were buying an invitation to the future parties but would have to pay to attend. The really big end of the summer party is over $200 to attend and you must wear a gown or tux! :!

I dont think BB and I actually have much "high society" blood in us because we dont think this is for us. For one night I wanted it to be for us, I thought this was us. Now I realize it's not a good fit. If we want to support the arts (which we do)- there are cheaper and more direct ways to do it that are a better match for us.

So lesson learned- I guess I kind of wasted some money trying on a persona that just doesnt fit. But at least BB and I are a little closer to knowing who we are, and who we are as a couple.

I was thinking about all this today because I wanted to go to the museum tonight with a reletive visiting from out of town. But the museum closes at 5pm and I work till 5pm. phooey.

So during a slow period at work today I happened to check out realtor.com to look at houses for sale in my city. Wouldnt you know I ran across the listing for 1 of the townhouses located directly behind me.

These are a set of 3 buildings- each divided in half to create a side by side townhouse. They were built to look craftsman, and finished being built in 2008.

Only 1 unit sold for around $330k- the rest didnt sell and are vacant. The builder went into foreclosure and not much activity has happened with them.

The unit I came across is listed for $178k. It has granite countertops/slate tiling/2400 sq ft/3 bd/2.5 bath and a garage.

It's a good deal. I know BB and I were interested in buying a rental property recently but ultimately didnt because of a cash shortgage. We have been saving to fix that- and have almost 3k saved. Not enough to buy a property but we are on our way.

My mind goes to it because it is such a good deal. But I dont think it would collect enough rent to cover the mortgage/insurance/taxes due to location. Mostly college kids or low income people rent around here and I dont think neither population has the means to cover inflated rent due to jacuzzi tubs and granite counters.

Of course BB and I could move into it and rent out our unit. It is located directly behind us. But leave the house?! I think it would take more than slate and modern conviences to get me out of my house. But in fantasy world I sure would love to have a garage, an upstaires balcony, a dishwasher! and to spread out in 2400 sq ft.

Oh that would be nice. But not nice enough. I love my house. I need to forget this townhouse- it is a great deal for someone else to buy.

Well, 2009 is about finished for me too. I am thinking ahead to 2010 now.

I guess it is time to look at old goals- see how I measured up, then think about some new ones.

Well, 2009 goals:

1)Save ALL eBay income in 2009
-Nope. Didnt happen. Too many good deals to be found on ebay. I did manage to make alot more on ebay than I spent though.

2)Get a full time job
-YES! This started in June.

3)Begin saving rental income for eventual rental renovation.
-YES! I started this in July and have the money direct deposited into a savings account that I dont touch. I want to save up $30k for the CA reno and think I will need to continue saving through 2011 to meet my goal.

4)Buy a house with 20% down
-YES! I accomplished this! My favorite goal to achieve!

5)Build a $4k Emergency Fund
-Nope. I got to just over half that amount. I plan to revise and work on it some more next year. (The good news is that I didnt need to touch the emergency fund in 2009.)

6)Save 10k towards a back deck, backyard landscaping, and kitchen redo.
-Hahaha, Not even close. I saved up just over 10% of my goal. Another thing to achieve next year.

7)Save $2k toward new car for hubby.
-Nope. We saved nothing for a new BB car. It's on the agenda for next year.

8) Pay $50 month extra on the mortgage.
-Yes! We paid an extra $107 a month.

Looks like I accomplished 50% of my goals. I can live with that.

And then down below are my 2008 goals for 2010. I'll continue to have them in my list of goals- but I have some more I want to add.

On a side note: I noticed I "repeated" a 2008 goal. In 2009 I rescued ANOTHER dog and paid in full for him. No regrets!

Long term goals *start by 2010*
[ ]Live on one income/bank the other income
[ ]Start an IRA for Baseball boy
[ ] have 1 NSD a week

This is the date we can break ground on our BIG house renovation and turn our starter home into our forever home.

BB has a secure job, and once you are in a coaching position- you are in- unless you really mess up. So I feel comfortable budgeting our income for the next few years based on his current income.

Based on BB's salary, mine and our other sources of income- I think we can save $48,800 by Jan 2013 (I saved $1200 in 2009).

We have not gotten formal estimates on prices but feel that $50k will get us about what we want to do.

We want to:
Enlarge our kitchen from the galley it is currently, back into the room next door where it was located when it was originally built.

Put a staircase inside connecting the upper and lower floors to return it back to a SFH rather than the duplex it is now.

Turn the top floor galley kitchen into a laundry room, and use the adjoining guest room to turn into a master closet/bath.

Repair the upstairs plaster walls.

It may come out to more than $50k but if it does we can see about using other resources to cover the difference. We dont want top of the line- middle of the line cabinets/appliances is what we have in mind.

The part that I wonder about is over improving for the neighborhood. We live in a low income area. Our next door neighbor purchased and remodeled his house during the height of the market and has $318k invested in the house. His house is the nicest in the neighborhood and maybe worth $250k. His finishes are about where we want to get our house when we do our renovation.

If this is indeed our forever house- then it shouldnt matter if we overimprove...right? Especially if we pay for the improvements in cash?

I guess I wonder which way the neighborhood is going. 3 yrs ago the city invested several million dollars into rehabbing our neighborhood. The town said its historical significance and it being an eyesore qualified it for huge grants. The area was resored beautifully. The victorian and craftsman houses belonging to families got fresh facelifts, and many people purchased rehabbed houses in the belief that the value would increase. The houses are all worth a lot more than the outlying houses that did not get fixed up- but the people in the fixed up houses are letting their houses deteriorate again.

Everyone in the area owns their house outright from generations where the house has been inherited, but that does not mean the residents have enough money to do the repairs needed. If a house goes up for sale in the area- it sells for a good price- but houses here dont go up for sale very often because the residents dont to want to leave the block that they grew up. Only 1 house in the area went up for sale over the year I have lived here. So it is not very often that a person/family moves into these houses with incomes that qualify them for loans on these houses and the subsequent idea that they have the financial ability to maintain the house.

I guess I have another 2 years to mull it over.

So I have been tracking my expenses for well over a year and just now discovered a mathematical error I have been recording every.single.month.

The good news is the error works in my favor. I save more money every month than I have been recording.

I track my daily expenses, and at the end of the month I get my list of daily expenditures, catagorize them into the general- fuel, fast food, clothes, ect catagories. Then I take out my checkbook and add in all checks I have written to the mortgage, utilities, CC...

Just this weekend I realized: If I buy a pair of $50 shoes on Dec 1st and pay for it on my CC- I am recording it as a Dec 1st $50 shoe purchase. Then when the CC bill comes at the end of the month I pay the $50 CC bill. And I track that I paid $50 to the CC company.

I have been recording two $50 purchases instead of one!

Every month for A YEAR I have been doing this. I went back and recalculated my December spending and rather than being in the red $837.00 as I previously thought I was- I actually was in the black an extra $13.00!

When I realized my mistake this weekend I pointed it out to BB who said : "Yeah I always knew something was screwy with your math because we have been living like misers and every month you moan and complain that we are overspending. I know we are living off only your income Gamecock, but you make pretty good money for how frugally we live."

I am actually embarressed that I have come to feel so capable and proud of my money saving efforts- and this basic law of accounting escaped me for a year. I have been so humbled.

BB is the now an MLB minor league pitching coach! Last night he got his dream job!

Thanks everyone for their kind thoughts, this news totally made our year. I know he will be great at this job, and I know that his future is a bit more "set" from now on.

BB and I are both proud as peacocks. Last night he just kept repeating it over and over. He is amazed that someone had so much faith and respect for him to award him such a prestigious job. I am proud because his pitching coach in the minors had 12 years of big league playing experience. BB has none!

So onto bigger and better. Life in MLB as a player was like a rollercoaster with it's highs and lows. The "your only as good as your last performance" organizational attitude, the constant threat of being released, the constant being released/traded and relocating for a new team, the injuries, and the $1200 a month paychecks are all behind us now!!

Once he signs his contract (hopefully today), BB will have 1 years job security. He will have a solid entry level paycheck, and no one can take that away from him!

So onto a new adventure to see what life is like in the MLB from a coaches perspective. BB is about to get a whole new education I bet.

Keep BB in everyones thoughts- he is 1 of 3 finalists for an MLB pitching coach job! He will know what the organization decides on Friday.

Lots of things have started happening around the Gamecock house lately. Everything has been so quiet that all this financial activity is a little overwhelming!

As stated in my previous post, BB got a part time retail job to start helping with bills and long term savings. Nothing was developing on the pro baseball side, and his lessons were limping along.

Over the weekend BB was offered a job as a pitching coach for a summer ball team in Illinois. Its the same thing he is lined up to do in Texas- but the IL team is offering a good bit more money for the same job. 4 months of work for an extra $250 a month plus big bonuses if they make it to playoffs and beyond. The team manager is one of BB's former managers and BB really respects this guy. BB is excited for the offer.

Then the very next day BB's MLB contact tells BB of 3 opportunities for a certain MLB team! BB is qualified for any of the 3 positions but it is competitive and BB has less than desirable experience levels. So it is a stretch but BB has sent in his resume and cover letter to the team yesterday. Any of these 3 jobs would mean a year round salary and up to 7 months of work in another state. His salary would be enough to make visiting him 1x a month an option. It's funny: He was saying a few weeks ago that he did not want any of these jobs even if they were offered to him- and now that he has a shot of landing one he is so excited! All his previous arguments about why he would not want the job are no longer objections. I think his fear that of applying for jobs and not getting them/ not being condidered was holding him back. It was his MLB contact who told BB exactly what the team was looking for, and laid out directions about how to apply that gave BB the confidence to pursue the job.

AND! A local soccer guy who provides lessons and camps to kids wants to expand his business into a multi-sport facility. He wants BB to become one of his coaches offering baseball lessons. The guy said he will handle all the marketing and he does not mind BB traveling during the baseball seasons to be a coach- it will enhance the sporting facilities business that they have a professional coach on staff during part of the year. The facility likely will not get off the ground till next year- but BB should come back from the season to an established client base. This was the area where BB is very weak- and someone is offering to do the work for BB!

I am so proud that BB is starting to see some luck come his way. Maybe writing that post that BB was having no luck at all got the ball rolling.

BB got a job! Let me say, this BB getting a job thing has been such a source of tension between us.

BB has been back from his summer job for almost 3 months and he has been a lost puppy. He retired from playing ball, and now it was time to find a full time job.

BB has zero office skills, no degree, and very little ability to market himself to the type of job he wants.

BB's initial plan was to get a scouting or coaching job when he retired from ball. In a worst case scenario if he could not get one of those jobs- he would provide baseball lessons to float him until next summer comes and he can go back to TX for another summer and do the same thing he did this year.

Well, turns out BB's contacts that he was sure would find him a scouting or coaching job have less ability to get him a job than he thought. BB spent over 2 months waiting for 1 job to open up that he felt he had a very good shot at landing. That spot still has not opened up.

BB wants to provide lessons here- but this is a new town for him and he does not have the established client base he had in Florida. BB thought he would easily get students through word of mouth but it has not worked so far. I have suggested several marketing options for BB but he is open to them till it is time to actually do the work (going to schools, talking to coaches, flyers on cars) and then suddenly he does not think the idea will work. It would be a waste of time. I could do the work myself- but really I am just too tired from working all day to do his share of work as well- and too fight him/drag him along as I travel from location to location doing the work he should be doing while I am at work.

BB applied to a few part time jobs to make up for the lack of lessons but it didnt quite work out. He thought one place was going to hire him so he refused to go on any other interviews- then they didnt hire him- then he had a trial day at a GREAT part time job but got sick with the flu and never went in...

I feel like at every turn- BB was a big fat disapointment to me. This was his turn to show me that all the years of baseball playing were going to pay off. This was his turn to bring in something so I was not paying all the bills anymore. This was his time to do something to pull his weight. But over and over he had an excuse for not trying, he had a plan...but all I saw was a hell of alot of video gaming every day.

During this time I had 2 severe breakdowns regarding all this. I just wondered if this was a sign of our future. If years from now everything would be the same- if he was really just lazy.

We fought alot. I felt he was being very very picky about what jobs he wanted to apply too. There was a baseball college coaching job available 4 hrs away paying about what I get paid and BB refused to even apply for the job. He said it was too far away (This coming from someone who moves across the country every summer). I think in reality he was really just afraid to apply to the job. He didnt think he would get it. Trying to get a local college coaching job has opened his eyes to how competitive and difficult it can be. I just wanted him to get his foot in the door somewhere. If he gets a coaching job far away...we'll make it work for a year and then reevaluate the options. BB refuses to consider this. He has narrowed down his options to the 2 local colleges as places he is willing to coach at. And neither of them even have any openings! So theres been some fighting. We both feel defeated.

But the good news came this morning that BB was hired to work part time at a local sporting goods retail shop. BB will work 20 hrs a week, he can continue to take his college courses online, continue to work with his 1 baseball student- and I guess he is going back to TX next summer to coach there.

So its not great news- it's not a career and it's not a long term job- but its a step in the right direction and it's going to help relieve the burden of me paying the bills/supporting him every month from my salary.

Doing the numbers he will earn enough from his baseball student and work to pay 1/2 the bills, put $150 a month into savings/save $200 month towards getting our windows fixed/and have $600 a month to spend on gas, food, whatever.

I am secretly hoping that this retail job might teach BB that he does not want to work for minimum wage very long- and maybe it will motivate him to start applying to those coaching jobs in other states- rather than waiting for a local spot to open up- or for his 1 MLB contact to find him a job.