Keeping on the right track!

**MomToTwoBoys** · 12-05-2010, 02:47 PM

We've sold our house this weekend.

As such, the money from the sale will go to pay off all debts. This includes the mortgage, the renovation debt and our Best Buy card. In other words, we're wiping out every single cent of debt before venturing into the new house. We're about $127k in debt right now with everything put together. That figure also includes the realtor costs, the lawyor fee, etc.

We'll have about $73k left over, but some of that will go to paying on application fees (CMHC charges about $165 for an application fee for a new mortgage) and any lawyer fees associated with the purchase of the new home. Since DH's work will cover the cost of moving, we'll have about $70k on the low end to use for the next home.

2011 will be a new start for us. With all of the debt wiped out, we'll be starting to put away for both a $1k baby EF and also our slush fund. The slush fund will cover all birthday present costs, school fees, holidays, etc. I usually devote about $100 per month into that fund. Another $400 a month will go into a split savings account that allows for both retirement and secondary education funding. We promised ourselves that by the time DS7 turned 8, we would start. We're getting a nine month head start on this. The baby EF will cover items that need fixing around the new house, but will not cover the purchase of new furniture and such. That money will come from our tax return.

But also with the new home comes new mortgage payments and new property tax amounts. We're prepared to go as much as 31% of our net monthly pay to fund it and that amount is about $969. We're comfortable with this. We've combed the budget and have found all of the holes that were sucking money out of us before.

So here's to 2011 and a new adventure into the next chapter of our lives!

**jas** · 12-05-2010, 03:58 PM

Maybe you should set up a separate fund for the fix up on the new place and have a separate EF fund for those things that come up that you don't know about in advance. While you have the money to do it, other wise you already know that the EF will be spent. JMO and because you have the money to do it.

Congrats on the sale of the house and happy house hunting!

**mauimagic** · 12-05-2010, 05:26 PM

Congrats on the sale of your house - what a relief!!

**Debbie-cat** · 12-05-2010, 07:36 PM

Congratulations on the sale of your home! Good luck finding a new place!

**HappyMama** · 12-05-2010, 07:52 PM

Congrats on the sale of your home, that is wonderful to get it sold now and on with your new plans.

**Vanilla** · 12-05-2010, 09:27 PM

Congrats! That's a wonderful way to start the new year!

**Palooka** · 12-05-2010, 09:57 PM

Congrats! You are off to a great start.

**Sassyclass** · 12-06-2010, 10:22 AM

Congratulations on selling the house and for putting together a plan to wipe out debt.

Cat

**frugal is fun** · 12-06-2010, 01:08 PM

Congratulations! I bet you feel wonderful!

**mek42** · 12-06-2010, 04:58 PM

Congrats and I hope you can find a nice new house under-budget!

**MomToTwoBoys** · 12-08-2010, 11:22 PM

It's been a hectic few days. I'm talking with the mortgage broker about getting us a really good rate and a really good deal. With our pre-approval, we're looking at about $315k before we hit that 80% loaned value. There's a 41% income-to-debt ratio that lenders look at up here and well, he's advised us solely on what we can afford. He told us that doesn't mean we have to go out and spend that much. It's just good for us to know what's going on with it.

Our credit is "outstanding" and we shouldn't have any problems from here on out. I just need to dig out my award letter from the VA, along with printing out an updated pension pay table. I also need to find my tax statements, along with DH's, for the last few years (which I always keep).

With eight days to go before we pack up and move on out, it's good to get the pre-approval done and over with. Once we look at houses on the 19th, we can start the process of submitting a new offer. We'll get our money from the closing of this house that week and all of the debts will be paid before Christmas. We won't even need to put Christmas on credit this year either, which is fantastic!

**Buckeye5** · 12-09-2010, 09:01 AM

that is wonderful news, and I am sure it makes for the future to be less stressful!

**larabelle** · 12-09-2010, 06:53 PM

congrats for knocking out all that debt

**Missy** · 12-09-2010, 07:23 PM

that is awesome. congratulations!

**MomToTwoBoys** · 12-15-2010, 09:39 AM

So this week, we had a bit of a scare. The mortgage broker told me that they wouldn't be able to use my non-taxable pension income for the mortgage calculation.

Then I sent him the mortgage commitment from this house, along with my award letter and 3 months' worth of bank statements to show that the income is continuous and how much it is. After that, the tune changed. We're back to where we were before.

Sunday is the big house hunt day! We finally compiled our list of homes to go look at and they are all within budget. We crunched the numbers and we're fantastic. We finally figured out how we were living still beyond our means and are doing our best to stomp that completely out.

With two days to go until the packers get here, I'm hoping things go better than I expect.