I have to admit, things went a bit off the rails in 2010, financially speaking. I stopped updating my Net Worth. I stopped carefully tracking my budget. I’m still using YNAB, but I have budget overages every month. Some months are worse than others.
Sometimes it’s unexpected, like dental work that cost a bit more than planned, but many times it’s just me not paying attention to my spending. I definitely need to tighten things up and start checking in with my budget at least once a week, probably even more than that, just to really get a good look at what I’m doing.
I’m also back to thinking about buying a place next year. It’s more likely than it was this year. I’m going to have to move. Our apartment complex is under new management, and I don’t like a lot of the things that are going on, but the biggest problem is that they’re going to begin charging for parking and also allowing each apartment only one car. My roommate and I both have cars and neither of us can get rid of them. And with the increase in rent, the “drop” in my pay, and the added cost to park, it’s not feasible for me to live in the apartment alone.
So I’m going to start hunting for something to buy. I’ve got a good recommendation for a Realtor, so I’m going to contact her sometime after the holidays and get started looking. Our lease is up in September, so there’s plenty of time, but if the lease must be broken, so be it. Thankfully, that penalty isn’t too bad. Then there’s the question of what my roommate will do (I’m not going to leave her high and dry, that’s for sure), but that’s a conversation for another post.
