Random (Mostly Financial) Thoughts

• Home Ownership - I’ve been doing research for the past several weeks on home ownership in my area. I’ve gone to some workshops for some first time homebuyers programs and actually qualified for an FHA loan where I’d only have to put 3.5% down which is reasonable for the amount of mortgage I qualified for. BUT, I most likely could not afford to live in DC and would probably have to live somewhere else in the DC Metro area (NOVA or MD). I am a city girl through and through and don’t want to live anywhere else except DC unless I’m moving to an entirely different area. I love the neighborhood I currently live but am a long way off from being able to afford a home there. Purchasing a home at this time would also wipe out all of my savings which probably is not the smartest idea anyway. So, at this time in my life, though I could stretch to make it happen, home ownership still looks to be a few years off for me. Oh well…
• Short-term Travel – I’d like to take a day-trip to the beach (not sure which one yet) and a day-trip to NYC before the summer ends. Both should be relatively inexpensive outside of travel costs, but I’ll have to make a budget for both.
• Long-term Travel – I mentioned this before, but I really want to go on an international trip for my next birthday, and want to pay for my airfare by the early fall because the prices are very low right now but will probably start creeping back up soon. I also still have to renew my passport which is a summer goal, so I need to do it ASAP or else I won’t be going anywhere outside of the U.S.
• Professional Development- I know am still in grad school, but I’ve already eyed a certificate program that I’d like to do to expand my skills. It could also be a side-hustle skill to bring in more income. I won’t be doing this until I complete graduate school in 2010, but I want to start looking at the cost so I can save up and pay out of pocket.
• Side-projects – I need to step up my work on various side projects (blogging for one, I’ve been a slacker lately) I’ve either started or have been thinking about, I’ve been too complacent lately about where I am. This lady inspires me to work harder to reach my potential and I told her so on Twitter yesterday ; )
• Other - I know what my next big goal is and though it’s not necessarily cost-effective, I believe it will make me happy. It’s a while off, so I won’t go into detail yet. I started a vision board for this goal recently and need to start making actionable steps toward it instead of just thinking about it.