Why apartment living works for me

I don’t plan to live in an apartment forever, but for now, it is the housing option that is most conducive to my lifestyle. I shared a house with two roommates’ immediately after college and shortly after that, I moved into my current apartment. While I don't necessarily feel much social pressure as these people do to purchase a home, it's still a goal I plan to achieve (preferably in five years or less). The major reason why apartment life works for my current lifestyle are:

1. I don’t have a down payment saved yet. I’m currently focusing on debt payment, regularly contributing to my retirement accounts and building my emergency savings. I hope to be able to focus on saving for home ownership in 2011, but for now, it’s not a priority. I’m aware that I’ll miss out on the homeowner tax credit that is ending this month, but there are other first time homeowner programs that I have been told about by people who have gone through the process that I should be eligible for when I have my savings cushion together. Before I actually purchase a home, I'd like to 'pretend I own it' for several months, by figuring out what my mortgage payment would be and estimating other expenses involved. I'd then send the difference between that estimated (mortgage plus expenses) amount and my current rent payment to savings. If I can do that for several months without feeling a strain on my budget, then I'll feel ready to take the plunge to home ownership.
2. I like the flexibility that renting offers. I don’t have plans to move the in near future, but I like the idea that if I did, I could do so without the upheaval that would be involved if I was a homeowner. I won't have to worry about renting or selling property, taxes, and home improvements that would increase property value whenever I decide to move.
3. I have great landlord. My landlord is very responsive to any maintenance requests I have had since I moved into my current residence. I’d probably have different views on renting if I had negative experiences, so I consider myself very lucky.
4. I love my current neighborhood. I love my current neighborhood but could not afford to own a home in the area on my current salary. Earlier this year, I did some preliminary research and on how much house I could afford on my current salary and actually got pre-approved for a mortgage. But after looking at some homes (and condos) in my city, the options I preferred would have been at the very top of my budget. I anticipate my income to increase over time, so I should logically have more flexibility in living in a preferred neighborhood in the future.

Home ownership is no fun at all if you haven't properly planned for it, and I need to take more time to do that. I consider home ownership to be an important future goal, but I realize that I can’t rush it and I plan to wait until I feel ready mentally and financially for that step.

How did you determine you were 'ready to become a homeowner, or when do you think you'll reach that point if you haven't yet?

(Personal Finance) Reading is Fundamental

I am a big fan of reading for pleasure and for gaining knowledge. I take full advantage of the plethora of books the public library in my city has to offer and recently picked up two on my last visit that focus on personal finance. I've seen other bloggers comment on both of these books, so I'd like to read them myself and hopefully apply some useful knowledge from them. I plan to read through The Power to Prosper and follow Michelle Singletary's prescriptive advice as close as I can. I'm also interested in gaining insight on millionaire's from The Millionaire Next Door that haven't accumulated wealth through entertainment or sports fields, which is how the media repeatedly portrays millionaires. I'd like to learn about other paths to wealth. I'll report back on what I think about both of them!

Have a Great Pizza Recipe? Enter this Earth Day Inspired Contest

I decided to do a post about this contest because it is in honor of Earth Day and because of the fact that pizza has been a long-standing favorite dish. In the spirit of Earth Day’s 40th Anniversary, Pizza Fusion has launched a nationwide search for the greenest, most eco-friendly pizza recipe in the country with the Pizza Fusion Earth Day Video Contest. If you have pizza-making skills and have a desire to do something eco-friendly in honor of Earth Day, you might want to enter this contest. It might also be fun to make your recipe budget-friendly including ingredients that are as inexpensive as possible. This contest is an online, 100% paperless competition with earth-friendly prizes and is being judged by a panel including Chef Aaron McCargo Jr., star of Food Network’s Big Daddy’s House and Michael Singer of Bon Appétit Magazine.

Contest prizes include:

• Trip for Two to an Organic and Sustainable Vineyard
• A Year’s supply of Organic Beverages from Honest Tea and Give Natural Spring Water
• An “Eco-Design” bike from Trek Bikes
• The winning recipe posted online at www.Pizzafusion.com
• $100 Gift Card to Pizza Fusion
• $100 Gift Card to Whole Foods

Here’s how the contest works:

• Participants upload their short recipe video clip on YouTube.
• A panel of judges will review the top five YouTube videos that garner the most views through Friday, April 30th.
• Participants are encouraged to spread the word about their video to family and friends through social media avenues such as Facebook and Twitter.
• One winner will be announced online Monday, May 3rd

Joining Vaughan Lazar, president of Pizza Fusion, as a judge will be Chef Aaron McCargo Jr., star of Food Network’s Big Daddy’s House; Michael Singer, online editor of Bon Appétit; and Craig Agranoff, blogger and founder of WorstPizza.com; and Jen Friel, actress and blogger of TalkNerdyToMeLover.com. They’ll be judging the recipes for creativity, earth-friendly value, overall presentation and edibility.

And to truly give back to the planet, participants and their supporters can also make contributions to Share Our Strength®, a national organization that works hard to make sure no kid in America grows up hungry, in Chef Aaron McCargo Jr.’s name. During the month of April, participating Pizza Fusion locations have set up “dough-nation” buckets where 100 percent of the proceeds go to Share Our Strength as well as online at www.PizzaFusion.com.

Happy Pizza-making!

Colorful Clothes As An Economic Indicator

According to a recent New York Times article, the resurgence of multihued designs can be interpreted as an indicator of recovery:

"The profusion of hothouse colors and patterns popping up on New York streets this month suggests a new buoyancy, as women shake off the constraints of a lingering recession and stock up on fashions more lively and vivid than they’ve seen in years."

"People are sick of not shopping," said Beth Buccini, an owner of Kirna Zabete, a SoHo outpost of vanguard design, where splashy florals and abstract designs are providing a bracing antidote to months of self-imposed sobriety. After such a miserable winter, and an even more miserable economy," she said, "people want a little joy in their lives."

I don't think the down economy has necessarily changed my spending habits. While I didn't stop spending money on non-essentials completely, I've gotten into the habit of saving (no matter how small the amount) for a 'rainy' day and try to keep my spending in check in general. If I'm able to pay all of my bills, save, and make progress toward my financial goals I'm happy. Building discretionary spending on non-essentials into my budget like clothing works for me but others feel very comfortable with cutting it out entirely.

I see a minor evolution of my personal style to being more comfortable in a more diverse range of color and prints rather than neutral colors. But I'm not sure if this change can be attributed to the economy making moderate improvements or outside style influences combined with the development of my personal taste. The article goes on to say that though there has been gradual increases in consumer spending: "consumption is not expected to rise to the levels of 2006, when apparel sales rose on average by 6 percent."

Have you seen any changes in your clothing spending over the past few years because of the economy? Do you think the economy influences your personal style color choices as the article suggests?

Image: New York Times

How will becoming a vegetarian affect my budget?

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I've been ruminating over the decision to become a vegetarian for quite some time and figured that it was time to put it out there in the universe and really do it. For the long term health benefits of vegetarianism, I've decided that I will slowly phase meat out of my diet. I may eat fish occasionally, but won't eat other forms of meat. I'm not big on dairy, but will reconsider veganism in the next few years. Vegetarianism isn't for everyone and but I think it's a good choice for me. As I made this decision, I wondered how becoming a vegetarian will affect my budget.


I don't anticipate that vegetarianism will change my food spending much for the time being. I won't be purchasing organic meat any longer which can be very pricey. Substitution products like tofu and soy can be pricey as well, but I already purchase them in moderation and will continue to do so. My goal is to become more creative with my meals in general and to limit my intake of processed foods. I plan to to minimize food spending by doing things such as: buying fruits and vegetables that are in season, stocking up on beans and grains which are usually inexpensive, and will start comparison shopping for food items that tend to be pricier.


I currently spend about $200 - $250 per month on groceries and I spend about $80 - $100 per month on restaurants/take-out. I always see a spike in the amount I spend on groceries when I decide to try a new dish that requires ingredients I don't already have or if I decide to bake something because I frequently use organic ingredients and dairy alternatives to bake like the recipes in this book. I'll start monitoring my food spending more closely to see how cutting out meat impacts my food spending.