Four months

Four months until I move! I am sooo antsy to do so. One of my main dilemmas right now is whether we should rent or buy a home. Renting might be difficult because of all my animals. Buying might be difficult because we have no money. But I looked online and there are some modestly priced houses that would work. Even as I type this, my dogs are running around the apartment all crazy-like. Oh, to have a yard!

Obviously, there are advantages and disadvantages to both renting and owning. The main thing I am concerned with is getting my bang for my buck. If we do rent for the next two years, we will end up sinking $14,400 into nothing. There is nothing to show for it. And if we stay here longer than two years, that number will only increase. Both of us have good credit, so I think we could swing a decent deal on purchasing a house. Additionally, in two years, if we want to sell it, the market will likely be somewhat recovered and we'll at least get out of it what we paid for it--likely more. But it's so scary! Buying a house is a huge commitment. Oh, also, I checked what the monthly payment would be--the internet is great. There's an online calculator just for approximating monthly payments. It is likely, if we got a cheap house, that the mortgage payment would be less than we're paying for rent right now.

Another thing about buying is that my former roomie, one of my best friends, bought a house and could tell me anything I need to know. Also, I have a friend here in Tucson who owns his house and so I could ask him things too.

Hmmmm. Something I just thought of is that if the house has a big enough backyard, we could get married there! Hahaha. Our wedding is going to be strange. First off, he's Jewish and I am from a conservative Christian faith. Second, most of my family lives far away and likely won't make it, except for immediate family. My close girlfriends, however, will be there with their husbands and kids, along with all our Tucson friends, so I think it will generally be a younger crowd. And though I want to do some Jewish traditions, for the most part the wedding will be very non-traditional. I think weddings are sometimes soooo formal! Everything has to be proper and perfect. It's like you can't even sneeze. Weddings are supposed to be celebratory, right? So why all the formalities? At my roomie's wedding, her husband dropped the ring and it rolled right down into her father's hand. He returned it to the groom. It was such a memorable moment and relaxed the mood so much!