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Foregoing some things to get into (fam) end of life/“estate” planning, it’s that time. Tough convo but necessary. Wish me luck!
Official Personal Finance/Home Economics Thread
- Thread starter phcitywarrior
- Start date
For 2022, I'll be focusing on building up my housing fund. By mid/late 2023 I want to buy a place. Doesn't have to be a forever home but ideally, I'm looking for something with a lot of upside.
My preference would be DC proper or even PG County, but the prices out there are just too crazy right now. I think I'll settle on Baltimore, a lot of good deals to be had and it's well located on the East Coast.
Between rising asset prices and expected interest rate hikes, I really do think in 5-10 years the concept of homeownership will be dead for a lot of people in America (already is within certain pockets of the country)
My preference would be DC proper or even PG County, but the prices out there are just too crazy right now. I think I'll settle on Baltimore, a lot of good deals to be had and it's well located on the East Coast.
Between rising asset prices and expected interest rate hikes, I really do think in 5-10 years the concept of homeownership will be dead for a lot of people in America (already is within certain pockets of the country)
Come to Baltimore County, we can be neighbors!
But nah, good luck! Once the market settles down I know you’ll be able to find a good deal. Also don’t pass on a fixer, use a 203k or homestyle loan if necessary and refinance later.
I’m in the process of researching to refinance and do a whole home renovation. This was a good link.
Home Improvement Financing | M&T Bank
With inflation and the rising cost of everything, and expected interest rate increases, how are y'all adjusting/are you making any lifestyle changes?
-For me, I've been biking to work, but that was even before increased fuel prices. Even when I get back to driving, I'll look to take the train to work.
-My savings go into the stock market to try and beat inflation (still gonna be tough)
-Been paying down some consumer debt that I have at the moment (crazy because at the start of 2021 I was debt-free but stuff happened last summer that messed me up
)
-I've definitely been getting more creative with my social arrangements. You won't see me bar hopping or just going out for drinks just cause. A single night out can run at least $100-$120 in the city. I can grab a bottle of wine and head to function instead.
Other than that, I've pruned most of my budget from excess spending anyway. Next focus is on firming up my 2nd source of income.
-For me, I've been biking to work, but that was even before increased fuel prices. Even when I get back to driving, I'll look to take the train to work.
-My savings go into the stock market to try and beat inflation (still gonna be tough)
-Been paying down some consumer debt that I have at the moment (crazy because at the start of 2021 I was debt-free but stuff happened last summer that messed me up
)-I've definitely been getting more creative with my social arrangements. You won't see me bar hopping or just going out for drinks just cause. A single night out can run at least $100-$120 in the city. I can grab a bottle of wine and head to function instead.
Other than that, I've pruned most of my budget from excess spending anyway. Next focus is on firming up my 2nd source of income.
I'm looking to buy a condo in DC proper and I 100% agree with you that homeownership will be impossible for the majority of Americans. That's why I'm trying to get something now.
Depending on your budget and goals, I'd recommend looking in DC proper. If you can get a SFH or rowhouse in EOTR DC you will be in good shape because there are major developments on the way for that part of the city. If you want a SFH in PG, I'd look in the Largo area, Oxon Hill/National Harbor, or the Route 1 area.
With inflation and the rising cost of everything, and expected interest rate increases, how are y'all adjusting/are you making any lifestyle changes?
-For me, I've been biking to work, but that was even before increased fuel prices. Even when I get back to driving, I'll look to take the train to work.
-My savings go into the stock market to try and beat inflation (still gonna be tough)
-Been paying down some consumer debt that I have at the moment (crazy because at the start of 2021 I was debt-free but stuff happened last summer that messed me up
-I've definitely been getting more creative with my social arrangements. You won't see me bar hopping or just going out for drinks just cause. A single night out can run at least $100-$120 in the city. I can grab a bottle of wine and head to function instead.
Other than that, I've pruned most of my budget from excess spending anyway. Next focus is on firming up my 2nd source of income.
I've fallen off on my financial goals but I did get a new job where I make a lot more than i did last year (30+% salary increase) so I plan to use that extra income to purchase something and get my finances back on track.
Student loan debt is the big issue for me personally.
I looked at DC proper (Petworth, Georgia Ave, Cardozo, Columbia Heights, Benning Rd etc) but the prices are just too high for my current budget and goals.
Ideally I want something that can appreciate some more and with more space hence me looking in Baltimore as I can get something in the nicer parts of town (Fed Hill, Fells Point, etc) The AMTRAK runs from Penn Station to Union Station in about 40 mins so I still have access to DC.
PG county near Largo, CP, Hyattsville, or any Metro station is a pretty good bet as well. Cap Heights still has some good deals. Ideally anything within the 495 beltway.
All my debt I’ll knock out by the end of the year and will still have some sizable cash on hand.
I've started spending more time in DT Baltimore and its a real nice city. Just the QOL and jobs is lacking and idk about raising a family there. Baltimore and DC really need better commuter rail.
Inside the beltway PG has alot of gems, I've been keeping an eye out on all the proposed developed in EOTR DC and Prince George's. Black people have a lot of money here we need to pay attention and keep ownership of our communities.
I’m not at the raising family stage yet, more so securing a property while it’s still some what doable. My bet is with hybrid/remote work you’ll get folks from higher cost East coast cities like NYC and DC flock to cheaper cities like Philly and Baltimore.
I think with the infrastructure plan that Biden announced Amtrak on the Eastern corridor will be getting some big upgrades.
You’re 100% right about EOTR DC. My Aunt copped a place by Benning Road not too far from the Metro. Looking like that could be a prime spot in 5-10 yrs. PG is always a good look too.
TBH, I can't tell what is due to the inflation, and what is due to going a little overboard after saving +60% of my income monthly during lockdown. Definitey started reeling things in a bit recently:With inflation and the rising cost of everything, and expected interest rate increases, how are y'all adjusting/are you making any lifestyle changes?
-For me, I've been biking to work, but that was even before increased fuel prices. Even when I get back to driving, I'll look to take the train to work.
-My savings go into the stock market to try and beat inflation (still gonna be tough)
-Been paying down some consumer debt that I have at the moment (crazy because at the start of 2021 I was debt-free but stuff happened last summer that messed me up
-I've definitely been getting more creative with my social arrangements. You won't see me bar hopping or just going out for drinks just cause. A single night out can run at least $100-$120 in the city. I can grab a bottle of wine and head to function instead.
Other than that, I've pruned most of my budget from excess spending anyway. Next focus is on firming up my 2nd source of income.
- Cut back on food deliveries almost completely unless I'm with a chick. The markup for a meal is like 100% for me after factoring in the tip, so if I keep it local and switch to takeout, I can eat out 2x as much for the same price
- Downloaded Mint and have set budgetary goals
- I spend the majority of my discretionary money on clubbing. To cut back on it:
- I started pregaming more to get a buzz and then sticking to cheap beers to stay topped up
- I grab cash beforehand so that I can spend physical money instead of mindlessly swiping a card
- I am encouraging friends to move away from expensive clubs and towards dive bars/cheaper spots that don't have a cover. Kinda limited tho since there usually isn't a lot of (cute) women at the chill spots.
- If I can meet more women without leaning on alcohol, then alcohol has almost no purpose for socially. I used to holler at chicks on the street sober. Gotta restore that feeling and treat the club like a bonus round in a video game.
- I try to take the bus more but it stops running at 1 am. Instead of calling an Uber after the club closes, I will take a bike-share home instead. Smooth sailing for the most part, but I had one time it went left. Was riding home drunk with an inefficient bike, pedaling against 25 mph wind for 15 miles when it was 17 degrees, and then my phone died. Took me +3 hours to get home and the sun beat me by 1-2 hours.
- I rode my personal bike to the club earlier this month but still gotta figure out how to deal with the post-bike butt sweat, or just feeling less-than-fresh for socializing. I'm not musty, but I'm not fresh out of the shower clean either
- Also, unrelated to the inflation but started looking for another job to boost my salary. Contemplating going the r/overemployed route and juggling two WFH jobs to pad my salary
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I told myself I'm going to get back on the tighter budgeting I was doing a few years ago, tracking every dollar and spending only what's necessary. I should be growing my savings quicker than I am.
Im ready to budget my money monthly. What does everyone recommend? How do you do it?
I use a good ole Excel spreadsheet (Google Doc) to track my monthly expenses. I can go back about 4 years and give you what I spent each month with about 95% confidence on both debit and credit.
I took Financial Peace University with my church a while back and one of the biggest takeaways I got was to do a monthly zero-based budget on paper - your income and expenses should net at zero each month. (you can say what you want about Dave Ramsey but the idea is to read as much as you can about personal finance from as many sources as possible and some of his advice is good)
Essentially every month you want to sit down on a weekend and outline everything you expect to spend for the month, start with necessities: rent, cc payments, utilities, student loans, savings etc then go to the discretionary stuff. Make sure you always pay yourself first. Even if it's just 5% or $50 you'll want to make that a habit.
I suggest doing it on paper for the first couple of months (studies show that taking notes on paper over a computer leads to better focus and memory retention) then moving to something digital. It's important you do it month over month, there will be some constants in your budget e.g. rent, but depending on the season you're in, there could be a lot of variables e.g. weddings, birthdays etc that will have you spending more.
There are apps like mint etc but I'm fine with a google doc for now.
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I use Mint. Gives me a lot more structure so I can pinpoint where I'm spending my money in real-time.
Do you manually type in the data, import CSV files or create a connection to your credit card company?
If he's anything like me, he does it manually.I use Mint. Gives me a lot more structure so I can pinpoint where I'm spending my money in real-time.
Do you manually type in the data, import CSV files or create a connection to your credit card company?