Dimples' Divine Domain
My journey to financial empowerment.

Back in January I developed my Home Purchase Plan (HPP for short). I listed exactly what I was looking for in my new home including my needs and wants. I printed up my HPP and carried it will me everywhere. I especially took it with me when I went house hunting with my agent. I had a momentary relapse (I'll explain more on that on another post) but got back on track and stuck to my guns. I ended up with a beautiful house that fits all my needs and wants. HOME PURCHASE PLAN The home I want: Price: $0 -> $190,000 $180,000 Ideal Monthly Mortgage (including taxes, PMI, HOA, & hazard) : $1200 (max $1300) $1310 Location: Surrounding Orlando Area Check Bedrooms: 3+ 4 Bathrooms: 2+ 2 Square footage: 1700 s.f. + 1810 sf Year Built: 2000+ 1998 HOA: $100/month max $150/yr NEEDS: * A-rated school district Check * Quick access to major highways Check * Good daycare Check * Nice...

Hey all! I am still alive. I have been busy with the move and getting settled in. Everything has been going smoothly and falling right into place. I have a lot of topics to post on but the most important to come are the following: - My HPP (home purchase plan) results - My home shopping budget results - Do's and Don'ts of buying a home - New budget I gotta run off to a meeting so I will chat with you all later.

I closed today. It was chaotic up until the last minute but thank GOD almighty I am free at last!!! Or am I. UGH the things that need to be done. Gotta don my cap, hotpants, and mask and put a S on my chest. SUPERMOM UP UP AND AWAY!!!!!

Oh that was sooo comic book! Dude.......I KILLED today. I am tired, dehydrated, and I have a slight headache but it was all worth it. But wow! I came away with some amazing steals deals. Let me just show you rather than tell you: *Excuse the mess....we are in the process of packing* Microfiber Sofa Set Rob & Stucky (6 months old, Was kept in formal area so hardly any usage) $400 for the sofa and two chairs! Cute accent table with matching accent mirror and two candle wall sconces, Italian themed wine rack and matching decor signage. Everything for $30. Nightstand $10 Coffee Table (solid wood, huge) Bargained down to $22 I am going to restore the nightstand and stain it to match it to my bed and I will either stain or paint the coffee table to match it to my dinette set. I will also paint the legs of the sofa set (which are removable) so that they match the dinette set's color also. Currently the legs have a reddish tone I don't like. A guy is coming over to ho...

I locked in my rate at 5.375% last week. Rates had gone up since my broker sent me my GFE (Good Faith Estimate). I then bought down the rate to 4.875% which will cost 1.25 points and the will be paid by the closing costs the seller is contributing. This may mean an even lower monthly payment. I say may because I won't know until closing if the estimate on the property taxes were correct or far off. I also shopped around for quotes on hazard insurance for the house. I spoke to my future neighbor and did some research online about what kind of coverage I should have and how much. I got back 4 quotes that were pretty much identical in terms of amounts of coverage and areas covered and whose premiums ranged from $664 to $776. The only difference was the companys' reputation and ratings. I researched Demotech to find the stability rating for each company. And based off that, customer reviews, and word of mouth I went with the best company which was also the one with the high...

I have been racking my brain over ways to furnish my house but NOT bankrupt myself in the process. I created a shopping list/budget for things I will need to purchase for my first house. Even after using sale prices for pieces at modest furniture and home decor stores, my total was inching a little over $7500. This includes all appliances, living room furniture, formal area, two bedrooms, dining, office, rugs, decor, and lighting. My facial expression ----> (Translation: "Good lawd dats a lot of money!!") So I started searching through sales papers, visited some furniture stores, and found different areas to cut back on. After recalculating the shopping list, my new budget is around $6500. My current facial expression ----> (Translation: "Uhhhhh....") Now I had only been looking at brand new furniture. I came across a website, Apartment Therapy , that I found very resourceful and pretty neat. I was inspired and started searching Craigs List ...

My moving fund is coming along nicely. It is currently sitting at $208. Counting this week, I have about 4 weeks until my projected closing date. I'm going to go ahead and list my leather couches and dinette set for sale this weekend. That should bring in about $300. I'll list my two office desk and chairs after I close because will go pretty quickly. My initial budget was set at $335. After some research I came up with a revised list of moving expenses: Moving Supplies -> $50 Movers -> $75 $25 (Friends are helping. As long as they are fed they are good to go.) Truck -> $50 Cleaning of apartment after move-out -> $25 $45 (Previous listed cost was base w/o extras) Cleaning of new home prior to move-in -> $20 $55 (Ditto) Delivery fee for new appliances -> $65 $0 (Ya girl got the hook up!) Paint and tools -> $40 Repairs (the ones I will take care of) -> $50 (Spoke to a co-worker who owns a construction company and a rep at Home Depot. Par...