Moving Forward

So, we're moving. I know, I know! Most of you already know this information as we're pretty excited about it and y'know us, we can't really keep exciting news to ourselves very well. But what you might not know is why we are moving, again. 

We've moved a lot since we've been together. Heck, before Chris met me I moved even more! I feel like I've moved so many times in my adult life I could practically pack in my sleep I'm so used to doing it by now.

For some of those moves, it wasn't our choice to move quite yet. We've had to move a few times for jobs as they kinda want superintendents to live in a particular apartment to be accessible to the tenants (and to save the company money by having the supers live in the building on a low floor where it's cheapest) but that also led to us having to move out of our apartment, too when we left the job(s). (Technically there were two jobs... I was a leasing agent at one job and had to move out because of management, but I digress...!)

Now that we're retired we kinda get to decide when and where to live without having a boss tell us what to do -- other than God, He kinda still gets a say...Well... a big say....

We moved to the current apartment we're in with good intentions of staying here a very, very long time. It's a two-bedroom, 1.5 bath apartment. It seemed big enough, but it turned out to be a little too small for long-term occupancy. Having said that, we still planned on staying as the rent is good and all utilities are included. 

Then, we started to look at houses to rent as adoption is still at the forefront of our minds. Rental houses are expensive and even with our decent sized retired income, we recognize the need to save more than we spend.

We really thought long and hard about moving out of the city, specifically Cornwall. Cheap housing, small town and near the water. All things that appealed to us for one reason or another, but it still didn't work out with the numbers and owning a house with my slight physical disability seemed impractical. Right as we anticipated finished to pay off our mortgage, we would've had to turn around sell and either buy or rent an apartment anyhow. When you're disabled stairs are not your best friend. I know what you're thinking, "Buy a bungalow, Rosie!" They're too expensive. It just didn't fit into our budgeting number crunching. 

As it is advantageous to stay in the city, keep the same doctors, chiropractor, dentist, etc. we currently have but just find a little bit bigger living space. I mentioned to Chris this one condo building I've had my eye on for many years. He said, "No." I conceded. We kept looking. But that condo building just wouldn't leave my mind! It kept nudging me and so I asked Chris again. "No!" He said.

I prayed about it, a lot.

I kept searching other avenues, a lot.

I crunched the numbers over and over again.

Prayed about it all some more.

One day, almost out of the blue, Chris said "Yes."

That same day I found a condo for rent in the building I had my eye on. Two days later, we met with the owners and we were approved for the lease!

This new space is $50 more a month, with indoor heated parking, all condo amenities, washer/dryer/dishwasher and 250 more square feet. Enough space for me to have a little crafting nook and Chris gets a workshop in the basement, as a bonus. Sweet!

We can live here as long as they'll have us. It's affordable and suits our needs if we do have a child, but even if we don't, it's not so overwhelming that we'll think, "Why did we move here?". Plus, the living space isn't so big that we can't manage it ourselves as we get older.

Chris and I have peace about the decision we made. We feel like we've made a step forward on the journey in which God is leading us -- especially because we think we'll still be parents one day.

We've saved for first and last month's rent, plus moving costs. We'll be paying for it all with "cash". No need to worry about our budgeting. We are still on track.

More than likely we'll end up buying our own condo in the building in the semi-distant future. No rush. We can settle in and rent for a while.

I'm looking forward to decorating our Christmas tree this year in the new solarium window (which we'll also be my crafting area).

Furthermore, I'm happy Chris is thrilled with the move, too. It was hard for us to let go of the dream of not owning a home. Actually, that was really hard. We always pictured a backyard with lush green grass and a park nearby. It would've been nice to have a rec room in the basement for the kids and a completely decked out kitchen for Chris to do his cooking while I could do my baking. But living in a condo we'll force us out of the house more, to the park, the museums, the library...

Sometimes, those dreams are our dreams but not God's. I think, in this case, we were dreaming our own dreams for a while. This condo suits where we're going in life and fits into our financial budget. We are so thankful for what we do have.

I encourage you all, to keep pursuing God's dreams for you. Put aside your own wants for a minute and just see what Heavenly Father speaks to your heart. Hopefully, you'll feel peace from The Lord like we did. 

The dreaded letter arrived

Yesterday we opened up the mailbox and Chris saw there was a letter addressed to me by the Canada Revenue Agency. I always dread hearing from them. Typically it's just bad news; "We need more of your money! Give it to us now!"

If you remember from my post near the beginning of October we had received my tax return and then subsequently a week later another letter from CRA stating they were reviewing medical expenses of  $6,511. They wanted us to resend the medical receipts so that everything could be verified.

After contacting our accountant and resending the medical receipts we just sat waiting and praying that whatever answer we received back wouldn't be too crazy. Honestly, I totally expected CRA to say they wanted us to send them more money and very possibly over six thousand dollars. My medical expenses were legit but you know never know what they will think is legitimate no matter how much documentation you send them.

So, opening this letter yesterday was just something I had to brace myself for. I was determined that whatever the end result would be I would stay positive and find a way to pay them.

I had to read the letter three times, guys. They accepted ALL our medical receipts! We are in the clear and my 2016 taxes are officially fully completed! *happy dance* It's not enough just to file on time. There always some response from CRA, sometimes negative, but this time it was positive!

I cried. Oh, I cried happy tears! Good news! Oh, The Lord has blessed us! If there had been a bill it would've set us back another year, but nope... no bill... Both of us got on our knees and cried... So thankful for God's provision.... We are so reliant on His timing and we knew that no matter what answer we received back from Canada Revenue Agency, with Heavenly Father's help, we'd pay.

We have yet to hear back from CRA's review of Chris' 2016 taxes. If you remember, they're reviewing $1500 of medical claims as well and Chris just submitted the taxes for previous years he didn't even know were not filed. So, we still have a little ways to go in our waiting but one more hurdle is done! There are days when we feel Tax Debt will always be our ball and chain... but hopefully, we're wrong. We are trying to
stay optimistic as Chris and I still wade through the remainder of our debt and just take one day -- or rather one letter -- from CRA at a time....accepting hardship as a pathway to peace.

For now, we can just take a moment and be thankful for this good news as we approach the end of 2017.

Who's the Boss?

I heard this really great call on the Dave Ramsey Radio show recently and it kind of stuck with me. This guy calls in and starts talking about his budget and how he's just not feeling comfortable with how he's budgeting is going. He's got no money really, for all the things he needs to pay for. That sounds like a lot of us, doesn't it? We're stretched so thin, how we can we make enough for all the things we need!

Well, Dave, in all his Dave Ramsey wisdom, says "Who's the boss here? Your budget or you? You tell your money what's going to happen and if your budget is so tight you can stretch anything more out of it, then you have an income problem."

When Chris and I were first beginning this Baby Step plan, our money was tight. We set the numbers so tight in our budget that we didn't have any spending money to do whatever we wanted with it. We slashed everything, down to the bare minimum, but we forgot about "Fun Money" because, really, there was no room in the budget for any fun.

Once we got a few debts out of the way with we incorporated our own personal pocket money back into the budget. It took a lot of work to get there, but if we didn't include some fun money in this budget Chris and I would've never stuck with the budget very long. I know we would've cheated on this agreement to budget and eventually, this idea of getting out of debt would've been tossed out the window just like all those other attempts at doing good in our lives, too. We would've failed, and you might too if you don't incorporate some a Pocket Money category in your budget.

See, I know what you're thinking now. You're saying, "Rosie, how can I have spending money when I can't even afford food every week?" I hear you, and I'll tell you exactly what Mr. Ramsey said. That means you have an income problem. Think outside the box! What can you do to make more money in order to enjoy your life a little more? What side gig will give you the most reward without the most effort? Delivering pizzas? Going to retirement homes and reading to people? Working an extra shift at your current job every week?

If you don't have any money in the budget for your own spending money, you're going to fail at this. This is a natural response to making a change in life. You have to still be able to have fun while you're making a radical about-face in your life.

I will tell you something really interesting. Our spending money is an equal amount. You know what the most awesome part is involving that money? We don't have to answer to anyone else about how we spend it. We don't record it anywhere. We take it out in cash and that's it. I can buy whatever I want for myself with my money (which usually means craft supplies). Chris can buy whatever he wants as well and doesn't have to answer to me for it. Sometimes we decide to save up for something bigger together or save for several months in a row for something really important for ourselves. We love that ability!

We relish that. We really feel a sense of freedom and that freedom means this budgeting thing is actually working. Do it, try it. Still stay within your means, but give yourself some "me" money and see how much it makes a difference for a couple of months start with $10 or $20 but stick to that number and don't feel guilty for whatever you decide to buy yourself.