It wasn't meant to be

The verdict is in. We didn't quite qualify for a loan at this time. My heart sank when we heard the news. It's really dissapointing. They said they would consider it if we could put 20 percent down, but 10 is the best we can do right now. I guess that means renting for a few more years. We're OK with that though.

Honestly, I was really sad about it for a while. I even cried for a little bit. They weren't necessarily sad tears though. I wasn't that upset about not getting the house, more just so stressed out about the process that I couldn't help but have a cry when we knew it was over.

Moving forward, we're looking at it as an opportunity to get ourselves fully prepared for homeownership. I'm so lucky to have a good husband who knows we're a team, and is ready to make some sacrifices to help us get where we need to be.

To help us save, we're considering finding a less-expensive rental. We love our place and especially our location, but even $100-$200 a month less would add up quickly and help us get closer to our financial goals. We're checking listings and plan to make some calls. I'm excited about searching and am hopeful the right thing will be there, if we're going to move. Wish us luck.

Thrifty Thursday - Rethinking the budget

This whole trying-to-buy-a-house thing has Jeff and I thinking more seriously about long-term financial goals. Taking cues from Dave Ramsey, the Christian financial guru, we've written out a plan for knocking out our smaller debts first, and working our way up to the larger ones.

It's less daunting once you sit down and look at your debt piece by piece. It's actually relieving to see it all there and have a plan for eliminating it.

We've decided to make the move to one bank account to help us keep better track of what we're spending and get us on the same page. No more, you buy this and I'll buy that – just one transaction from our joint account.

Here's the plan. We have a few small debts that can be knocked out in a few months. We'll make the minimum payment on the larger ones and put any extra money towards the smaller debts. We'll have the lowest one paid off in no time. Then we'll take the money we would've been spending on that payment and add it to the next highest payment on the list, and so on. Soon we'll be down to just a few payments, build our credit, and have piece of mind knowing we're getting better control of our finances – together.

I think it's good for us and for our marriage. I'm excited to begin implementing this plan. It's going to take a little work to get any automatic withdrawals switched over to our joint account, get new checks and new debit cards, and get used to keeping track of more than our own withdrawals. We're up for the challenge though.

The next step is getting the envelope system down.

The inner thoughts of a potential first-time homebuyer

Right now it's so hard to think about anything other than buying the house. We've laughed about how ahead of ourselves we are - last night we were talking about paint colors, landscaping, and how our furniture will fit there. We laugh because we still have no idea if we'll even qualify for a loan. Even more ridiculous, two weeks ago we weren't even thinking of buying a house, we saw this one, loved it, and decided to make an offer. Is that normal?

It's hard not to think about all the reasons we may not get loan approval. It's frustrating to add up all our student loan debt and know that it may hold us back this time. Our debt to income ratio isn't exactly spectacular, but we pay our bills on time and are chipping away at our debt. That's all we can do, but it's all I can think about.

I think it's really hard not to be discouraged. We just have so many questions. We want to know what our options are. We'd like to talk to a person about a loan, not just put our information into a computer. We want to set up a meeting with the bank, but they open at 8 a.m. and close at 4 p.m. How do they expect working people to ever meet with anyone at the bank? Ugh. I'll stop ranting now.

Have any of you bought a house? Do you have any advice or home-buying tips for us? Are we crazy?

Photo via online listing of our potential home.

It's almost like HGTV ...

Well folks, we've decided to venture further into adult life and try to buy our first home. I feel like Sandra Rinomato from Property Virgins should be waiting around the corner to tell us the right thing to do ... at least I wish she was.

It's kind of scary and nerve-wrecking, but we'd like to be able to put money into a long-term investment (and have a super-nice house), rather than continuing to pay rent (in our little rented townhouse). I never thought we'd be able to afford a mortgage, but payments on a house would only cost $150 more per month than what we're paying in rent.

Here's what's so scary. We found a house close to my work that we LOVE (seriously, you should see it - it's gorgeous). We've submitted a loan application to see if we can get pre-approved, put $500 in escrow (so nobody else can bid on it for now), and made an offer on it. The offer is contingent on if we get financed, but until we know anything, I'll just have to continue fighting my anxiety (my stomach is in knots and my heart beats fast when I think about it).

As excited, nervous and anxious as I am, I know it may not work out. But everything happens for a reason. I think I'll just be relieved to know either way and find out what we can do to help the process in the future. Keep your fingers crossed!

p.s. If we get the house, you're all invited over for a party!

Photo via Google Images.