Geeky Housewife

One of our goals for 2012 is to bring up our credit score number. When we bought our Jeep three years ago, my husband’s credit score was good. Two years later it was poor. That is what late payments will get you – a bad credit score. So, lesson learned – again. Pay those bills on time. We will also keep closer watch on our credit report so we can fix any mistakes that may happen in error or through identity theft.

Identity theft could really hurt our score and will take a while to sort through all the damage. Since we are planning to buy a house in the near future, we definitely do not want any surprises showing up on our credit report. A high credit score is very important for getting a good interest rate. You cannot just figure out your credit score by studying your credit report. Different agencies use slightly different formulas.

Every six months, I plan to check our credit score. There are several ways to obtain a free credit score. From what I’ve seen on the Internet, most are given as part of a free trial for a service that you can cancel at anytime. It’s important to read the fine print.

Since it is almost the new year, I will check our credit score in January and then again in June. We are paying down our debt and paying all of our bills on time. It will be fun to see just how much our credit score may change.

It is the perfect time of the year to make financial goals for the new year. Let’s hope 2012 brings prosperity and a higher credit score!

A few weeks back, I posted about my dilemma on whether to buy a Kinect or PlayStation 3 for Christmas. At the time, there was still Black Friday ahead of us and some fantastic deals out there. I held off on both since I just couldn’t make up my mind.

Fast forward to Saturday when my husband mentions his desire for a PlayStation 3 for his birthday. His birthday is December 27th – so it looks like the PS3 wins. Now to find the right PS3 bundle. It just seems a huge letdown just to buy the console. We definitely would like a little something extra with it. It does appear that you can build your own bundle at several places online – but then we have to wait for it to be shipped. Waiting – we’re not very good at it.

So it looks like soon we will have all three current console gaming systems – that is until the next big thing is released.

For the past few days, we have been out of town celebrating Christmas with family. While I look forward to our holiday travel and visit, there is nothing like returning home to your own bed and belongings. It is also a relief to see that all of our belongings are still there.

We are very fortunate to live in a secluded area but that still doesn’t mean that we are free from would-be burglars. Luckily we have neighbors who keep an eye on our home but even that may not be enough security. When we are away I like to have peace of mind that everything is OK on the home front – which is why an alarm system with alarm monitoring would be a good investment. Knowing that someone is watching over your home and property while you are away is a great comfort.

I have not done much research on home alarm systems. It is something that we never believe we need until it is too late. Our home was robbed a few years ago. They came in through the back door that did not have a deadbolt on it like the front door. The thieves didn’t take much but it was still an unsettling feeling knowing strangers had been in our house going through our stuff. So there are benefits to having a security system. I wished we had one then. While I hate preparing for worse case scenarios, I’m always glad that I did when/if that scenario comes true.

While I do enjoy the holidays, I am so glad to be back home. I do love visiting with family but really love the comforts of home, too.

First let me say that I am not one of those people who starts buying Christmas gifts the day after Christmas. But this year (2012) I plan to get a huge jump start on everything Christmas. Now I will not start immediately but definitely want to start earlier than I normally do.

Each year I go through Christmas making small mental notes about what I would do differently. The problem is that after Christmas I am usually so mentally wiped by the holiday that I do not think about the next Christmas until October. This year, however, is different. It is two days after Christmas and I feel recovered. So I will be making plans for Christmas 2012 way sooner than autumn.

I was disappointed that I did not make the first Christmas gift this year. Next year I want to make some gifts and will start as soon as possible. This really is the time to make long term plans for Christmas 2012 since it will give me the most time to work on them.

Also I plan to bake more next Christmas. I really missed even attempting to bake anything this year. Hopefully I will have a new oven by Christmas 2012.

Overall Christmas 2011 was a good one – in fact the best one in recent years. With some planning, Christmas 2012 will be awesome as well.

2012 will be a year of organization and getting our lives in order. Our home is such an disarray and needs some serious attention. But that is not the only area of our lives that we plan to work on.

We do plan to diet and become more healthy in 2012. This is a goal we start out with every year but this year we plan to really make it a priority. Also we plan to take care of our family financially. Part of that planning is checking into life insurance quotes. My husband does have insurance through his work, but we are not sure if it is enough. So buying enough to take care of our family is very important to us.

We have always heard that term life insurance was a good option since it is very affordable. It has been a while since I really read anything about insurance so I need to re-educate myself. Insurance is one of those purchases that you hate to make but are so glad you have it when you need it.

Insurance will be a top priority. First we will examine what we have and then decide how much insurance we need. We may do this early in 2012 for the sense of accomplishment. 2012 is going to be a great year.

So company is coming and you need to clean like you’ve never cleaned before? The holidays are super hectic and really who has time or the energy to spend cleaning? So if your house needs a fair amount of TLC before the guests arrive, here are some tips to get through cleaning for the holidays.

If you have guests staying with you, then actual cleaning may have to take place. Set up one bathroom as the guest bathroom and clean that one really good. Any other bathrooms should be off limits to guest. Make up some excuse like the toilet doesn’t flush properly. A chance of a backed up toilet should keep guests well clear of any bathroom.

If you do not have time to clear your clutter, hide it. Get some cardboard boxes and place stuff in it. Then stack them in the corner of a guest bedroom or somewhere else out of the way. I can’t imagine anyone will ask about cardboard boxes around Christmas. Guests will come up their own ideas about what may be in them. It could be Christmas decorations, presents, items put away to make room for Christmas decorations, etc. There are plenty of reasons that cardboard boxes would be stacked in a room this time of year.

While you may have lovely Christmas china that you cannot wait to use, hold off until it’s just your immediate family. Buy paper plates, cups, utensils for a crowd. Even consider buying aluminum foil disposable pans for cooking. Make kitchen clean up as simple as possible. There are presents to open after all.

When guests are coming, clean what you can and hide the rest. Do not stress over cleaning. Enjoy the holidays. With the extra company at your home, it is not going to stay neat and tidy anyway.

This time of year always makes me wish we had our own home – something that we owned. The holidays are full of traditions. It would be fun to start some in our own home and even host holiday parties.

Since I have been working, we have been thinking about finding a permanent home. I know we need to work with a Realtor to help us find what we are looking for. Buying a home is such a huge investment and should not be taken lightly – hence the reason we haven’t bought one before. I want to make sure we are really ready for all the expenses and responsibilities that come with owning a home.

Once we are in a home and if our situation changes, we might can make a deal to refinance mortgage rates. I worry a lot about getting locked into a mortgage rate/payment that is out of our comfort zone. At least there will be options to get a better rate and lower payment if our financial situation changes.

Although we wouldn’t qualify for a Military VA Loan, there are still some nice loan options out there especially for first time home buyers. We will have to do our homework to make sure we remember to ask all the important questions when buying a house.

While a home of our home for the holidays will be nice, it is still a dream that is a few years from being fulfilled. As long as we start to make plans today for home ownership, we will hopefully be prepared for the future.

Have you started decorating for the holidays yet? It seems people decorate earlier and earlier. I know several folks who put up their Christmas tree before Thanksgiving. When I ran across this article on 12 safety tips for the holidays, I knew it was worth sharing.

The article mentions choosing a live tree. Choose a fresh tree because older cut trees have already begun to dry out and will be less resistant to taking in water. You definitely don’t want a really dry tree to hang hundreds of little lights on. Check the bottom of a tree for resin. A fresh tree with have lots of the sticky substance.

You should read all the tips but one that is also I want to mention here is burning wrapping paper in a fireplace. Do not do this. It is dangerous and can lead to a fire. The wrapping paper burns suddenly and could cause flash fires. Also, take it from someone who has seen wrapping paper burn in a fireplace, it is usually very smoky. You can tell it is definitely not meant to burn in a fireplace.

With your Christmas lights, test your strands and extension cords. Look for exposed wire, cracked bulbs, and other dangerous problems. If you are using lights outside, make sure they are outdoor lights.

Never leave candles burning unattended. Keep those fire hazards in your line of sight and set them on level, heat resistant surfaces. It never fails. Sadly there always seems to be at least one house fire caused by candles in our town.

But read the rest of those tips and follow them. Also share your holiday safety tips, too. Let’s stay safe this holiday.

Of all the celebrations we have this holiday season, I am most looking forward to getting together with friends. Why? Well we have awesome friends but that is beside the point. We are playing Dirty Santa – a tradition that started last year and that we missed because of illness. But not this year. We will be taking vitamins and drinking orange juice so that we are all healthy and ready to party.

Dirty Santa is way better than drawing names or Secret Santa. You bring a wrapped gift to the party – then everyone draws a number. The first player can choose any gift they want. Maybe they will be drawn to the biggest or the one with the shiniest wrapping paper. They will then open their gift. Maybe they will love it or hate it. They will be lucky to make it to the end of the game with the same gift. Player two can either take player one’s gift or choose a wrapped gift. If he chooses player’s one gift, then player one chooses another gift. Play continues until everyone has gotten to choose a gift. This is where it is awesome to go last. You can choose any previously opened gift. I have been wanting to play Dirty Santa for years – so I’m really excited.

My husband has chosen his gift he will be taking. It’s OK and a pretty cool gadget so hopefully it will go over well. I’m still uncertain what to buy. It would be fantastic to choose something everyone wants but not sure that exists. Something that half of the friends would like the other half would find not so fun. They are a diverse group – so this makes it even more tough to find something that will be well received by whomever winds up with it.

I still have a few weeks – so I will just have to keep my eyes peeled for something extraordinary.

Clutter is a huge problem at our house. We have too much stuff and no place to put it. Even those items meant to hold things like bookshelves can look unruly if regular maintenance is not done to cull clutter.

It overwhelms me to tackle our clutter. This week everyone has been sick so I’ve stayed at home for two days. The first day I was also sick and didn’t get much done. By the second day, I was feeling better and ready to do some de-cluttering. Since I was easily getting lost by what to do first, I decided to tackle a small spot. I would clear a spot and then move to another one. Once a spot is cleared, no items can be placed in that space. So when I clear a part of the floor, I will not stack up other objects on clean floor spot while tackling another part of the house. So at first I will have plenty of places to shuffle around clutter but eventually those will dwindle down. Then I must do something with everything in the house and that is the end goal.

So far I only have a small spot cleared but I’m not discouraged. If I can clear some clutter each day, then I will be very happy.