What does a balanced life look like to you?  It is different for each of us. 
How does where you live and work impact this?  
Although not related directly to real estate, life balance makes that part of my life possible. I have been pondering this a lot as our family heads back into the craziness of the school year (watch out PK & 1st grade, here we come!).  
Career..............Family..................Volunteering................​Self-care / Health...............Friends 
Most of us take our life for granted until we see someone else struggle.  Some of those close to me have been battling cancer, being part of their battle makes me reevaluate & question everything.  And repriorize. 

So....how are YOU doing?  Remember to listen to your inner voice, it helps you keep life in balance.  

Our monthly DATE NIGHT is tomorrow night & I am pumped!  Having time to hangout with my spouse without kiddos is something sweet for me, and helps us maintain our 'balance'.  
​Find yours, life is so much better with it.  
​Have a good week peeps. 

Back to school (excitement!!!), but it also means being more scheduled (we HAVE to be somewhere by x:xx).  If it was just me, this is a relatively easy task, but with kiddos, its just more complex.  
I am a routine person, but now I have to train others to be a routine person.  
There are TONS or resources online for this, with suggestions and ideas of what to do.  I was surprised to see I WAS doing most of them already (prep the night before--pick out clothing & make lunch, practice before school starts, etc.).
THEN WHY DOES IT STILL FEEL LIKE A STRUGGLE TO GET OUT OF THE DOOR ON TIME? Argh.   
So I decided to step back and see what I could change in our house to make this routine even more streamlined.  
New stuff I discovered I could add:
1) Make a checklist/chart so kiddos can see what they need to get done every morning. Ours is in the kitchen (I got from Etsy--Chalkboard Wall Stickers --I LOVE this site! )
2) Make getting to play a learning game on the ipad once DONE with breakfast, not DURING breakfast (its amazing how much more gets eaten). Breakfast area is right next to charging station.
3) TIDY up--put everything away the night before--this also makes the weekends have less hectic--less piles of stuff to address.  Toys put away, papers filed (tried to automate most of them), and laundry folded/put away. (if you don't have built in storage, actively work on making some).
4) pre-load car as much as possible the night before.
5) make coffee at work rather than bring from home (then I can't spill on myself enroute!)

What I have continued to do:
1) have kiddos pick out clothing the night before
2) make lunches the night before (for both myself & kids) 
3) have dishes laid out for everyone's breakfast 
3) set a 'warning' alarm that we need to leave in 10 minutes 

There still will be meltdowns (Mama, I just can't wear my car socks with that dress!), but at least the meltdowns happen when everything else seems to be calm rather than already being way behind. 
Other resources
Good luck on having a great year :)

  

Some people can just save money. Others can't spend it fast enough. 
Which one are YOU?  
When it comes to real estate, having a healthy down payment is essential, with over 20% down payment being ideal in most loan officers eyes.  
For example, after looking around, you come to realize that most houses you are interested in are between $175,000-$210,000, which translates to a 20% down payment of $35,000-$42,000.
WHOA is the look most new homebuyers give me. 
Rather than get pessimistic, THINK--lets use technology to help you get there! 
What you say?  Apps. I mean, honestly, most of us are already on our phones ALL THE TIME. 
I first played around money saving apps to prep to teach my First Year Seminar class, because come on, money management (link) is HUGE for a college student too! 
All that I tried (mint, digit, stash, acorn, robinhood), all had their pros and cons.
Do you know about and have interest in stocks? Well, Stash, Acorn and RobinHood might be your cup of tea. 
Just want to save without having to overthink it?  Digit is your bet. 
Want to be better at planning what you spend and see where you money goes?  Mint is your thing. 
It will STILL TAKE TIME to save, but these apps help you get there.  

My favorite by far is Digit. It analyzes my spending patterns by linking to my bank account.  Based on the history of spending, it creates an algorithm to 'auto save' based on what I am able to save comfortably. I LOVE this, I don't have to remember to save and I don't miss the funds either.  Mentally, it works for me.  

• Low Balance Protection another sweet feature of Digit, if my balance gets low in my bank account, it transfers funds from Digit to my account. 
  
• You can set goals for your savings, for example $10,000 by 1/1/2021 (maybe for a down payment perhaps, hint, HINT). 
• You can see how much you save daily (see below right screenshot) and a weekly bank account balance text is sent every Monday morning. 
• Have MULTIPLE savings goals (see below left screenshot). 
• FInally, you can 'BOOST' (lightening bolt in below left pic) your savings on any of your savings goals. ​

So if you have a dream house but no FUNDS, start saving!  Do what works for you; let technology help you on your way to accomplishing your dreams.