Laundry Day by Sascalia, mixed media collage painting on wood, $15

We all have certain milestones in our life that we are hoping to make … graduate from college (check), get a real job I love with my own cubicle & business card (check), get married (check).  Now I want to buy a house, something Mr. Juicefairy and I  are in the process of doing now.

OK, so technically I own a house already.  Mr. Juicefairy bought it before we met so I never went through the home buying process.  I have never had a deed to a house in my name.  This is the milestone that I am about to pass.

Our cozy little 2/1 in downtown Orlando is starting to feel a little suffocating and limiting.  We love to entertain but when more than 4 people are in the living room at a time the room is just uncomfortable and we can’t fit a dining room table.  Mr.  Juicefairy and I  have to keep our clothing and belongings in separate bedrooms because there in no room in our “master” bedroom.  There certainly is no room for a baby if one of those were to come along eventually.

So after saving and saving and saving we decided once we got married we would buy a house.  I was ready for the most exciting romantic adventure of our marriage!  It would be fun and like shopping at the mall of your dreams for the biggest and most expensive handbag you have ever bought.  Yeah … doesn’t really happen like that.

House shopping is really just giving me a lot of anxiety.  Even though we have been researching in preparation to buy a house for over a year I have been filled with a lot of doubts as to whether we were picking the right area to buy, whether the house is too big or too small, and whether in the end we have picked the perfect home for our needs.

Also the market is flooded with short sales and foreclosures.  That is great when it comes to price, but it causes this horrible waiting game to find out if your offer was accepted by the lender.  You have to be prepared to fall in love with a house and then lose it just as easily.

We have been waiting since December to find out if the offer we put on a short sale has been accepted.  Now the lender says it will be another 4 - 6 weeks to get an answer.  They are flooded with paperwork for short sales and they don’t have the man power to get to all of them in a timely manner.

Meanwhile the federal government put a home buyers tax credit on the table.  It is a hefty chuck of change making the market competitive because while all buyers want it they lose out if they wait too long — to get the credit you have to have a contract on a house by April 30th.

This week we saw a house we might even like more than the one we have an offer pending on, but it is another short sale.

Do we give up on the house we put an offer on and gamble that we will get the other house in time to get the tax credit?

Which one needs more repairs or will have better resale value?

Are we going to still have our sanity if we have to wait three months to hear if an offer was accepted on this new house?

And what if it doesn’t pass inspection?  We will be giving up the house we have an offer pending on now?

Maybe I am just an impatient person and that is why it is hard.  Why does this make me so anxious?  Did you go through this when you bought your first house?  I will get to the fun part soon right?

The following coupons are offered by guest poster, Rather Be Shopping.  Thank you Kyle for all of the great coupons …

My wife and I have been doing some home decorating projects the past few weeks. Which means she has been telling me what to do I have been temporarily obliging. We updated some family pictures hanging on the walls with new frames, painted the family room, and added some new decor to our bathrooms. We didn’t spend much money doing these things. We do all the painting ourselves and pick up a lot of our wall decor and various home decor at yard sales, thrift stores, and at Target.com or All Posters.com. Here are a few of my favorite ways to decorate without breaking the bank.

• De-Clutter and Organize - I walked into a friend’s family room a couple weeks ago and said, “Wow, I like what you guys did in here. Is this coffee table new?” She said, “No, we just organized and got rid of a lot of clutter.” It totally blew me away. Before you do anything major to a room, first simplify the space by getting rid of clutter, toys, dust collectors, and knick-knacks. I think you will be amazed at the difference it makes. As it turns out, their coffee table was not new, you could just see it now!

• Find The DaVinci In You- One of the frugaliest ways to change the look of a room is to paint it yourself. If you have a Home Depot in the town you live in, go there on weekends (typically Saturday mornings), and take advantage of their free paint classes. They teach techniques like faux painting and how to pick the right supplies and colors for your project.

• Try Re-Arranging First - Instead of going out and buying a bunch of new stuff, first try re-arranging the furniture and wall decor that you do have. You just may be amazed at how much you like the new look.

Please feel free to add to my list! Looking forward to your ideas and comments. Here are some online coupons that hopefully can save you some money on your next decorating project.

All Posters.com

Save 22% Off your Entire Online Purchase

Coupon Code: GRAMMY

Expiration: 2/06/10

See All: All Posters Coupons

Art.com

Save 15% Off your entire online order

Coupon Code: WIND Expiration: 2/06/10

See All: Art.com Coupons

BlindsGalore.com

Save 15% Off your Online Order + Free Shipping

Coupon Code: COMPLETE15

Expiration: 2/08/10

See All: BlindsGalore Coupons

Home Depot.com

Save $50 off your $500+ Bath Product order

Coupon Code: BATH50

Expiration: 2/28/10

See All: Home Depot Coupons

Linens N Things.com

Save 14% Off your $99+ Online Order

Coupon Code: CUPID14

Expiration: 2/14/10

See All: Linens N Things Coupons

Mikasa.com

Save 20% Off any 1 Item in your Online Order

Coupon Code: TWENTY

Expiration: 2/15/10

See All: Mikasa Coupons

Smith + Noble.com

Save 20% Off your Online Order w/ Free Shipping

Coupon Code: SAVE-OPCM

Expiration: 2/28/10

See All: Smith & Noble Coupons

Target.com

Save $5 Off your $50+ Online Purchase (Discount Appears at Checkout)

Coupon Code: None Needed

Expiration: 2/28/10

See All: Target Coupons

Valentine’s Day may be a silly holiday designed by the greeting card companies to make money in between other holidays, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t embrace the silliness.  It doesn’t hurt to tell someone that we love them on the 14th.  We should just do it for free!  Try one of these sweet ways to say I love you for free.

 Pack your loved one’s lunch and leave a note on their food. It just might be the sweet surprise they need. Idea via GiversLog.  Photo by essellessell

Use one of Twig & Thistle’s printable bag designs to package some sweet treats for your sweetie. Baked goods are always a crowd pleaser. Valentines bag for brownies here and floral

Give your loved one daily reminders of why you love them so much.  You can buy the jar and reminders at Pixie Dust Gifts but I think making your own with handwritten notes and a tag could be just as lovely.

Make breakfast in bed with love.  All you need is a heart shaped cookie cutter.  See instructions here.

I love this easy to make Valentines Day kit from Design Sponge. Take it to go for a romantic picnic together. You can find the instructions on how to make here.

Rubber Doily Coasters, Set of 4 - $19

I saw these over at Oh Joy and I loved them so much I had to share them!  Check out the other cute stuff at Gretel.

Texting services are marked up up to 6,500% sometimes, reports CNN.

Today there was a really interesting article on CNN’s website called America’s Biggest Rip-Offs.  It was a list of products we frequently buy that have astronomical markups.  It was good to know where you should definitely not spend your money.

Here are a few highlights …

• Text Messaging - Costs your wireless carrier one third of a cent to deliver but the customer gets charged 10 cents incoming, and 10 cents outgoing.  Even with unlimited texting plans the carrier is making a big profit!
• Movie Theater Snacks - Theaters don’t make much off of ticket sales so they mark up snacks for profit.  I think most of us figured this out when they saw a price tag of $5 on a box of Gummy Bears.  It’s always good to remember how much those gummies cost at Walgreens when you are tempted for a sweet treat.
• Free Credit Report Websites - These sites charge monthly fees to regularly check your credit report when you can get your credit report from the Federal Trade Commission free once a year.  Warning - They automatically charge you for the monthly service when you check your credit report on freecreditreport.com
• Name Brand Pain Medicine - CNN notes that a name brand, like Advil, has a 160% markup on their products.  Always buy generic.  It is the same stuff for a lot less.
• Wine at Restaurants - CNN reports that restaurants mark up cheaper bottles by an average of three times the retail price.  You might want to only splurge on wine at dinner once in a while because once again you are not getting your money’s worth.
• Read the rest of the article at CNN, for the other tips.  It is a good reminder to the consumer, that you are not always getting what you pay for.