HOME | what it takes to buy a home today

So many of us are thinking of purchasing our own homes and here is some pretty basic 

information to help us determine if we're ready for that challenge.

Of course, what I want and expect from a home is different from what others want and we all have different ideas of what we need from a home.  There's the differences between a 'first' home and a 'dream' home; but whether your purchasing a first home for newly weds or a second or third home midway through your journey, home is where the heart is.  In this article, they choose a range of cities with median home prices starting around $150k all the way up to $1M and tell us what it will take to get into a home in these price ranges, from your expected yearly salary to the amount you'll need to save before even attempting to get your mortgage.

The article, from 'make it', CNBC, a recognized world-leader in business news, "The salary you need to earn to be able to afford a home in 15 major US cities", gives insight into just how long it will take someone to save for the down-payment for a median priced home.  In cities from Ohio to California the standard for most of us is 20% down.  There are special circumstances that allow some to avoid down-payments. Some first time buyers and Veterans may qualify for this, but for the most part most of us will be facing this.  

The article points out that if you want to buy a home with a purchase price of $150k you will need to be earning a salary of at least $30,000/year and that it will take you (while earning $30k a year and having living expenses too) approximately 12 years to save the 20% down payment of $30,000 for a home in that price range (save $2500/year or about $210/month).  The median home value will vary according to regional and state locations so read on to see if your city made the list.

Just a note from me, and this is just my personal opinion, not to say that someone will not have the drive and determination to achieve this goal on that salary because I'm certain there are people making the sacrifices right now to achieve this, but.... $30,000/year is not much for a family to live on these days and if someone is having to pay for a home to live in(rental or otherwise), cars, and say health insurance for a family on that salary...it will be pretty difficult to set aside $2500/year for 12 years.  Now as the median home value goes up in other cities hopefully median salaries are increased as well.  Also, lets say you choose a home in a city with a median value of $200k to $300k, it will take you about 17 years to save for the down payment.  Do i need to say that I'm staring off into the sunset on that bit of information, in shock?  Ugh!

continue reading this article here

happy home hunting,  i feel like that might be sarcastic... sorry

                       xoxo, ande

FOOD | Strawberry Avocado Kale Summer Salad

With summer and the heat, a cool, refreshing salad sounds perfect.

this recipe comes from Garden & Table.  Enjoy!

Strawberry Avocado Kale Salad

Yield: 2 servings

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Total time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

6 cups baby kale {I like to add in some simple iceberg lettuce too, shredded}  PLEASE wash your lettuces and kale greens very well.  I use a strainer for the pre-chopped, bagged greens.

2 cups strawberries, washed well {use a baking soda, water mixture to get berries thoroughly clean}.

1 ripe avocado, sliced

Dressing

4 slices bacon

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds

salt & pepper to taste

Directions

Please kale, lettuce, strawberries and avocado in a large bowl and set aside.

For the dressing, cook the bacon until crisp.  Remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Crumble into small pieces, set aside.  Whisk together remaining ingredients and add bacon in, stir.

Drizzle over salad just before serving.  

Happy June 1st,

       xoxo, ande

JUNE | moodboard

it's already almost June.  was going to make a moodboard for May and it

zoomed by so quickly.... now the new month is here.

check out my moodboard in constant progress..... ♥

happy summer vibes,

          xoxo, ande

APRIL | moodboard

dreaming of ....

a woodland getaway 

elements for brand development from Lara's Wonderland ♥

a cup of tea 

adventure and discovery

Happy April Dreaming ......

                    xoxo, ande

ALWAYS ON | how we became the burnout generation

I'm sharing this article, found on TIG, {I, by the way, love their weekly articles of interest.  They find the most fascinating articles from all around.  Talk about having your fingers on the pulse.}  

This one struck me because these are issues I see affecting people close to me and even myself lately, and it is so debilitating that it can literally ruin your life.  I will say, this is a new complex for me.  The first part of my adult life was spent 'fighting the battle' with much zeal and reaping the rewards of that hard work.  Success came, and I had the ability to buy homes, land and cars, all before my mid 30's.  Now those things, which by the way provide protection from a chaotic world, seem far from attainable, even though I and my husband have completed bachelors degrees in tech fields.  I dont know if its the combination of extreme competition in the job market, the requirements of total subservience of time and self to the 'job', or our existence in social media that leads to a total disconnect from real life.  I think this article examines the differences between our image portrayed on social media, our image portrayed in the workforce and then, finally, at home and how all of the image juggling affects us.  These days I definitely see, without a doubt, that this 'ennui' is prevalent.

Maybe the insight will help us all to face it and deal.

"Technologies that mediate the self heighten consciousness, but that doesn’t mean they are empowering ... "

In December, it’s common for writers to highlight some of their best work from the year in Twitter threads. Almost without exception, these threads seem laced with self-deprecating humor, irony, or, more often, some combination of both. A more matter-of-fact or even earnest tone was somehow not an option; instead what seemed required was a kind of ironic disavowal of disavowal with regard to our online presentation: The tone foregrounds the idea that we all must put on an act that fools no one. I was sympathetic myself. Truth be known, I didn’t post such a thread precisely because I didn’t think I could pull that tone off.

That tone’s peculiar kind of self-consciousness seemed to me connected to the anecdotes of depleted willpower that Anne Helen Petersen described in “How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation.” Take, for example, Tim, who could not quite manage to register to vote ahead of the 2018 elections, or Petersen herself, who admits to what she calls “errand paralysis”: “I’d put something on my weekly to-do list, and it’d roll over, one week to the next, haunting me for months.”

Millennials, of course, are not the first to feel a persistent sense of depletion. Among the historical antecedents, as Petersen notes, is neurasthenia, a nervous condition frequently diagnosed in the 19th century. Another antecedent is acedia, a combination of indifference, apathy, carelessness, self-loathing, and sleepiness that early Christian monks called the “noonday devil.” The term referred to an inability to get things done,........

"In The Origins of Totalitarianism, Hannah Arendt argues that “totalitarianism strives not toward despotic rule over men, but toward a system in which men are superfluous.” Superfluity, as Arendt uses the term, suggests some combination of thoughtless automatism, interchangeability, and expend-ability. A person is superfluous when they operate within a system in a completely predictable way and can, as a consequence, be easily replaced. Individuality is worse than meaningless in this context; it threatens the system and must be eradicated."

                    continue reading at Real Life ....