Decision Made...

After  months of thought...and deciding...and rethinking...and so on...I have decided to put the house purchase on hold for a year.  I had thought that when Dad moved down here at the end of the school year, I would buy a condo or small house.  And while I could do it...I can barely do it.  And I'm just not comfortable with that.  I feel like for the first time in my life, I'm in a really good spot financially, and in the next few months my car will be paid off, so things will only get better.  If I jump the gun and buy a house too soon, I run the risk of setting myself back financially.  And I'm just not willing to do that.  So I'm going to rent for a year and reevaluate.  I know that renting is "throwing away money".  But there are times when buying is not the right option either, and I believe this is the case for me right now.  A year can make a huge difference for me.  I feel really good about this decision.  Tomorrow and next Saturday I'm taking a 1st time home buyers class, which will give me many benefits when the time comes.  Another year will give me a year's saving for a down payment.  All my ducks will be in order so I'll be ready to pull the trigger when the right opportunity presents itself.  I've been looking around for about 5 months or so for houses in my price range - which for a single, 3rd year teacher is not very high! - and there's not a lot out there.  They all require a lot of work.  Translation:  you buy them cheap, but need money for renovation.  So there.  I love making a decision.  Especially when you've the research and really weighed the pros and cons so you can really confident about the decision.  Yay!  Now...just gotta find an apartment!!!