Lucille Ball has been quoted saying “If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it. The more things you do, the more you can do”. I guess you could say that I have been asking myself to do a lot lately. I also just decided to add another big life moment onto my to-do list: Start looking for my own place.

At first this decision excited me. I could buy a place, make it my own and live in my preferred solitude. I would check the real estate app that I have pretty regularly to see what is out there in my price range.

That is where the excitement started to fade. Even in this receding economy, my budget is tinier than I realized. There are so many factors to consider: amortization, down payment, contract fees, condo fees, insurance, utilities that aren’t covered by condo fees, location… then when you get all of that figured out you remember that you still need to afford to eat, put gas in your car (oh yeah, and own a car along with all of it’s potential repairs!) and still have a little to save each month for your social life.

I suppose that this is a quirk of being an adult. Can I hand in my adult card and go back to digging holes in the garden like I did when I was 3??? Jokes aside, there is a lot to consider. My paranoia is that I will forget to consider something and get myself in a pickle.

I’ve even gone and looked at sales centers for upcoming condos. I had to remind myself that they have a job to sell things and that pressuring people may be their way to do it. I have had to walk away to further assess what I want, how long I am willing to wait for it and what all of it will cost me. They like to throw in the phrase (multiple times) that the cost is bound to go up as their build progresses. I had to remind myself at that point that I cannot make a rash decision on something so important solely due to a small increase in price. Doing that could result in me missing a different place that I will like even more. If I don’t find that better place, it would be worth the small increase in price to know for sure.

I know that I am the first person to go through this experience. I want to hear from you what your experience was like and tricks that you’ve picked up on the way to keep you from becoming completely overwhelmed with all items to consider. I am thinking about going to talk to a financial advisor to get some advice on the financial front, have you taken that route? Would you recommend it? Let me know!