Its not a waste and you can always resell it if it doesn't work:) I totally forgot about beast, I want that for dd7 when we get to that level:) I need to go see what they are up too, I haven't seen anything since it first came out. Spoken like someone who does not have a visual learner, especially one with CAPD:)

If your in So Cal check out Sky Mountain Charter School or another IEM school, we used them and talk about being spoiled! They give you $1600 per child, per year and can get pretty much anything (including classes like art, dance, karate ect) except religious stuff and they even work with unschoolers as long as your making progress. I used pretty much what ever I wanted and the teacher would translate what we were doing into state standards. Only thing I didn't like was the fact we had to drive to LA for STAR testing and NEVER miss the required monthly meeting. You miss 2 or have to reschedule and they boot you out. You don't show for STAR and they drop you immediately, we had the flu that week and it wasn't pretty, especially since it was our 2nd strike since we'd had to reschedule a monthly ES meeting at the beginning of the year due to the flu. Other then making the required meetings they leave you alone and I LOVED having $3,200yr for school for the girls, since dd7 was in kindy she didn't need much and I was able to shift that money over to dd13 who used more expensive stuff and was going though multiple levels in a year. I really miss that budget lol:)

They already are resolving, we just had a really rough quarter as a family which put us behind and we were trying to rush through to catch up which is stressful. The program works for us, just not so much when were feeling the time crunch because then its very obvious were more or less using K12 as a spine and I'm having to search out visual materials which is takes time. The new stuff has those visuals built in but I doubt its at all rigorous, it just doesn't seem high school level to me even though they claim it is. It will make a good supplement though:)

Its the last day of the semester with our charter and this quarter was really hard on us. So tempted to drop the charter and go independent but I know I need to be accountable to someone or else I let things side. Shiny, fun materials are calling my name... Who else has grass is greener syndrome? (In case your wondering, no I won't drop the charter but I will order the shinny stuff to supplement the lessons, I'm very much a teach to the objective kinda person:)

Looks like they added stuff for Jr High and High school. I've only looked at a little bit of the sample stuff but it looks interesting and like it might be less like pulling teeth with my visual learner. Are all the classes animated like that?

I found this http://www.havefunwithhistory.com/movies/ which has lots of videos that will match up with the book but I was hoping someone has already searched out videos that align with the book chapters.

I'd love it if it were 300 miles, in this case its almost 2000 miles which makes me nervous.

I wish it was an option, this past year was the first time we've lived in a house in a quiet area and its been the best we've had. dd can not handle the noise from the neighbors, it over stimulates her and sets her off. The kid can't handle the trees outside making noise at night or the stupid raccoon on the roof. Neighbors set her off badly, we have some that like to sit out on the deck sometimes and talk, those are not good nights for us:( She REQUIRES silence to help keep her calm:( There are other issues too like smoke which comes inside our unit and sets off everyones asthma. They also don't allow you to have your own w/d and dd has a severe detergent allergy so I would be stuck washing all her stuff by hand which she then complains is to stiff because its lined dried (were having to line dry right now which she doesn't like, sensory issues suck) We lived in apts for 12 years of her life and it was horrible with her sensory issues. Trying to get her an eval again to start working with a therapist, was supposed to get the Autism stuff done this week but little one has the flu and our ride understandably wouldn't give us a ride to the clinic an hour away for the eval so we had to reschedule for Feb. Lots going on with this kid:( Our life is dictated by her needs and I'm just trying to figure out how to meet those needs within a very limited budget. My grandma owns a cabin next to my dads land, I'm guessing my dad will buy his sibs shares when she passes (she's not doing well according to dad, I've only seen her twice since I was a small child) like he did to the land she already transfered. Wonder if he would sell it to me? He owns all the land around it on that side of the road. Its something to think about.. Anyway, turns out I'm not the only crazy one, did you know Muslim law forbids interest? I didn't but I totally agree with the thinking on why its forbidden http://islam.about.com/od/business/a/mortgage.htm I will, just need to look in the right places, my dad said he would pick up the local freebie papers and have a look since he understands what I'm looking for.

I get it people, I don't expect you to understand and I know most people do not share my beliefs/feelings about taking a mortgage from a bank, especially a long term one is just not something I am comfortable with. I am of the mind set of not being a consumer, call me a hippy if you will. SSI is not my only income, I do have a JOB, one I work hard at because heaven knows SSI alone does not pay the bills, especially in this state. However its causing family issues and I'm going to have to quit to care for my disabled child, she has not done well at all the past 6 months while I was working a lot of hours so we need to reevaluate and make a plan and get the bills down even more while still meeting her needs, our current situation is not sustainable and will burn though that tax return quickly if I am not working. Buying a home would be one way to cut the rent in half and free up a lot of money so I was exploring the option more. Some of you obviously have some very strong feelings and thats fine but you need to respect that others don't share them. Its a pass the bean dip issue.

Thats where owner financing comes in, there are places out there, you just have to find them. I'm just feeling the pinch because its tax return time (I did work a lot this year so I will get a decent return), pretty much the only time of year I will have money and I'd like to use it to make a very small down payment and be able to actually plant a garden this year and be able to can and take some stress off of feeding us. I was looking at properties today that are back east that are affordable to me and are owner financed, I'm just worried about moving there and what happens if we don't make it? I had hoped to find a small house on land but it looks like I will have to do plan B which is start with land and travel trailer then go from there. I could always just live in a green house like one family did while saving money:) Seriously they did! I talked with my dad and he went over what he did when he first moved back there to raw land and it sounds reasonable and a lot of others have done the same thing. I spent a month living off the grid last summer out on my parents property before the house was built and it was really nice. It could actually be a good bonding experience for us without all the electronics keeping everyone busy. This isn't possible in the area were in now, my parents were not even allowed to live in the travel trailer on the property while the house was being built so can't just pitch a tent so to speak in this area due to an obscene amount of rules/permit issues. Very possible back east.

Many places line their pockets while paying peanuts. Look at Australia, they pay a much higher wage, something like $15-17hr and BigMacs are still only $5. I don't buy the whole prices will go crazy thing when I look at other countries.

You mean there are places with decent houses/apts that have reasonable rent that don't involve living in crack neighborhoods? I haven't found to many of those. I think people need to be paid a living wage so they can afford their houses and I don't really think banks should be involved in the process. I come from the school of hard knocks and I've come to believe in paying cash out right for things. A lot of people do it, its a matter of getting out of the consumer mindset. I will NEVER buy a new car again, thats what made me start realizing what a scam banks are. I don't think banks really should be involved. Pay people a living wage so they can afford to actually save up to buy a home. Thats kinda how it is now already imo. We are very low income as are most of the people I know, it is a nightmare trying to find a place to live that you can afford and isn't a health hazard. You can, you just need to have perfect credit and go though the USDA and they put strict rules in place like no home based business or things to produce income on the land you bought which I plan to do so that rules out the program for me. I've thought about it, I read the book "Trailer Steading" and found it inspirational, I just can't find any places like that with seller financing. I hear about lots of folks who have done but I can't seem to find any of those deals myself or the property is very overpriced and wanting at least $10k or more down. My bio dad bought land back east and paid it off before moving to it, lived in a converted school bus until they could afford to move a trailer in. Those things are $$ to move, at least $3k just to move them. Then he slowly built his house while living in a very run down trailer, I spent 1 summer there and it was not pleasant, I remember lots of mold and rot:(

To me it feels like cheating a person. Say $100 per year or something to cover the cost of someone to keep a record of the payments or something. By the time you finish paying off a house in 30 years you have paid for that house 2-3times over in interest which is insane. If I didn't think the kids would kill each other I'd be happy to go live in a Tiny House on an acre of land because that would be well within our budget:) I'm not looking for a big or fancy house, just a place to call our own:)

Actually it wouldn't occur to me to charge interest on a loan, I can see a reasonable flat fee but interest? No, at this point I almost see it as immoral to charge interest.

No worries there, I want the smallest I can get away with. I do not like debt.

Thats part of the problem, I can't save up more then $2k at any given time or they kill my dd's SSI which we need. There is also just no money left over each month since we pay high rent. I've been looking for a year but the only rent to own type stuff I have seen they are asking insane prices for shacks, like 3rd world shacks they are so bad and they seem to ask for 50% cash down payment.

I hadn't had a single thing go on my report in 5 years and I couldn't even rent an apt much less get a car loan:( Don't believe them about 3 years unless your doing things to raise your score like using a credit card.

I hate banks and I swore I'd never get another loan again. I have a seriously visceral response to the idea of interest. I don't like it and it just seems to be a way to stick it to people even more. I've been making calls this morning and its looking like its my only choice:( So I have questions: Say I get stuck with a 30 year mortgage, if I manage to pay it off in 5-7 years do I still have to pay all that extra interest? A $50k house will come with $70K in interest (just used the default 7% in the calculator, no idea what rate I could even get) over 30 years and I am not ok with that. Where would I even go for a loan when I'm low income and poor credit? Most of the stuff on my report is old but its still drags down my score and since I won't use credit cards (don't make enough money to qualify for one anyway I dont think and there's never enough money left over to save up for a secured one, getting a mortgage would cut what I pay for rent in half) its virtually impossible to get my score up. USDA Rural loans are out because you can't have a home based biz on the property or make it income producing which I plan to do.

*HUGS* btdt, your son and dd are screaming "I HAVE PYROLURIA!!!!!!!" Most Dr's have never heard of it and some even poo poo its existence but its very real and treating it makes Bipolar and the hell of raising these kids go away. I wish someone had told me about this disease years ago, could have saved a lot of heartache in our family.

I HATE electric stoves with a passion, I found another house that we all like but it was build in 1915 (most of the area houses are old), looked like bottom floor has been gutted and renovated, top floor with 2 bedrooms hasn't been touched. Its $10k more, smaller lot but I love the pics. Its got a gas stove:) lol:) We have an electric one right now for the 1st time and ugh, you can not cook a decent meal on this thing and I'm always melting stuff on it. Its got a smooth top and unless you look at the control panel you can't tell its hot by looking at it and its takes forever to cool down and I'm always sitting something plastic on the stove... I'm down to 1 burner, keep forgetting to pick up a razor blade. I don't care if I have to drill a hole in the wall and attach it to a 10gallon propane tank, my own home will have a gas stove! Anyway, this other house has amazing stone detail work inside and out, I just don't like its being on .14acres and you can't have chickens or any live stock for that matter. At least its in town where its not a 30 min drive to the grocery store like now. I will be looking for creative financing options and honestly the idea of getting a loan from a bank just creates a visceral reaction in me.

*hugs* I have a 13YO dd too and its HARD. I don't know how were going to survive her teen years:(

Holy cow there is a lot to check into! I never would have thought of a lot of these things.

nah, it just listed the neighborhood which I deleted. Its a poorer area out in the county.

I found a house/property thats in our price range and I can pay it off in 7 years without to much trouble and pay less then were paying now in rent. The age makes me nervous because I currently live in a house built in 1905 and I know how cold these places can get but I live in a big old drafty as heck house that hasn't been maintained and is rotting so I don't know if thats something to go by. The details: Official property, sales, and tax information from county (public) records as of 12/2012: Single Family Residential 1,120 sqft Stories: 1 story Foundation: Concrete Block County: 2 Bedrooms Lot Size: 10,367 sqft Heating: Gravity (huh?) Fireplace Tax Rate Code Area: 1 Bathroom Built In 1925 Roof: Steel Subdivision: Says Great 2 bedrooms one bathrooms home w/ renovated roof and vinyl siding! On another listing it says it currently has no heat source but I can see a chimney. This is not a big deal to me as I plan to build a rocket mass heater for our home heat anyway which is legal in the area:) The asking price is $16.5k LESS then what its assessed at so I'm guessing its got something wrong but what? I have never bought a home before so I am a bit clueless. Looks like its been empty for a while based on landscaping.