Near constantly on my mind recently is the dilemma that I face, or rather will face come August: to buy a place or not to buy a place. The true answer to that will not be known until August, as I will keep to my word to at least look in August. After all, there may be so great a deal that I would be a fool not to take it.
I do find myself checking the real estate website and app to see what is out there, if my favourite properties are still there and what new ones have popped up. Naturally I see what price people are asking for.
After all of this pondering and mulling, while I have not come up with an answer, I have at least set out some guidelines for myself as I continue this foray into the possibility of home ownership:
1) I Refuse To Be House Poor: I have seen over and over again people just barely hanging on as they live in houses that they can only just scarcely afford. I have been in the situation where all of my money is dedicated to bills and debts. It is a land of non-stop stress that I don’t want to go back to. Even worse is that in this state, you are screwed if: interest rates go up, the house needs repairs or your income drops.
2) I Refuse To Live In Someone Else’s Shoebox: I know that condos are the obvious answer for me, but I just can’t stand living in an apartment again. What’s worse is that you have all of the stresses of home ownership yet still have a landlord (of sorts) telling you what you can and can’t do with your own home . . . no thanks. If I buy, I want a place either with a workshop (or two) or space to build one (or five).
3) I Refuse to Live More Than an Hour From Work: Again, driving an hour each way to and from work is something that I have done more than once in my life. It is most assuredly not something that I am looking forward to doing again. Sure you have more time to think on the drive, but living that far out it would kill me on fuel. More than likely I would have to buy a small car to commute, unless I needed to take the truck into work that day. I would do this again if I had a family to go back to on said place out in the country, but this touches on item 4.
4) I Don’t Want To Be In Debt, Yet Still Live Alone: I don’t see the point of living that far out, yet still having nobody (except maybe a dog and a cat) to go home to. If there was a family there, someone, some people worth that sacrifice, sure. Why do this, why sacrifice just to be alone, hoping that somebody may come along? I would have to wonder if now really is the right time to do this, considering the rewards of not doing this right now.
I will admit that this dilemma is in fact a conflicting of ideals and values. Do I want freedom over a place to settle down? I want both, but if pressed, I would say that at this point in my life, freedom is winning. If my romantic/family situation changed, and there were people other than me in my life to consider, then buying a place would make more sense. Most assuredly the right woman would take care of a number of the issues listed above.
As it stands, if I stick it out until January, 2018, exactly 21 months from now, and I will be completely and totally debt free, with not only a tidy sum in my bank account but the ability to live cheaply. That means that I could finally go where I wanted and do what I wanted. That, my friends is freedom.
Yet it is also loneliness and solitude, two things that I have gotten used to, yet still dislike. I am alone, yet I don’t want to be alone. Yet, during this journey of debt elimination that I am on, it seems a necessity, at least for me, as I have no spare cash to do any sort of entertaining or dating.
I will still see what happens and continue doing what I have said: Dream for the future, Plan for the Mid-Term, yet work on the Now. I will continue to conserve cash save up my targeted Down Payment and get ready to start looking for a place in August. I will hold true to the ideals that I have set out above (number 4 being negotiable).
As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive, and keep moving forward!
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