I don’t mean to imply that you should become some sort of Conspiracy Theorist or paranoid, but you do need to question the motivation of people and organizations giving you advice.
You are the ultimate expert on your life and your experience; you know what is best for you.
It is true that sometimes you choose right, and sometimes you choose wrong, that’s life. Always, however, you learn (but I digress).
For example, what if your good friend tries to discourage you to start working out? Why would they do that?
Well, if you start to work out, then they will likely have to start working out too . . . and they don’t want to do that. (So, they have to stop you.)
I bring up this because my boss at work has (yet again) been advising and encouraging me to buy a house . . . or condo . . . or townhouse, something, anything.
Why is this bad? Well, it is his motivation that makes me question what, on the surface seems like good advice. Let me break it down for you.
After I got back from my vacation, he took his vacation not long after. So the day before yesterday (Tuesday) was the first day that he got back from his vacation.
He was asking me “You’re not going to go through another winter, are you?” Again he was making conversation and was curious if I would get a place or a room this year. Surely I would not stay in my trailer this winter . . . right?
I said that I was going to stick it out, as my next goal is to be totally debt free in seventeen months. His eyes went wide, then he went silent for a moment. (Again, never ask me a question that you don’t want the answer to.)
After that, that the sales pitch on buying a house came out. I am sure we have all heard it before so I won’t bore you with it. It included that he made most of his money in real estate.
Again, good advice so why not take it? Why question it? After all he is successful (okay not as successful as Trump, but he is doing okay). The trouble lies in two areas.
For one, he knows why I want to push off buying anything right now. Why? Well if I buy something now, I would be back to having my budget maxed out. (All that and no furniture.)
Not only that, I would still have my Wanda payments for years to come, and the only relief I would see was in seventeen months when my truck is paid off.
That place of being maxed out with no wiggle room in my budget is a place that I will do everything in my power to avoid. I have been there and I don’t want to go back.
The second reason why I question his advice lies in the fact that if I buy a place, I am not going anywhere.
My mortgage payments would nail my feet are nailed to the floor. Therefore, I would stay and be a good employee, not rocking the boat for years to come.
He is afraid of me becoming debt free and therefore free so I can leave, if I choose. Why is this? Well I have been working here for a number of years and know what to do.
I do a lot of smaller jobs around this place, sure. After the number of years that I have been here there are lots of little things that you just know, but I am not irreplaceable.
Nobody is irreplaceable. I have seen people get fired for saying as much and, oddly enough, life moves on.
This is why I say that you always need to do what is best for you and question why someone is telling you to do (or don’t) something.
I am not saying to become a self-absorbed jerk, but at the end of the day, you gotta do, what you gotta do. Keep an eye on and give a helping hand to your fellow humans though.
In the end, you do what you feel is best for you. Stick to your guns and never feel that you have to do what anyone else tells you to do, no matter who they are . . . they are not you, you are, they are not the expert on you or your life, you are.
As for me, unless the most incredible steal of a deal comes along, I am going to keep on with my plan and become totally debt free January 16, 2018.
For no reason, here is your Sunrise Shot:
As always, keep your head up, your attitude positive and keep moving forward!