of freedom and financial lectures
What is it about some people that makes them the default authority about what other people should do with their money? Once again I find myself on the recieving end of a financial lecture from my coworkers based on my personal financial decisions.
I don't think they are bad decisions, maybe not the "ideal" thing that I should be doing, but they are entirely within my means.
The whole lecture was inspired yet again by the voicing of my desire to buy a new car as opposed to buying an overpriced cramped townhouse or condo somewhere around here.
The whole "you'll never make any money with a car" arguement always irritates me. I know damn well I won't be making money off of the car in a year or two, and I don't intend to.
I want a new car because I've never had a truly new car. I will use the new car a lot. I don't absolutely need a new car, but I would appreciate one.
I wouldn't mind having a home to call my own, but I do not feel the need to be tied down to any one location just yet either.
I have neither need nor desire to 'settle down' and fix myself in a specific location for untold years to come, waiting for my property to appreciate in value to make me money. That's not who I am.
If I had a reason to settle down, I would consider it, but given the negatives (very expensive housing market that shows little signs of letting up, high up-front costs, boatloads of paperwork and legal matters to deal with) I think I'd get more personal appreciation out of a vehicle.
Plus most houses cannot be driven, and given the lack of people I know who are willing to visit me, how else am I going to show off?
I always seem to have people telling me that 'it's best to put your money in something so you can get it back rather than tossing it away on rent.'
What I pay in rent per month is less than 1/6 of my take-home pay (post-taxes), and it gives me a place to sleep at night and a location to store all of my stuff. That's what I want and expect out of rent.
I don't care if putting 2.5x as much into a mortgage every month will let me recoup 60% of my total investment at some later date. I know I'm not getting my money back, but I'm also not shelling out nearly as much to begin with (not to mention taxes and other fees associated with ownership around here).
I have an arrangement with my current roommate to move in with him to his new place and pay him rent. My costs will be nearly identical to what they are now in our apartment, plus I will be getting space in his garage for my car.
I'm giving up a little bit of interior space in his townhouse (vs. our apartment) plus having a longer commute to work, but I know what my costs are, it's a nicer neighborhood, I am still somewhat mobile (if the need arises), and I'm helping him out with what he wants to do.
There are many intangibles involved with making the decision to settle down, many of which do not weigh heavily enough for me to consider it seriously at this point in my life.
I have never been one to settle into any particular spot for too long. The one exception was when my parents lived in the same house when I went from 2nd through 10th grades. But even then I was changing schools every few years (elementary, middle, high). Since then, about every 2 years it seems there has been some other change, either school, work or home.
I guess it's part of that restless nature of mine. I have no real reason to limit myself to any particular location, so why bother doing so? So I can recoup part of my investment (all the while paying through the nose for taxes/interest/association fees/etc.)?
No thanks, I'd rather keep my options open. If it means I'm not getting any monetary gratification for my incurred rental expenses, then so be it. So long as I can keep those expenses to a minimal amount, it does not bother me, and I think I should be free to do what I feel like with my extra cash.
Oddly enough, I don't think I'd have gotten the same lecture if they heard how much money I've had sitting around in savings earning 0.5-1% interest per year, but once it comes out that money will be spent on a losing proposition such as the baddest car out there, the 'experts' find it necessary to voice their opinion.
In the end, it always seems to end the same way, with the condescending/disappointed "After all, it is your money" response from the 'experts'. To which I agree. It is my money, and I want it to do something for me that *I* want.
Surprisingly, I don't get the same lectures from my parents as I do from my colleagues who recently find themselves playing the mortgage game. I guess so long as my folks know that I am fully capable of making my ends meet, it doesn't seem to matter as much to them.
update: the above was written a week ago, just not put into my journal until now (I'm a slacker, deal with it).
On an amusing sidenote to the above, nowadays when I hear my home-owning coworkers complaining about being on such a tight budget that they can't afford to go anywhere for vacations so they can sit at home and pay off the interest/taxes/fees/etc. they're now shackled to, I smile ever so slightly inside, and think of all the places I can afford to go, and that someday I just might get there...
I don't think they are bad decisions, maybe not the "ideal" thing that I should be doing, but they are entirely within my means.
The whole lecture was inspired yet again by the voicing of my desire to buy a new car as opposed to buying an overpriced cramped townhouse or condo somewhere around here.
The whole "you'll never make any money with a car" arguement always irritates me. I know damn well I won't be making money off of the car in a year or two, and I don't intend to.
I want a new car because I've never had a truly new car. I will use the new car a lot. I don't absolutely need a new car, but I would appreciate one.
I wouldn't mind having a home to call my own, but I do not feel the need to be tied down to any one location just yet either.
I have neither need nor desire to 'settle down' and fix myself in a specific location for untold years to come, waiting for my property to appreciate in value to make me money. That's not who I am.
If I had a reason to settle down, I would consider it, but given the negatives (very expensive housing market that shows little signs of letting up, high up-front costs, boatloads of paperwork and legal matters to deal with) I think I'd get more personal appreciation out of a vehicle.
Plus most houses cannot be driven, and given the lack of people I know who are willing to visit me, how else am I going to show off?
I always seem to have people telling me that 'it's best to put your money in something so you can get it back rather than tossing it away on rent.'
What I pay in rent per month is less than 1/6 of my take-home pay (post-taxes), and it gives me a place to sleep at night and a location to store all of my stuff. That's what I want and expect out of rent.
I don't care if putting 2.5x as much into a mortgage every month will let me recoup 60% of my total investment at some later date. I know I'm not getting my money back, but I'm also not shelling out nearly as much to begin with (not to mention taxes and other fees associated with ownership around here).
I have an arrangement with my current roommate to move in with him to his new place and pay him rent. My costs will be nearly identical to what they are now in our apartment, plus I will be getting space in his garage for my car.
I'm giving up a little bit of interior space in his townhouse (vs. our apartment) plus having a longer commute to work, but I know what my costs are, it's a nicer neighborhood, I am still somewhat mobile (if the need arises), and I'm helping him out with what he wants to do.
There are many intangibles involved with making the decision to settle down, many of which do not weigh heavily enough for me to consider it seriously at this point in my life.
I have never been one to settle into any particular spot for too long. The one exception was when my parents lived in the same house when I went from 2nd through 10th grades. But even then I was changing schools every few years (elementary, middle, high). Since then, about every 2 years it seems there has been some other change, either school, work or home.
I guess it's part of that restless nature of mine. I have no real reason to limit myself to any particular location, so why bother doing so? So I can recoup part of my investment (all the while paying through the nose for taxes/interest/association fees/etc.)?
No thanks, I'd rather keep my options open. If it means I'm not getting any monetary gratification for my incurred rental expenses, then so be it. So long as I can keep those expenses to a minimal amount, it does not bother me, and I think I should be free to do what I feel like with my extra cash.
Oddly enough, I don't think I'd have gotten the same lecture if they heard how much money I've had sitting around in savings earning 0.5-1% interest per year, but once it comes out that money will be spent on a losing proposition such as the baddest car out there, the 'experts' find it necessary to voice their opinion.
In the end, it always seems to end the same way, with the condescending/disappointed "After all, it is your money" response from the 'experts'. To which I agree. It is my money, and I want it to do something for me that *I* want.
Surprisingly, I don't get the same lectures from my parents as I do from my colleagues who recently find themselves playing the mortgage game. I guess so long as my folks know that I am fully capable of making my ends meet, it doesn't seem to matter as much to them.
update: the above was written a week ago, just not put into my journal until now (I'm a slacker, deal with it).
On an amusing sidenote to the above, nowadays when I hear my home-owning coworkers complaining about being on such a tight budget that they can't afford to go anywhere for vacations so they can sit at home and pay off the interest/taxes/fees/etc. they're now shackled to, I smile ever so slightly inside, and think of all the places I can afford to go, and that someday I just might get there...