Today I become a home-owner.
A couple of photos from our January holiday to the Gold Coast.
Apparently this is what adults do when on the Gold Coast; stay at stunning resorts and secluded rainforest retreats and most definitely do not go to theme parks. Rest and relaxation of the highest order. I'm fairly sure we dedicated an entire day to sun-baking by the pool and eating room service. Also, I highly recommend everyone take a rainforest retreat at least once in their life. I can't decide which was better: soaking in an outdoor hot tub in the middle of the forest every single day, or accidentally forgetting to close the barbecue and finding possums licking it clean.
The last time Ken and I went on a proper holiday was a year and a half ago, when we went to Peru. I suspect that it may have been one of the last big holidays we do in the future as, apparently (or definitely, according to all my Excel sheets of budgeting), becoming an adult is expensive (but also really life-changing).
Today Ken and I got the keys to our house!!
This was one of the last houses we saw before the December holiday period effectively put a hold on the real estate market. We put in an offer and, come the New Year, we had won it. The day before we got the call, some asshole had stolen my wallet, so when Ken got the phone call and said, "Guess what?!" I pretty much was like, "Did someone find my wallet?!"
Reaching settlement has taken almost as long as finding the house and if I had known it would be such a headache, I probably would have project managed the entire process and drawn up a gantt chart. But finally we own a house (and a mortgage)!
Having a mortgage has made be reassess where our money goes and I do feel grateful that I had the opportunity to spend my money freely for the first years of my career, as well as the wisdom to start saving early. Definitely my advise to everyone out there!
That said, we have started planning where our funds will go in the future, and in between putting further repayments on the house, extending the house, purchasing investment properties and raising children, there's not much more to go around. It's made me question things: do I need an engagement ring, do we need to have an engagement party, do we need to have a wedding, do we need to have a honeymoon?
We're not very religious people at all (in fact I am about as zero per cent religious as you can get), so marriage doesn't hold any sort of special meaning. In my eyes, we're already married and I would have no issues signing a piece of paper and making the relationship recognisable by law. Honestly, the only reason why we haven't done this already is because a) it cost money, b) we're lazy/have better things to do and c) our parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins would probably get really angry because they've been waiting for us to get married every since we got together. We actually had family members get annoyed because we didn't tell them we bought a house until two weeks ago and they didn't get to help us buy it, so I can only assume the wrath if we eloped.
Yes, I would love to get a diamond, wear an expensive designer white dress, throw a big party with lots of flowers and wine and go on a holiday to our own island. But realistically, where would I rather spend the 70+ grand? Probably on having children, doing up the house or putting down the deposit on another house. Could I take money from parents and relatives to pay for my own wedding? Never.
I often wonder if we can be perpetually not married and avoid having to elope/spend lots of money.
Apparently this is what adults do when on the Gold Coast; stay at stunning resorts and secluded rainforest retreats and most definitely do not go to theme parks. Rest and relaxation of the highest order. I'm fairly sure we dedicated an entire day to sun-baking by the pool and eating room service. Also, I highly recommend everyone take a rainforest retreat at least once in their life. I can't decide which was better: soaking in an outdoor hot tub in the middle of the forest every single day, or accidentally forgetting to close the barbecue and finding possums licking it clean.
The last time Ken and I went on a proper holiday was a year and a half ago, when we went to Peru. I suspect that it may have been one of the last big holidays we do in the future as, apparently (or definitely, according to all my Excel sheets of budgeting), becoming an adult is expensive (but also really life-changing).
Today Ken and I got the keys to our house!!
This was one of the last houses we saw before the December holiday period effectively put a hold on the real estate market. We put in an offer and, come the New Year, we had won it. The day before we got the call, some asshole had stolen my wallet, so when Ken got the phone call and said, "Guess what?!" I pretty much was like, "Did someone find my wallet?!"
Reaching settlement has taken almost as long as finding the house and if I had known it would be such a headache, I probably would have project managed the entire process and drawn up a gantt chart. But finally we own a house (and a mortgage)!
Having a mortgage has made be reassess where our money goes and I do feel grateful that I had the opportunity to spend my money freely for the first years of my career, as well as the wisdom to start saving early. Definitely my advise to everyone out there!
That said, we have started planning where our funds will go in the future, and in between putting further repayments on the house, extending the house, purchasing investment properties and raising children, there's not much more to go around. It's made me question things: do I need an engagement ring, do we need to have an engagement party, do we need to have a wedding, do we need to have a honeymoon?
We're not very religious people at all (in fact I am about as zero per cent religious as you can get), so marriage doesn't hold any sort of special meaning. In my eyes, we're already married and I would have no issues signing a piece of paper and making the relationship recognisable by law. Honestly, the only reason why we haven't done this already is because a) it cost money, b) we're lazy/have better things to do and c) our parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins would probably get really angry because they've been waiting for us to get married every since we got together. We actually had family members get annoyed because we didn't tell them we bought a house until two weeks ago and they didn't get to help us buy it, so I can only assume the wrath if we eloped.
Yes, I would love to get a diamond, wear an expensive designer white dress, throw a big party with lots of flowers and wine and go on a holiday to our own island. But realistically, where would I rather spend the 70+ grand? Probably on having children, doing up the house or putting down the deposit on another house. Could I take money from parents and relatives to pay for my own wedding? Never.
I often wonder if we can be perpetually not married and avoid having to elope/spend lots of money.