I have begun creating some “inspiring quote” images to share on the Facebook page for the blog, and I figured I would also take some time to write about the quotes and the financial interpretation of them.
Many people have lives that are governed by their possessions. Think about car payments, mortgages, credit card payments and the other obligations people get into. Of course, a mortgage may be a necessity because you need somewhere to live, but I’m going to share some personal insight about this quote and our life.
I posted recently that Eric and I are buying a house! We were under a signed contract for a beautiful home that we could definitely afford, but after some disagreements with the sellers, we elected to back out of the contract and being our search again. And I instantly felt better about it.
Now don’t get me wrong. This house was the closest thing to my dream home that I could’ve imagined within our budget. It had hardwood floors, a butcher block island, double ovens, and a wine cooler. It had 4 bedrooms (one with built-in bookshelves that I was sure was going to be our beautiful office). It had a freaking rain shower. I loved this home and a part of me is kicking myself for backing out.
But if we had gone through with the purchase, we lost something I love more: our freedom. Eric and I have worked very hard to save and put ourselves in a financial position that gives us freedom to do what is best for us. I work part-time because it works best for our family. If we have another kiddo, I may want to leave the workforce for a while.
And if we had bought that house, we would have lost a lot of options in our life. We would be tied to a house with a mortgage we can handle but that is dependent on a lot of things staying the way they are. With the military, there’s always the possibility that we would have to move without warning. Who would pay our expensive mortgage then?
Suddenly, by agreeing to this mortgage, we were completely locked into a specific place in life. We would have an absolutely beautiful home, but we would have a hard time meeting our savings goals; we would lose our options we had worked so hard for. So now we are back on the home search, looking for something much cheaper and maybe not as nice (but I will definitely be installing a wine cooler).
I learned a valuable lesson in all of this. The beautiful home is useless to me if I can’t enjoy my life in it. I am sure I could have been very happy, but I am grateful to know that I am not committed and tied to such an expensive asset. I would have hated myself every day that I didn’t have the freedom to pursue other goals or dreams. (Oh my goodness, and if a billet to Europe opened and we couldn’t go because we had a massive mortgage… I would have been so upset with myself!)
So when you’re thinking about all the possessions you want, think about what they take away from you. If you’re buying a car, are the moonroof and heated seats worth tying yourself to a higher payment? If you’re buying a home, does the mortgage make you dependent on two incomes when you previously could live on one? Make decisions about your possessions that benefit your whole life and the life you want to live.
