In true girl fashion, I decided that I reserve the right to change my mind at any time.
On Monday, I was ready to buy a house.
By Tuesday, I decided to change my mind–I don’t want to buy house.
At least not now, anyway…and maybe not this year. And maybe not next year.
Eric is my voice of reason. This is how we balance each other out really well.
Because when I get an idea in my head, I’m all like “let’s do it right now!”
This has happened in several instances throughout my life…I get really gung ho about something and then decide to do it.
Sometimes it works in my favor…like “let’s get married even though we’ve only known each other three months?!” heck yeah! (still best decision ever thankfully!)
And sometimes it doesn’t…Like how I applied to journalism school, then a master’s in public relations, and then law school before I finally decided to go for my master’s in public administration.
I just couldn’t make up my mind!
Well, buying a house is kind of like the latter–I just don’t know what I want, so I need Eric’s level-headedness to guide me.
Why I Changed My Mind and Don’t Want to Buy a House
After listing all the reasons why I wanted to buy a house, Eric and I talked and listed all the reasons why we don’t want to buy a house.
We really love where we live. As far as location goes, we love where we currently live. It’s the perfect community where we can take nice walks, go tto the park, and have a BevMo a two-minute drive away. Sometimes we walk to nearby restaurants, and it’s only a 10-minute drive from where I work!
We can grow into our current rental. Our two-bedroom townhouse is also the perfect size for us right now and we can really grow into it. It’s small enough that it’s easy to manage between the two of us, but big enough that we feel we have enough space to grow into it for several more years.
We can save, save, save. We’re currently able to save half our income. That would never be able to happen if we had a mortgage. Imagine if we just stay where we are and keep saving? We’ll easily have 100k in a few years and we could even push ourselves to save the 20% down payment, saving us hundreds a month in PMI. The housing market has to stabilize at some point right?
We can afford to do other things. Once we buy a house, we’ll have to put a lot of other things on hold. Like vacations and limiting our discretionary income. Honestly? We’ve been poor for so long, that it would kind of be nice to not have the responsibility that comes with the house. Maybe we should use these years to have fun instead of jumping into another money-sucking endeavor?
I still really want to buy a house. BUT…maybe just not right now.
Since leaning toward this laid-back approach to achieving our house-buying dream goal, I’ve been remarkably more relaxed.
So for right now, I’m really fine with just continuing to save and putting our house-buying dreams on hold so that we can achieve other dreams.
So yeah, that’s my decision today.
But don’t ask me tomorrow.
14 comments
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Just come buy a house by me. There is a lot open for you to build across the street:) one acre…just sayin….:)
I can totally relate to this post. My fiance and I are looking for an apartment to rent and I swear my emotions change on a daily, or even hourly, basis. One day I want to spend a little bit more to have a second bedroom and a nice view, the next I want to live as frugally as possible to pay down student loans and save money at the same time. Figuring out the balance is hard, especially when another person is involved! My partner is a good balance to me, just like Eric is to you, he’s always reminding me that we will a) figure it out and everything will be fine and b) that we can’t live like misers for the duration of grad school since that would be a terrible start to our marriage & we are financially stable right now.
Sounds like you’ve made a good decision, and like the place you live right now is pretty great!
Your decision makes sense. 🙂 I hope it is final and you will be happy with it. And I know it is kinda hard to buy a house, cos all will be new again, the neighbors, and everything.
I think your places is great, and very spacious! I think you’ll know when you know when you’re ready to buy a house.
Glad you found some clarity on this! It really sucks when you are just kind of in limbo about something and want to do something but at the same time don’t want to. There are pros and cons to both sides so it’s just a matter of what’s more important to you right now…which could totally change tomorrow like you said!!
I’m totally on board with this. Owning a home always sounds nice in theory, but in reality it can lead to a lot of stress, a lot of responsibility, and it’s easy to go over budget and become house-poor. Sounds like you guys have a great situation right now and I think it’s great that you’re planning to sit tight and enjoy it :). What could be more fun than saving a ton of money? 😉
Whoa whoa whoa! No blaming the indecision on being a girl! Lol!
In my house my hubby is dying to buy again and I could really do without it! It’s a good idea to get that hefty down payment. When you have a mortgage it’s a false sense of ownership. I learned that the hard way. We did everything right when we bought our condo. Down payment, emergency fund etc. None of that helped when my husband lost his job…for two years…during which we had two children. The efund evaporated quickly and it was right when the economy crashed. We lost the house and ended up in bankruptcy. Most painful situation ever. It turned what should have been the best years of our lives (having two amazing little girls) into a nightmare of constant fear they would be sleeping in cardboard boxes.
Things are way better and we rent. Both summers in our rental the air conditions has broken down costing over $1000 to repair each time. Very nice to call the landlord and let her pay the bill. There is also a mobility issue. You’re both young, who knows what kind of job opportunities could arise? I also like if I get sick of the place or the schools don’t prove to be good enough, we can just pick up and go!
Definitely take your time with this huge decision!
I can relate! I am at the point where our little (owned) house is too small (baby on the way) and I’m torn between keeping the little house as a rental for income, and selling it so we can use the equity to buy something else. Three months ago, our house didn’t have that much value beyond what we paid, so it seemed a waste to sell it. Now it has gone way up and I’m itching to use that money on something new! My husband has gotten a little dismissive of either idea after all of my back and forth on this.
Hey you are allowed to change your mind! I know I do 🙂 Which is why I’ve stopped buying stuff for my house because I’m already thinking of getting rid of some pieces I bought already.
It all depends on what the housing market/economy is doing in your area. We have been house hunting for 1.5 years now. Looking back, it would have been better if we just made a decision and rolled with it. This isn’t a forever decision anyways – most people in North America only live in the same house for 7 years.
hahaha you crack me up girl! I feel the same way with babies. So much to think about! I want one so bed yet I’m terrified! lol
Um I wish there was edit / I wasn’t too fast to click submit! I meant that I want one so bad! lol