Most men said Henry David Thoreau, live lives of quiet desperation...He was totally correct when he said those words a hundred and seventy something years ago and they're still true today.
Paying a mortgage, interest, insurance, property rates and taxes, even without any utilities added to the equation these days is a bit like juggling your finances while keeping all your balls in the air at the same time as keeping your shoulder to the wheel and your nose to the grindstone.
All that is very difficult to do.
In New Zealand in 2013 for example, buying a house for say $400,000 with a twenty percent deposit of $80,000, the purchaser would pay $610,000 interest at six percent for twenty five years just on the loan, property rates or taxes of even a modest $2,000 per year amounting to $50,000, another $50,000 at least for insurance. Then maintenance and upgrading for the period of around $125,000 and you're looking at a grand net total of $1,225,000.
You'll be paying around $49,000 a year or $4,100 a month or $943 a week to own your house. And all those outgoings are after you pay tax on your earnings. You'll need to earn a lot more than that depending on your tax rate.
To have your own roof over your head. Wow!
And then there's food for the family, a car to run, education for the children, medical bills and entertainment. What entertainment. You're going to be too exhausted working to have time for going on holiday and being entertained.
And what happens if you're made redundant, get sick or can't get work?
So what's the options smarty pants you may very well be saying.
There are lots of answers or options.
Thinking outside the square is a good option to start with. Think about renting.
Renting the same house might well cost you $400 per week or $21,000 a year instead of $49,000 and it's true, if you rent the same house for twenty five years at the same rate you will have spent $520,000 and you won't have a house to show for it but you just might be a lot more healthy, less stressed and happier.
You might be.
And think about working to live.
Not living to work.
Think about not playing the consumer game.
Think about getting off the treadmill.
Think downsizing. Think less is more.
And think about this.
All you need is enough and enough might be what you have...
Been there, done that. Now I am one of the lucky ones who do not owe anything to anyone except for utilities and taxes.
ReplyDeleteThere are options to debt slavery.
ReplyDeleteAll that you NEED is warm clothing, food in belly and roof over your head. Everything else is a WANT. We in the well off west often assume that home, car, iToys, nights out, holidays, etc are rights rather than privileges. In the undeveloped world, satisfying basic needs is often enough to approach contentment.
ReplyDeleteAnd the pressure from your children for all their wants...
ReplyDeleteThe old saying " want more or need less ".
ReplyDeleteFor additional home ownership tips, consider paying a visit to HouseLogic's website.
ReplyDelete-Jack