it’ll be all mine… later
I think it’s funny how I’ll see something I want and immediately think to myself, "After the house." Yes, the house is my big goal right now, but once I get my hands on it, the hustle doesn’t stop there. I’ll need to replenish and enlarge my savings, I’ll still have debt for student loans and my car, and let’s not forget the obvious - a brand spankin’ new mortgage. Not to mention that at some point I ought to start fully funding Roth retirement accounts. Then there’s life events - marriage, children, emergencies, etc. Then mundane things like paint, curtains, carpet, furniture, replacement appliances… Life is expensive.
It’s really easy to think that once I hit my big goal, I’ll be free to do all the things I’ve been sacrificing thus far to get there, like cable, vacations, massages, pedicures, clothes shopping, shoe shopping, eating out… I could go on. But I don’t think that’s a realistic assumption considering the fact that life goes on, and so do grown-up expenses, which just keep getting more and more numerous. This is a never-ending journey. I will always have to be vigilant with my money. I will probably always need to fit one goal or another in my budg - spending plans.
Still though, it is comforting to whisper, "After the house," when I see someone wearing a nice pair of shoes, or I think about going to the Caribbean like other people do. It’s not exactly a lie. It’s just not exactly about instantly going shopping after the closing on my house, either.
LOl @ spending plans. I prefer those words too.
When I was planning to buy my first home, I was so obsessed that I lived and breathed the thought of it. I had a picture of my dream home on my dresser. While I was saving, I didn’t buy any gifts for Christmas…not even for my daughter (except 1 thing). When I signed the new construction contract, I drove by the lot every day for a whole year. When I finally moved in, I was so used to saving that I had to force myself to spend. Now that I think about it, it’s all pretty funny but so worth it.
When you finally achieve your goal, your brain will be trained. So don’t worry, you won’t overdo it.
Comment by Single Ma — September 6, 2007 @ 7:45 pm