Car vs. House

[Charbear76]

   Lee baught a used car today and I, for one, couldn't be happier! This means we will be staying where we are for a few more years if not for good. Many will be very disappointed that we are no longer searching for a house to buy and many of those will look down their noses one us (if they don't already). But I know renting is what is best for our family.

   For awhile now Lee was hell-bent on buying a house this year. We put all our tax return in savings to use as a down payment. But as always, Lee has been dipping into it over and over again to pay for his "toys." And every time we had a little extra in the bank I would ask him to move it over to savings but he never would and just blew it on whatever. I'm smart enough to know owning a house means you need an emergency fund. How can we have an emergency fund when the owner just keeps blowing on whatever he feels like? I really don't want to end up house-poor. So we were already down to a point where we didn't have enough for a down payment anyway.

   I also know owning a house means you have to put a little love into it. I know Lee would never do that. If anything is wrong when you rent, its the landlord's problem to fix. Not our's. No money out of our pocket. Lee won't even help me keep the house clean or watch the kids so I can clean it so how on Earth would i be able to keep up a full 3-4 bedroom house? And there's the problem of  a yard. Our rent takes care of our lawn care. I know if we baught a house it would all, again, be left up to me. Afterall, I do ALL the shoveling in the winter.

   So with all the car dealers closing up, moving, liquidating, Lee has been oogling over cheap cars he's seen at the lots near his work. I've been telling him for ages, we should just get a car and put the house idea on hold for a few years. But he has always faught back. Well, finally, today he broke down and I guess realized I'm right. Wow! For once I get my way!

   Its an awesome car! A 2005 Mustang still under warranty so hopefully it will hold its value pretty well. Some may say we made a stupid choice and if they didn't know our circumstances, then yes it would seem stupid. But for 4 years we have only had one car to share. This has become such a pain in the butt as the kids have gotten older. And with Nora starting Kindergartan in August it was about to become worse! Lee goes to work at 8. So I would have to drive him to work. Then take the girls back home (a 15 minute drive) then go again between 8:45-9am to get Nora to school. It would be such a waste of time! And it sucks to go home for such a short time then have to go again.

   I told my Dad tonight about our decision. He's not happy. And I'm sure my mom will throw a hissy fit when I tell her. But I've been telling both of them for ages I don't want the responsibilities that come with a house which will fall solely on my shoulders, nor do I want to buy a house we can't afford and become house poor. They'll get over it in time.

   I do feel bad that we're not getting a house now, sort of. It would be nice for the girls to have their own rooms but they'll live. I know this is what's best for our family. Only problem is now I need to figure a few things out. The girls are still in toddler beds. My mom was going to buy them new beds if we baught a house. So now that we aren't I'll need to find a nice bunkbed and mattresses for them. That will also free up a lot of space in thier room. The other problem is what to do about school. I open enrolled Nora to Urbandale because that's where we planned on moving. Now that we aren't, should I cancel the open enrollment and enroll her in Clive? Whether I decide to or not, both girls will get enrolled in Clive next year now that I no longer have a good excuse to open enroll them. I'm just not sure what to do about that. I'll have to talk it over with Lee.

[WitchMomOfLove]

Jun. 23, 2009 at 1:34 PM

Now that you have a car, when the girls are in school, or even on the weekends, check the garage sales for bunk beds. It's how my mom found all our beds growing up. We ended up with a nice bunkbed that my parents still own and now use on the younger two kids.

Also, have you checked into renting a home? You don't always have to buy a home to live in one, and when you rent a home a lot of the times you don't have to pay all the utilities, but yes the yard work is still left up to you heh. I'm just saying that cuz that's what Jared and I have. We rent the basement of a house (although I miss living above ground now lol) and we only pay electric and gas.