Anyone?
Ok, so truthfully, I don't love to move. My possessions, that is. I only like to move.
On the plus side, we got help from both sets of parents, including the free usage of an enclosed trailer and the extra lifting power of the dads and the toddler wrangling power of both moms. I also kinda like moving because it forces me to go through all my worldly possessions and decide what is worth keeping and using the manpower to move, and what is best to just give to Goodwill or another charitable organization for their use. (Oh, yeah, and also what is worth packing up and putting into storage at your parents house or the basement of some very generous friends... but we'll get to that...)
Not that moving is all roses and rainbows for us either.
Motivation to move came from several sources for us. We have been homeowners for 5 1/2 years. In that time, we have had two major home repair issues (main line sewer back up and black mold) that were not covered by our homeowners insurance. Both of these led to complete deconstruction and then re-construction of our finished basement, and both issues cost us 5k+ out of pocket. I have to use the term "us" loosely there, because, in fact with the mold issues most recently, we had to borrow money from my generous family to help with the removal of the fungus. Because apparently you need that check in full in the company's hands before they begin work. Lets just say that Dave Ramsey would also not be jumping for joy at our previous budgeting and the fact that we could not just write that check post-haste and feel OK with our savings account afterwards. Don't worry, Mr. Ramsey, if you're reading this, we're working on it... Also, with several property tax increases (schools, parks, developments abound!) our mortgage payments had gone up by 25% since we bought the house (yes, with a fixed APR).
Besides the aforementioned issues, we have other motivating factors as well. We found a rental house that fits our family just fine for around forty percent less than our mortgage was. I actually love that we are renting, because anything that goes wrong costs us one phone call to the homeowner. Lastly, we have to admit that moving home (back to Kansas) has been on our radar. It's not an immediate goal, but it could very well be in the "five year plan" for us. What stops us now is probably solely my employment, because it's honestly amazing. And I can say that, honestly, because I know my boss doesn't read my blog. (Or even know I blog... or maybe even know what a blog is?) Once we made the decision for Brett to stay at home with Madigan (a stay-at-home-dad? In Nebraska? Almost un-HEARD of!) we knew that downsizing for our financial sake, with the goal of getting everything paid off, paid back, or saved back was a necessity.
Why might I be motivated to disclose some less-than-stellar financial issues as our reason for downsizing? Because I think that, in this economy, we're all finding ways to save some money, and this was our solution. Because I think that a lot of the time I talk about my bright, shiny happy life (because, honestly, I feel like most the time it is bright and happy), and I'd hate to have anyone think I perceive any kind of perfection on my part. And because, honestly, I would be willing to share this information with anyone who asked, because we are open people and we have nothing to be ashamed of.
So last week, on New Years Day, we packed everything* we owned into that borrowed enclosed trailer, and hauled it half way across town to our rental house. Luckily, it was enclosed, because January in Nebraska isn't exactly pleasant.
*(Everything: 80% came with us, and about 20% is packed in boxes in the basement of some true-blue friends here in town. Honestly, who lets their friends use up their storage space so that they don't have to pay for a storage unit? People who are awesome, that's who!)
Within 3 days, I had my home unpacked, and we are about 90% settled. There are a few boxes to recycle, a few items needing a "place", and a few little things to tweak, but for the majority, we're home. Home in our "new" old house, with less space, half the bathrooms, half the bedrooms, but twice the charm, less cost and more reassurance than we could ask for right now.
It feels good to be home.
Good for you! I'm a huge Dave fan and totally understand your reasoning. 40% is a huge number that will seriously make a dent in whatever stuff you want to pay off. Good luck with it all. It sounds like a really smart decision for your family.
ReplyDeleteI'm ever so impressed that you moved in January in Nebraska - especially this January!
I don't know who King Julian is??
ReplyDeleteAt any rate, it sounds like a smart move for you guys. I cannot believe your mortgage payment went up that much because of tax increases--yikes!!
I do the same thing when we move - going through and getting rid of a lot of stuff. I can't get Jeremy to do the same, unfortunately. We just move his useless crap from one place to the next.
ReplyDeleteWe moved like a month ago and still aren't close to 90% unpacked and settled. I'd say it's more like 60%, but I blame pregnancy and a lazy hubby. ;)
Sounds like you have a lot on your plate. At least you have a positive attitude!
ReplyDeleteHey, can I make a suggestion? If you add the "Follower" widget, it would help readers (like me) see any time you do a new post. It comes up automatically in the reader. Just a thought :-)