Yesterday was an exciting day for us. Anna and I went down to Watkins Savings Bank and signed all the papers for our construction loan, and finalized the paperwork for the new lot on which we are about to build. Did I say exciting? How about nerve wrecking and stressful, with a hint of excitement.
I haven’t told Anna this, but I’m as nervous about this as she is. I guess it’s largely due to money…and isn’t that what it always comes down to…money. We’ve worked so hard to get out of debt. Now that we’re finally in a place where we don’t have to worry about money, we decide [largely of my own blame] to build a new home and spend more money than we have ever imagined. I keep telling myself, “but at least we don’t have any credit card debt…” - famous last words…
Most of our friends and family know Anna is the frugal one in our family. I’ve always been the spender so to speak. Anna has been the voice of reason over the past twelve years, at least when it comes to our finances, and over the years we’ve both had an impact on each others spending habits. I save more than I used to, and Anna spends more - we’ve really balanced each other out. But when it comes to stressing about our finances, Anna wins hands down. She has always stressed about our financial future, so when it comes to spending our money on a new home, Anna is really stressed.
The truth is, for the first time I feel in control of my life. I feel capable of making it on my own, capable of making the right decisions, both of the personal and professional nature. I guess I finally feel like an adult. Take our decision to build a new home. Before we really committed to this project, we thought long and hard about whether or not we could really afford it. And I’m not talking about simply making higher mortgage payments, I’m talking about the price we’d pay in a “big picture” sort of way. Would we still be able to put money away for the kids college fund? Would we be able to put money away for retirement? The list goes on and on. However, I can honestly say that we can afford a new home. We can afford to put money away for the kids to go to college. And we canafford to retire someday. Even though Anna may not be convinced, I’m very in-tune with our finances, even more so now that I work with investments all day long. So for any family members that may be worried that we’re biting off more than we can chew, I say don’t worry. Now let’s get back on topic…
Now that we’ve closed on the lot and construction loan, there’s really no turning back. If all goes well, they should be breaking ground yet this week. Of course, Mother Nature’s been a real bitch this year and she seems hell bent on delaying any progress. But hey, it’s almost August, and we all know how hot and dry August can be, right?
Anna and I were joking about how now that we own the lot, so we should do something fun to commemorate this event. We’re thinking about taking out lawn chairs and a cooler of beer so we can get pictures of us enjoying the summer on our new plot of land. I wonder what the land developer would think of that?
Anyway, it’s all progressing. With any luck, I’ll have some pictures of the ground breaking within the week. Oh, and if anyone is in the neighborhood over the next couple weeks, feel free to stop by and help us pack… and if you’re wondering where we’re going to live until the house is built, well that’s another story.
- the UB
