this and that | 6 miscellanous things!
I've got a collection of randomness for you today, frugal people.
1. The FTC says you should pick credit monitoring from Equifax.
Hat tip to WilliamB for sending me the article!
The FTC recommends that you choose the credit monitoring option from Equifax. SO many people have filed for the cash, the payout will end up being far less than $125, which makes the credit monitoring a better bargain, in their opinion.
I'm still keeping my opt-in for cash, though. Very excited for my $0.33 check! 😉
2. Here's the Duplo squirrel I sold on eBay.
I couldn't find the pictures of it when I posted about it, and someone was asking what in the world a Duplo squirrel is!
So, here you go.
I think it's from a long-ago discontinued line of baby/toddler toys that they made.
3. My Costco DOES want you to pump from both sides.
We had a discussion about this on Instagram recently (I'm thefrugalgirl over there), with some readers saying they'd heard this was inadvisable.
I can't speak for every Costco, but I paid attention last time I filled up and they do have a sign saying they want you to use either side of the pump.
(For efficiency, Costco only lets you pull into the station from one side, which means you can't just pull in whichever way puts the pump close to your gas tank.)
4. Consumer Reports tells you how to eat less plastic.
This article is a little depressing, but it does have some suggestions about how to minimize the amount of microplastics you consume.
5. Rent, don't retire early, don't be a lawyer.
These are some keys to happiness, says this article from CNBC.
We're not gonna be retiring early (not opposed, it's just not going to happen!), and I'm not going to be a lawyer, so we're good on those fronts.
But I don't think I really want to go back to renting, mainly because it makes good financial sense for us to own.
And good financial sense = happiness for me. 😉
6. This guy quit his job to rescue food.
He started an organization that takes extra food from events and brings it to people who need it. So great!
AND, his organization gives food providers data about how they could prevent food waste in the future.
You can volunteer with his organization, but it's only in a handful of cities right now.
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I'm curious: if you've tried both, do you feel like you are happier owning a home or renting one?
(I kinda answered this above but: my only renting experience is our newlywed basement apartment. I definitely preferred owning our townhouse and this house over renting, but that's mainly because I prefer not living in a basement if possible!)
Ha. My husband is totally onboard with everything in #5. He tells everyone he knows not to be a lawyer. Although he will certainly leave the law as soon as he can--and has already reduce hid actual work with it--he has no plans to ever really retire totally. And he loves renting. I do not. I suspect this is because when we rent, he doesn't have to do as much of the home maintenance stuff that he hates. Whereas my typical work in a home (i.e., cleaning) is the same weather we rent or own, except I can't do just what I want if we're renting.
Wow, that was a lot of typos and misspellings. Boo.
I have rented and owned homes, and while home maintenance issues can be challenging at times, I like that I have control over them. I had a bad landlord the last place I rented, that made me never want to rent again. When the refrigerator broke, it took 8 visits for it to be fixed properly. So often, they just don't want to spend the money to properly maintain their property - it can be incredibly frustrating and definitely not happiness inducing.
Yes, I can see how that would be. If your landlord actually fixes things, then not having to do home maintenance is a big boon. But if the landlord isn't responsive, you'd rather just do it yourself!
I agree with everything in #5. We were homeowners, and now we rent, and are so much happier. Our kids are happier because we're less stressed--say something in the house breaks, we are way less stressed because guess what--we don't worry about whether we can sell the house later on! (Obviously we fix things that get broken, that are not big landlord things, and take good care of the house.)
My brother was a lawyer, and I can confirm that it made him very unhappy. He got into law thinking he was going to be able to work for the ACLU, and right wrongs, and he ended up taking a position with a firm that mainly helped insurance companies not pay out if they could avoid it. I once teased him saying, "You were going to fight 'the man' and now you're working for 'the man'!" He said, wryly, "'The man' pays better." The pressure of paying back the loans for law school really don't help, obviously. Then the pressure of making partner, and then the realization that making partner wasn't going to bring a pay raise, made him very anxious and depressed. Sadly, he passed away before he could think of a career change. So yeah, I encourage young people to NOT be lawyers if they can avoid it. Or if they do, avoid getting loans for law school if at all possible. You actually don't need to get a law degree to become a lawyer--if you can pass the bar exam, you can practice law. One of my sister in laws did this.
Agree that many lawyers are unhappy but yet don't leave the law.
Disagree that passing the Bar is all you need to practice law. It varies by state. Most states require a JD and passing the Bar. A few states require either a JD or an apprenticeship and an established lawyer vouching for you and putting his/her Bar standing at risk, and passing the Bar.
You're right, William, and I should have clarified that. My SIL lives in a state where all you need is to pass the Bar. I'm pretty sure the state where my brother practiced law required a JD.
Now I'm curious - which state requires only Bar passage? Thanks!
My SIL lives in New York. She took the bar exam, I want to say, about 40 years ago? So I'm sure the law has changed since then, most likely.
That’s not the lawyer I want, though...
Depends on what you need a lawyer for 😉
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We checked just last night and apparently neither of us were effected by the security breach, so no decision to be made. Good news/bad news, whomp, whomp.
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Home ownership was the path to wealth for us. I was a renter in the same rent-controlled apartment for a decade, which helped me save up my first down payment. I hated the flocked wallpaper, which I am sure is still there. Home ownership, for the win!
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In my area, there is an organization called "White Pony" that does this. Amazing to see how they operate and what gets saved.
Home ownership worked out really well for us too. We bought a townhouse after our basement apartment years, and in 5 years, it went from $104,000 to $252,000. We happened to buy before the housing boom hit here and we sold at the height.
Of course, our current house got hit by the housing crash, but we're still in pretty good shape because of the profit from our townhouse. I am always so grateful we bought that townhouse when we did!
Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be lawyers.
I am one, and most I know are miserable. I am frequently in rooms full of lawyers waiting their turn at court, and the conversation turns to what we would do for a living instead of lawyering. I also tell young people flat out not to go to law school. It's too expensive and there are too many law schools turning out a fresh crop of showroom new lawyers every spring. Also, the older generation rarely retires. I know several lawyers still practicing who are in their 80s. This will not be me.
So I'm curious...are you and your colleagues miserable for the reasons mentioned in the article? Or some other reason?
Also: there are a lot of Kristens/Kristins commenting this morning!
Yes, the things mentioned in the article are problems. It is just a really demanding profession, and it never stops. Whether it's your employer or clients, someone always wants something YESTERDAY. Here's a joke a law school friend of mine told me long ago to illustrate:
A lawyer was walking down the street when a man came floating down in a hot air balloon. "Sir, I'm lost, can you help me?" says the man in the balloon.
"Yes, you are at the corner of Main and Elm, floating about ten feet off the ground in a hot air balloon ," says the lawyer .
"You must be a lawyer," says balloon man.
"Yes I am, how did you know? " replies the lawyer.
"Because I came to you with a problem, and you gave me an answer that is technically correct, but I am in no better position than when we first met! " says the man.
"And you must be a client," replied the lawyer. "Because you came to me with a problem, and I gave you the answer. You are in no worse of a position than when we first met, although now it is somehow *my* fault. "
I can imagine that it's a profession where it's hard to separate work hours from non-work hours. People are always wanting you, no matter the hour, probably. I also observe that in real estate...people always want you to be available!
When my middle girl was a baby, she had a medical issue that caused her to be in intensive care for an extended period of time. This caused me to exhaust all my vacation time as an RN and all our savings trying to keep everything going. We ended up having to stay at the Ronald McDonald house near the hospital. First off, that place was a blessing for us and I am glad I was reminded of this now. Anyway, my point was to mention that free leftover food would be brought by there each day from local events in the area for the families to share as well as local restaurants and churches. I cried several times daily.... because my child was so sick, and because of the outpouring of generosity that I received when I had less than $50 to my bills. The guy that quit his job to rescue food makes me want to do more. Thanks for this reminder.
I'd add don't be a paralegal or legal assistant to that list.
We're much happier owning than renting. Our mortgage is lower than our rent was, and it doesn't feel like we're just throwing away that money every month.
Much, much happier owning than renting. Our mortgage payment was less than my rent was and I like having control over my space. You are so limited in what you are able to do when you are a tenant. Plus, the main reason we like owning is because eventually you won't have a housing payment, which really reduces stress/increases financial flexibility! We paid off the mortgage on our house this past year and that was the best feeling ever. Granted, we still have to pay taxes and insurance so we aren't living for 'free' but taxes and insurance is far less than monthly rent! So I'm for sure team own!
When we first moved here, I was very pregnant and we weren’t sure where we’d want to end up living in our new town, so we rented. While I did love the ease of not having to deal with paying for maintenance issues, you don’t get much for your money renting here. I was very disappointed in our choices. Places we toured smelled like pet urine, had damaged floors and makeshift closets, and one even had standing water in the basement! We were so happy when we were able to buy a house again! The mortgage is far less than we could rent for in our neighborhood.
Whoa is that microplastics article depressing. Oof. Loved this round up. Enjoy your $0.33 😉
I know. Oy. It's frustrating how much of this is out of our hands.
It‘s really frustrating. Not only the problem with microplastics but also climate change can‘t be solved just by personal actions.
Sorry, if it’s too „activist“: I‘m tired of feeling helpless. I want to do somwthing.
You can do as well: perhaps sign petitions (for example
https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/actions/) or call your representative or join Fridays for Future (worldwide strike week: 20 - 27th September)
We definitely believe owning is less stressful than renting! Especially where we live, out in the middle of nowhere! No neighborhood association and just a couple of tiny deed restrictions means that we can do what we want out here. To relieve the stress of home repairs, I definitely recommend a home warranty service. We use American Home Shield and it has saved us many thousands of dollars over the last two years alone! Plus my husband can pretty much fix anything, which saves us a lot of money as well (and saving money to me, equals less stress).
Home Warranties are overall not worth the expense. They will do their darndest to weasel out of paying. #askmehowiknow. Much more economical to learn basic maintenance via YouTube. An ounce of prevention...
Yep! We got a home warranty with this house, paid for by the seller, so of course we weren't about to say no to that. But my experience with making a claim with them was not super fantastic, and I would not pay for one myself.
We've had a few issues with not so great contractors, but AHS was quick to remedy the problems. They just paid to replace our A/C which saved us about $8,000, which is huge for us!
Wow, that's awesome. So worth it for you guys.
Years ago we owned and ran into financial problems and didn't have money for repairs and ended up losing our home. I was more than happy to rent and did for years. I loved it! But then a few years ago an opportunity came again to buy a fixer upper that we could afford to fix up (slowly) and the house payment was half of what our rent was and we decided to finance it for only 5 years and went for it. That was 3 yrs ago and for the most part, it's all done. A couple of cosmetic things left but it is ours and we love it! And in 2 yrs, it'll be paid off!! We'll own our own home outright. No one can take that from us (as long as we pay our taxes 😉 ). It's been a wonderful experience and I'm so glad we jumped back into ownership.
But renting def. has it's place and it's perks.
When I was first out of college, single, and didn't have a lot of money I was very happy renting an apartment. It was easy and not too expensive. We I was married we bought a house and enjoyed living in it and working on it. Then we moved to the Baltimore area and rented a townhouse, since we had no idea where we'd want to live. My husband hated that we were not suppose to change anything. Within a year we bought a house and have been in it for twenty plus years. It does take time and money to maintain but I can't imagine not having a home. I know someone that was kicked out of a rental house during the last downturn because the owner of the house was foreclosed on. I appreciate that renting has its place. I think it is personal preference and individual circumstance..
Another non-practicing lawyer chiming in! I realized I had made a huge mistake on the first day of law school, but I kept thinking it would get better. It did not. I managed to pass the bar on the first try, but I'm not sure I would have taken it again if I hadn't. I've paid to maintain my license all these years, even though I've never practiced. I did work in a legal-related field for a few years, but I left because I couldn't stand dealing with the lawyers anymore!!! Although to be fair, I do know some wonderful people who happen to be lawyers! 🙂
The funniest thing to me was that when people asked me what I did, and I told them I was in law school, they all smiled and told me how wonderful that was. Once I actually became a lawyer, no one ever seemed happy about it! I'm not sure what they thought the outcome of law school was . . .
I enjoy owning for the fact that we don't have noisy people above and below us and have some control over our finishes and paint colors...BUT, I do miss having it only take maybe an hour to clean the apartment from top to bottom. It also forced us to live within our space constraints more since we didn't have nearly as much storage, so there was a lot less "we'll just keep this in case" situations. Another pro for the house, though, is that I can send my kids outside to play (fenced in backyard), without worrying about having eyes on them constantly. We live in a college town, too, so most rentals have at least some college students, which isn't always ideal for enjoying a quiet evening, or helping the kids get to sleep! Overall, I'm happy with our house!
Home ownership is preferable to us because in the town we live in, rent is outrageous, and usually as much as/more than a mortgage payment. Besides that, there’s all the obvious perks of owning your own home like being able to decorate/modify/remodel as you want without asking permission.
The plastics article was definitely depressing!
I know a lawyer who is still practicing in his seventies as an individual, and another lawyer who gave it up to stay home with her kids. Another lawyer I know admitted that all he ever really wanted to do was be a judge; he is now a judge. Only the first lawyer, the one in his seventies, actually encouraged his son to go into law (and his son's wife was a lawyer).
Owning vs. renting: I've done both. I much prefer to own, but I admit to thinking about renting as I get older. It may come to that one day. But for now -- I've had a landlord who wasn't real speedy at fixing things, and I chafe at the restrictions on what one can do at a property, right down to pets, if they are even allowed. And I don't like having neighbors right on top of me. My husband rented when he worked out of town for over a decade, and he had a nice apartment with very responsive maintenance, but he still had to deal with the everyday noise from next door plus the one-time neighbors who did annoying things like toss cigarette butts down onto his truck and parking area below and have fights at 1 a.m. They were finally evicted, but it took awhile for the owners to get them out.
My Costco absolutely has us pump from both sides. I thought they all did!
Will definitely be retiring early -yay!! Knowing that 2 years in advance makes me happy now. Just like choosing to be a SAHM to care for our children was a choice, retiring early to enjoy years with my disabled/retired spouse is a mental and financial choice for us to. Always lived modest and frugal and will retire that way too.
I rent now and do prefer owning. A lot of people seem less commenting on rent vs own, and more about specific places. Renting has been useful when I didn't want to commit to someone in the short term but the flexibility and control when owning are much better than renting. I miss owning.
My husband went to law school for one semester, and although he enjoyed the theory of law and was good at it, I'm glad he realized in time what it would actually mean to practice law and what kind of debt he would emerge with. Reading the comments, it completely confirms what he thought back then. He was able to pivot into the IT field during the boom days, and has been fortunate in having an upward and expanding career with just a 4-year degree in liberal arts. We did live through a short period with no money whatsoever when we made the shift, not getting the school loan money we had counted on and having to break a lease. But all in all, my husband has been very happy and fulfilled in his technical career with his philosophy background (which has actually helped him tremendously with soft skills and analytics). Who knew.
We recently sold our first home and bought a fixer-upper in a better school district. So, right now owning a home seems like a daunting responsibility. We also have very high property taxes where we live ($6,500 yearly for a 1,200 sq foot home), so even if you pay your mortgage off there is still a substantial monthly/yearly cost of owning a home in our area. My sister lives in the same town as us and her taxes are $8,500 for a 1,700 sq foot home. Not to mention utilities cost, H20, cost of repairs on the home, etc. So, renting in our area can sometimes be financial wiser. We rented when we first got married and honestly I wish we would have stayed renters. I think in America, there is such a huge push to own a home, so there is a lot of social pressure to own.
Wow, those are some high taxes! Goodness. I can definitely see how that would tip the scales in favor of renting.
Those are significantly less than Chicago-area taxes!
I agree with you about the social pressure to own and the negative impression of renting. My MIL thinks there is something low-class about renting. We're renting a lovely four bedroom house, in a quiet, stable neighborhood, and the rent is very reasonable. Less than a mortgage plus property tax where we used to live (just a different community in the metro area).
One of the reasons we prefer renting, and I've thought all day about how to express it: neighborhoods can go south very quickly. We saw it where we used to own: it was a "high class" bedroom community, very highly-rated schools, everybody 'wanted to live there' but the property taxes were high because of the schools and high prices for city services. They used fancy golf cart-type cars to come pick up the trash! No big loud garbage trucks here! However. Because it was expensive to live there, people who owned homes quietly moved out, and rented out the homes cheaply and I hate to say it, but we got some horrible neighbors, just horrible. And the police department was riddled with corruption. BUT because we had bought a house, moving wasn't easy, and the house had lots of problems we had to fix before even thinking of trying to sell it, the city required we pass an inspection before we sold, yada yada.
Had we been renting when the neighborhood became unsafe/untenable, we could have simply terminated our lease or not renewed it, and found another place to rent after doing lots of homework, like we finally did here. We have the advantage of living in a city with a military base, so there are usually quite a few good-sized rentals (military families will buy a nice house, with the expectation of being PCSed back to the base after a few years). I realize this is not the case for many cities, where rentals are hard to find.
We also once owned a home out in the country, but the neighbors were close enough to give us grief by letting their huge dogs roam loose (it's the country, after all!) or shooting guns right near our house (again, no laws against shooting a gun outside city limits), and moving was so hard because we owned, and had to sell before we moved.
Anyway, what we like about renting is the feeling that we don't have to "worry" about who's moving in down the street; if it turns out they let their dogs run loose or they have loud parties, we can search for another place to live without the hassle of selling. We feel it's worth that freedom.
Corrine, I feel your pain. Six of twenty houses on my block sold in the past year. The new comps are going go increase the value of my house, which is going to increase my taxes. A lot. I'm not looking forward to the new bill.
Agree that there's a lot of economic/social pressure in the US to own your home. The Great Recession highlighted the downside: lack of flexibility. So many people couldn't move to where the jobs were, because they were underwater on their home and couldn't afford to sell at a big loss.
I'm confused ... you say your Costco lets you use either side of the pump (meaning parking on either/both sides), but the illustration on the sign shows their long hoses mean you can easily gas up either side of the car from one position.
Really good post with other articles to look up too.
You can park on either side, yes, but the nose of your car has to point forward on either side of the pump. So, if your car has the gas tank on the left side, but you pull up on the left side of the pump, you have to extend the hose around your car to pump.
Oh, thank you. Guess I would have realized this if I had paid more attention to the paragraph following the picture.
I also think there's too much emphasis on home ownership, that it's such a part of the American dream. We rented for many years. Fortunately had good landlords. Now we own a very nice house but the taxes would pay for a nice portion of a rental. As would the cost of our new "50 year roof." If we wanted to sell it I guess a kitchen remodel would be called for since so many are fixated on HGTV beautiful kitchens.
Not affiliated in any way with the company but just got a washing machine lint filter which traps 87% of the microplastics released by clothes in the washer. It was easy to install and so far I am horrified by how much it is catching that used to wash into the ocean.
Article about these types of devices here
https://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/blog/2017/3/2/15-ways-to-stop-microfiber-pollution-now
Love renting! But reading the comments, I think it really depends where you live. I live in a city with lots of terrific rental options but a housing market that is incredibly expensive. I would not be able to live so close to work and to my daughters' preschool if we had to buy, we would definitely be commuting an hour instead of 10 minutes. Also, we would lose access to a terrific public school system.
We have rented and owned. We prefer owning, but as we are now in the Bay Area we are renting. Homes here are 700K and above. Instead we are throwing an obscene amount of money into renting. They do fix things when they break and they do have a beautiful grounds, gyms and outdoor swimming pools. But inside the apartment, I can't change a thing. I hate off white carpet under a dining room table. At our home in Wisconsin, we took out the carpet under the dining room table and put in hardwood flooring. We loved it. Much easier to keep clean. Better for our allergies, etc. In an apartment, you can not change anything. My other fear, was in Wisconsin, we paid off the mortgage and I knew, if my husband died, I could maintain the other bills. But in an apartment in the Bay Area, we let our checking/savings accounts grow, because we have no idea how long a job here will last, and I have no way of paying the rent bill if my husband dies, without the large savings.
I know several lawyers, some are happy - why not, they drive Mercedes, have big homes and beautiful wives, who also drive Mercedes, are able to send their kids to expensive private schools, vacation often and expensively. Other lawyers, not so much. Difference? Who knows?
Renting, I definitely prefer to own. We did rent - to others!! Boy was that horrendous! I could talk for hours about the awful renters! My wife hated trying to collect the rent and listening to the hard luck stories and sitting in court. So she was happy when we stopped.
Oh, we also rented out our houses and it was THE WORST. I have so many stories about renters. That's why we work hard to be good renters who take good care of the property. I swear we are not like the renter who put every piece of food garbage down the disposal...including shrimp shells and an entire pot of beef stew!
The plastics article is muy, muy depressing *sigh*
We've rented twice, owned houses twice, and lived with my parents for 6 months. Renting was a great option for us when we lived on the east coast and owning would have been super expensive. (Ex: our landlord sold a piece of land next to us for about the same price that our house in Indiana sold for.) But we definitely prefer to own. My husband enjoys working on houses and missed that when we rented. We also enjoy the freedom to do what we want with our space. We can put a garden wherever we want. We can build a bathroom, add a door, etc.
I have, I think, the best of both worlds - I own my apartment, but pay rent to the building owner. Structural maintenance and issues are my landlord’s problem; inside my apartment, I can do what I want.
Well this post is generating a lot of responses today!
At my local BJ's (like Costco) they have big signs telling you to use the gas hoses on either side of the car.
For me, home ownership has another side to it: stability. I know people who have moved from one apartment to another and never really get a feeling of home. I'm a firm believer that kids need stability and I like the fact that my daughter is growing up in a house that will be her place to live unless a major life event changes that. No one can just decide "Yeah, I'm selling this apartment building. Get out in 30 days!"
My only problem with being the homeowner is that I am always the one hosting events as I have the room. No one except for my family ever invites us to their house. Of course that kind of hits the old ego as well.
Maybe when I'm old I will rent again but for now, I'm happy owning. I do hire someone to mow the lawn, though (because why be frugal doing something you loathe?)
I've been a lawyer for just over 13 years, and I mostly like it. I don't work at a law firm though - tried it briefly and hated it. I have primarily worked in-house for organizations and government. Fortunately I went to law school at a time & place (Canada in the early 2000s) with reasonable tuition, so I didn't graduate with a large debt. Law salaries are not necessarily as high as people think, especially in the first few years, so you really have to figure out whether the salary will justify a large debt.
I am much much happier owning than renting. I can do whatever I want to the place I live and don't have to settle for it being how someone else wants it to be. It comes with some maintenance but I'd prefer that to renting any day. Also owning has been so much better for us financially. The money we've made from selling our previous homes has enabled us to pay off my student loans so much sooner and now is enabling us to work toward adopting an infant without needing to get a loan or do some other financial Olympics to afford it.
I also do HOPE to retire earlier than is the norm. Of course I don't know if it will be fully retiring or simply slowing down and being able to work less and do only the work we really want to do.
Fingers crossed on adoption! That's awesome!
It upsets me how much it costs to adopt in the US.
You probably already know this, but just in case not: there is a tax write-off for adoption; if you are in the military, there is some sort of stipend the year of the adoption (sorry, it has been a few years since I worked adoptions. I went to that after leaving being a prosecuting attorney but I left to go back to prosecuting so my info is a bit dated.) In some states, if you adopt off of one of the regional exchanges a child who came from their state, the state will pay for the home study and will give a several thousand dollar stipend to offset some of the final attorney fees.
We have both rented and owned during many years. How happy you will be renting depends a lot on where you rent. In our current apartment maintenance is very quick to respond to any issues. Plus, we can change things within the apartment as long as we run it by maintenance first--which may result in a better choice. If the change is too drastic, like removing part of a wall, we have to return it to its original condition when we leave. But, we love living here where someone else shovels the snow--they even change the lightbulbs in our ceiling fixtures.
My husband and I built our own home with our own hands out of pocket. I think when it comes to buying vs. renting it is more than the financial issues. When owning a home there is a sense of pride in that ownership. Even though we built 12 years ago we are constantly working on our home, our lawn, garden, and keeping up what we have invested so much into. A lot of friends who rent have a "we don't care" mentality when it comes to making a place their own and then putting in the work and finances to keep it nice.
Regarding the “don’t be a lawyer”- most of the (fellow) nurses I know, and I, as well, would say now “ if you want to be happy, don’t be a nurse”, but I’m sure there are happy nurses and happy lawyers, etc. Do a lot of observing and talking to current and student whatever-you-think-you-want-to-bes and maybe a “shadowing” type program before making a huge commitment. It sure isn’t like it may look from the outside!
I also think there is a difference in what we expect from our jobs. My father was an engineer and I once asked him if he loved his work and he looked at me as if I had another head. "I work to make money and enjoy my family and time off. If I enjoyed my job they would not have to pay me to do it!" Which rather explained why he never was very sympathetic to my work related complaints. I think since the WWII generation, we have started to expect more fulfillment out of our jobs (and our spouses, actually. I asked one of my grandmothers once about her marriage and she said, "Of course I am happy. He works. He brings home the money instead of drinking. He fixes things. He does not hit me." )
What kind of engineer was your father?
I have family that is white collar and family that is blue collar; some have PhDs, others high school diplomas; in the older generation, several did not finish high school at all.
What I've found is that blue collar and white collar have different mentalities about work. (There are exceptions, of course.) Generally speaking, the blue collar workers take their work and their work environment as given and do not expect to be able to change it. White collar workers, on the other hand, tend to invest mentally in their work and their workplaces, and expect to able to influence both their work and their work environment. Having an effect is nice but it also means that negative work experiences can be harder to cope with.
We bought a nice, small-ish house when we were first married and paid it off quickly within 3 years. Then, after owning for 5 years, we built a larger home, which we own, and were able to do a 10 year mortgage instead of a longer one. We'll pay our forever home off the same year I turn 38. 🙂 Also, we rent our old house out for a substantial amount, which (so far) insures us good renters. As long as you buy a home within your means and put down a substantial down payment, I think it's usually a better financial deal to rent but everyone is different depending on what part of the country you live in!
I have some shoulder problems and it's hard for me to pull the gas hose to the opposite side of the car. My solution was invented when I drove my daughter to her 7 a.m.zero period Latin class every weekday morning--NO lines at Costco at 7 a.m. She graduated and is off to college, and it's a struggle for me to get up early enough, but worth it when I don't have to wait in lines and get to fill up on the easy side. ;o)
I certainly have my bad days as a lawyer, but I like it for the most part. I work for myself, and the type of law I practice is not adversarial--no litigation. I draft special needs trusts for disabled individuals and help people to qualify when they need public benefits like Medicaid, caregivers, housing, etc. I don't make oodles of money like most lawyers, but I get to help people who truly need it.
That sounds like a pretty fulfilling way to be a lawyer!
Jan, I know someone who might need the sort of trust you draft. Would you be willing to share your email address with me?
Thank you for doing this so necessary and important legal function. Our son has autism and we set up a special needs trust for him. It was one of the best decisions we have made.
My husband and I debate owning vs. renting. Right now, our mortgage on the "pay it back as quickly as possible" plan is still lower than rent would be for a comprable home, and we love that we're able to save money. We love having a decent sized backyard. We hate the maintainence on our 50 year old home that wasn't maintained well by previous owners. We move frequently, so we get to discuss this every time we move, and this cycle it was certainly advantageous to purchase and we do not regret our decision at all. If we can get a home on base at our next location, we will probably rent on base (pros: close to everything on base, tightknit community, no speeding!!!, lots of play areas for the kids; cons: super tiny backyards, construction grade everything). I think we change our minds based on our situation.
I'm putting in my vote in favor of renting. We owned a home for a few years and has nothing but stress and headaches from it. We have been renting houses for the past 12 years now- in both the U.S. and Europe- and LOVE the flexibility that renting gives us. We don't handle any major maintenance or repairs, we can choose to move for a better job as the opportunity arises, and we are frankly a little nomadic and get itchy for change. We take all of our 4 kids with us when looking at prospective houses as a "landlord test"... a good landlord is happy to see their smiling faces, while a problematic landlord is stressed or irritated that they exist. That has helped us avoid landlords we won't get along with. 😉
First, to the Equifax thing. Why oh why would you trust a company that royally screwed up to monitor your credit? No, thank you. We'll take our 0.33 and be happy about it!
In our area, it is so much less expensive to own a home. Our first home, the mortgage was $800 monthly. In our area it is well over $3k monthly to rent a 5 bedroom home (where we now live), and our rent is about 2/3 of that. Plus, in Colorado the economy is booming like crazy and we've already added $35k in our 1 year of living here, just because of our location. I cannot ever imagine renting again.
And, that should read our MORTGAGE, not our rent. Heaven forbid we pay $2k to rent anything.
Happier owning a home or renting one?
That's tricky. Because both are good for different reasons.
Renting: not responsible for maintenance, property taxes, insurance, can move when you want, pay significantly less monthly than with a mortgage, you're (typically) not responsible for trash, water, landscaping, heat/gas maintenance, not responsible for fix-its
Cons about renting: you are at the mercy of your landlord, they can enter your apt or home when they wish, rent rise without your control. you throw money away instead of putting it INTO a property
Owning: you can customize your place how you see fit, more freedom, your monthly payments are paying down a mortgage (like a savings) and you have equity and hopefully the value of the home will go up, tax credits for interest, when you sell, you get money back
Cons about owning: I had no idea property taxes would rise and rise and might cost more than rent, when the house is paid off!~ No idea how much work house maintenance, brush clearance, yard upkeep, etc would be (and cost)-- it's incredible and every month it seems as if something else is breaking.
Definitely prefer owning our home rather than renting. Too many bad experiences with renting...
I rent in retirement and believe it's one of the smartest retirement decisions I ever made.
So this summer, our garage door broke, the washer quit working as did both the central AC and the portable supplemental AC in the master, the dehumidifier had to be replaced, we've had several trees fall and we had to pay to have them removed, we're fighting with the driveway sealers who were highly rated but did a lousy job here and we've been trapping groundhogs who find digging under our porch to be a fascinating pastime. But would we go back to renting? No way! Never! Noise, lack of privacy and money grubbing, do-nothing landlords make renting a very undesirable option for us.
I did enjoy all the article links. And you never know about the Equifax thing maybe you'll wind up with the full amount. I just got a $77 Wal-Mart gift card from a class action lawsuit that I thought would net me no more than $10!
Gah. I forgot all about that squirrel! I wish I'd bought it from you!
I just want to chime in on the financial side of renting vs. owning. People are putting their money into their property when they pay their mortgage, and they assume they will get that money back when they sell. That is NOT always true.
We bought our first home when prices weren't particularly high. But when we needed to move, the major employer in the area was doing layoffs and the bottom fell out of the market. We lost well over $10k (probably closer to $20k) even if you account for what we would have paid in rent for the duration. And it took almost 2 years to sell, during which we lived in a different state.
Ultimately, renting vs. owning is about a place to live. People who are thinking about buying a house as an investment should do their research. Buying was the right decision for us at the time, but it definitely didn't turn out to be the best financial one.
Even after all this, my dad is still convinced that buying is always better. Sigh.
I was extremely lucky to rent from some very good landlords over the years and I never thought of renting as "throwing away my money" because I got a place to live out of it and did not have the responsibility of home ownership. I always rented from individuals and not big complexes or properties run by management companies. Once the landlords knew they could trust me, a lot of the rules were waived. I was allowed pets in "no pet" apartments; I could paint the walls or replace the fixtures as I saw fit. My rent was never raised, and even lowered in one case, because I was a good tenant and they wanted me to stay. Everything was well maintained, problems were always fixed, etc. etc. I realize that this is not everyone's experience.
But I wanted my own home so badly! I wanted autonomy. If I wanted to paint the walls chartreuse, (I don't), I didn't want to have to ask. I wanted a garden. I wanted to make all the decisions. It took a long time before I was ready. I bought in an older neighborhood, with no HOA (I am opposed to paying other people money to tell me what to do with my own property). I bought near the bottom of the market during the recession which was lucky because I wouldn't be able to afford this house if I were buying it today. I have huge lot, but no garden yet. The mortgage is much lower than current rents but it does take a lot of time and money to maintain this property. I don't care. I wouldn't want to go back to renting at this stage in my life. The equity I have built is nice, but is not the main reason I wanted to own. I'm a happy homeowner for now but I definitely see the benefits of renting.
I rented for years mostly sharing as the cost here is high. Now sadly in Aus people trade homes like shares so people have to move a lot when renting, twice I had to move after 6mths as the owners decided to sell. Here leases are typically 12mths but they can beak that & the landlord can put up the rent every 6 mths unless in a fixed term lease. Rents are now so high, people often have to bid silently like an auction to the realter for how much they will pay. I have been to open houses for renting where 50 competing families turned up. It was very stressful not knowing when I would next have to find another place to live & pay more removal costs, I can't imagine what that would be like if you had children who had to move schools etc once or twice every year. Renters here pay their own utilities & usually provide their own fridges/washing machines etc.
My current mortgage interest is about $50 cheaper per week than I would pay for a room in a share house, I feel for the first time in years I can make solid plans, my place is a renovators delight but it's mine, I don't have to move, I can put pictures on the walls, choose paint colours, I don't have to keep up with the Joneses so I don't need marble benchtops. I have a roof over my head & can afford the heating so I'm blessed.
also I can't afford to rent a place by myself & finding functional strangers to share a place with as I got older was getting harder & harder - & I figure if I need to later I can rent out my spare room to overseas students like a couple of my friends do
Re: rent v. owning -- I think it depends on your area. I live in an area where the housing market literally starts at $1 million for a fixer-upper. It's true this area goes through boom-bust cycles every twenty years or so, and I've seen both sides of it: folks who started when it was low and ended up losing the house, and those who got a $300,000 property that is now worth $1.4 million and sold out. There's also the downside: buying at $1.4 million right before the bubble bursts. Rents are also very high in these areas, too, though, so it's not always an easier way to live. I never look at real estate when I travel to more moderate areas--it's too depressing!
Renting depends so much on the landlord. I have had absolutely terrible landlords, but my current one is amazing. Sure there are things that we would fix up or change if we owned, but if we owned we would be responsible for the boring important stuff, too. My sister owns a condo but has an HOA, which surprised her that she likes because they handle some of the boring important stuff. My parents own but only bought the one home when they were in their late middle years (50s?). They plan and save and always prioritize boring important stuff, but have lots of fun with the fun gardening stuff and decorating. Six of one, half dozen of the other?