The Love of Money

The Love of Money
Originally uploaded by nomm de photo

If you had a substantial savings account, would you use the money to put a down payment on a house or on a new life?

Lately, Matty and I have been bouncing around some plans for our future and last night I asked him that question because it's something that's been on my mind lately. Sadly, like a lot of people in this country, sometimes it seems that we are just living to work so we can make money and buy bigger things.

When I see our combined salaries on paper, I'm shocked: in theory, we make a lot of money compared to how much money the average family makes in America. In actuality, however, because we live in one of the most expensive areas of the country, our combined salary doesn't go very far. We almost emptied our savings when we bought our flat in 2008; for the 12 months that followed, we both worked our asses off and saved enough to pay for our two wedding celebrations in cash and to pay off my credit card debt.

Fortunately, we were able to do just that however needless to say, our savings is in the rebuilding stage once again. But what are we saving for? A another down payment to put on another grossly overpriced home in this ridiculously overpriced state?

Don't get me wrong - I would LOVE to have a larger home (700 sq. ft. is pretty small) but at what price? We could buy a 2 bedroom in Hoboken with outdoor space or a 3 br. home in a town with a train station and shopping, like Ridgewood, but will emptying our bank account decrease the stress in our lives and increase the quality of our lives? Or is our life going to be exactly the same but in a larger space with less money in the bank until we rebuild it again?

So, What's La Pointe of It All? It's this - I really think we should seriously consider using our future savings to put a down payment on a new life instead of a new house. In the long run, I think it's a wiser investment to use it to get out of this rat race and into a lovelier way of living.