Owning my own home.
I know people who never own a home and always rent till they die. It gives me the creeps to think that if something happens and I can't pay my rent I'll be homeless. The home I grew in was already paid by my parents long before I was even born. It was in a poor neighborhood, a ghetto, but I loved the feeling of knowing that nobody could kick us out. Later in life I owned a home but I sold it when I relocated to Florida.
I dream about buying a home every single day of my life. I don't care if is not a good one. Heck, I don't care if is just a patch of land with no home built in it. The home where I grew in use to be just a patch of land. My father built a very simple structure, a floor, 4 walls and a roof. City inspectors came in and told him that nobody could live on the house because it had no toilet. They gave him one week. My dad installed a toilet right in the middle. Inspectors where baffled by Dad's actions... but city statute didn't said anything about bathroom walls, just the toilet... and Dad had no money for walls. Those 4 walls eventually became an actual dedicated bathroom as more rooms were added over the years. At it's peak, the home had 9 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, living room, kitchen, a large shed in the back and an independent one-bedroom apartment in the front. And that's how my dad was able to afford raising us 9 kids on a janitor's salary.
And why is my obsession a problem? Family members might not like living in the cheap houses. The hood might not be safe for kids, the location might be a PIA to travel to work, etc etc etc. But even if I don't move the family into a cheap house, I would like to own one as a "fall back position" in case SHTF. Makes sense?
Problem is that with that goal in mind, it gets in the way of everything else. I don't want to spend money on *anything* that is not absolutely necessary. Glad brand trash bags? No no no... lets get the cheapo ones, 99 cents...and save for the house.
