Reader Story: Even Better Than Enough

This guest post from Louisa Rogers is part of the “reader stories” feature at Get Rich Slowly. Some stories contain general advice; others are examples of how a GRS reader achieved financial success — or failure. These stories feature folks from all levels of financial maturity and with all sorts of incomes.

I feel deeply fortunate. I have close-knit family, friends, health, beautiful surroundings, work I love, and financial security. In a word, I have Enough. But there’s something that brings me perhaps as much happiness as Enough, and that is I don’t have Too Much. I don’t own too many cars, appliances, sports equipment, kitchenware, furniture, clothes, books, household goods, or knick-knacks.

I just turned 59. Most of my peers have accumulated much more than my husband and I have. I don’t envy them. We love our cozy, $695/month 750-square-foot apartment, which allowed us to buy and remodel an old house in Mexico. We travel a lot and never worry about theft when away from either home. Having Enough frees me from worry — but not having Too Much also frees me from worry.

For me, the key to living simply has been getting to know and accept myself. Here are five values that have, over the years, led me to minimize consumption.

The less time organizing, the better. Order doesn’t come naturally to me. “A place for everything and everything in its place” sounds great — but it’s not who I am. I organize things from time to time, but soon lose interest, and end up with little puddles of mess here and there. Every so often I ask the natural organizers in my life for tips, but my tendencies don’t change much long-term. Instead of fighting my nature, my solution is to have less to organize in the first place.Fewer decisions make me happy. I can agonize over even simple decisions. One day I woke up with a brilliant realization: Stuff entails decisions. (Duh!) Should I buy this? Where should I buy it from? What is the best make? How do I find out? How can I be sure it’s worth it? What if I don’t like it? Where do I put it? How do I make sure I can find it? Just listing all the decisions involved in acquiring tires me out. My solution is to accumulate less. Fewer things = fewer decisions.It’s easier for me to say no to something before than after. Once something’s mine, I become attached, and I can almost always come up with a justification to keep it. I don’t throw things away easily. My rule of thumb is to stop Stuff at the “point of entry” — not to acquire it in the first place. Every time I consider buying a non-perishable item, I remind myself that it will take up space, require upkeep, and compete with other objects for my attention. Am I sure I want it? Once I’ve factored all this in, I usually find myself saying no. True, a moment of wistfulness takes hold of me as I give up the perfume of ownership. But I’ve learnt that the whiff does pass, and I’m left with the far sweeter scent of freedom.I’ll take access over ownership. I’d rather swim at a community pool than own a private pool. (Actually, I’ve done better than that: Rather than drive six miles to the nearest public pool, I bought a shortie wetsuit and now save money, gas, and time by open-water swimming in Humboldt Bay, a three-minute walk from our door. The photo above shows where I swim.) Recently I was invited to renew my subscription to a fitness magazine. The publisher threw in a second magazine with the $20 renewal price. I hesitated. Hard to turn down a deal! Yes, I’d enjoyed the magazine — but how much? Suddenly I hit on an idea. I called my local library and asked if they’d like the two magazines as a gift subscription. They were delighted. Perfect solution! I can still read the magazine — and meanwhile am contributing in a small way to my community.I balance practicality with sentiment. My mother died over 30 years ago, and the Meissen china I inherited from her is emotionally important to me. But I sold 90% of it to an antique dealer many years ago. I still have enough for a small dinner party, and I think of her whenever I use it.

That last point deserves a little more discussion. I agree with J.D. that our financial decisions are more emotional than logical, and for me, the same holds true for Stuff.

Most people I know have family photos on display in their homes. When I visit my sisters, I look at our family photos and feel a pang that few of mine are anywhere to be seen. But pictures on tables create dust, and I’m not a great housekeeper. Plus, after awhile I stop noticing the photos anyway. I love my family, but I don’t keep many photos of them on display.

I had cartons of old journals dating from age 11. In theory, I respect the value of documentation, but in practice I’m just not that invested in my journals. On the rare occasion when I dip into one, I usually feel morose. After years of inner wrestling, I decided I would selectively let some go. This was a difficult decision (and I hate decisions!) Was I destroying valuable records? Maybe 100 years from now someone might come upon my journals and read with rapt interest what life was like in the Sixties, Seventies and Eighties, just as we read diaries of the pioneers.

A page from one of Louisa’s journals.

But, on the other hand, I didn’t want to feel defined by my past. So I kept the early adolescent ones, and all the journals up to about age 30, but after that era I chose about 15 to give to my husband. (I tried to sell them on eBay, but had only one query from a buyer who never bought). The agreement I made with my husband was that if within a month, I had not asked for them back, he would ‘release’ them (the phrase ‘throw away’ was too harsh for me). Out of respect for my earlier self, I tore out random pages and have collaged them into my art journal. So who-I-was-then continues to exist in my life, in a different form. (Note: I never did ask him for the journals. I forgot all about them. So they have met their maker!)

Remember earlier I mentioned buying a house in Mexico? That’s where I am now, as I write: in our 150-year-old adobe home. Surprisingly, in some ways it’s been more of a challenge living simply and economically here in Mexico than in our California life. But that’s another story…

Reminder: This is a story from one of your fellow readers. Please be nice. After more than a decade of blogging, I have a thick skin, but it can be scary to put your story out in public for the first time. Remember that this guest author isn’t a professional writer, and is just learning about money like you are. Henceforth, unduly nasty comments on readers stories will be removed or edited.

This article is about Choices, Psychology, Reader Stories  Sunday, 10th October 2010 (by J.D. Roth)  

View the original article here

Reader Story: Working for Uncle Sam Overseas

This guest post from Mike is part of the “reader stories” feature at Get Rich Slowly. Some stories contain general advice; others are examples of how a GRS reader achieved financial success — or failure. These stories feature folks from all levels of financial maturity and with all sorts of incomes.

Traveling to exotic new places is a passion of mine. My wife reminisces fondly over a dinner conversation we had about nine years ago while we were still dating. I emphatically told her, “I am going to show you the world.” Sure, she probably took it as a pick-up line, but little did we know that those words would become prophetic for us.

At the time, I was a federal employee living in San Diego, California, working within the Department of Defense as a civil servant (non-military) employee. Over the next four years, we wed and my wife gave birth to our first child. Prior to marriage, we made the decision that having my wife stay at home with the kids was important to us. Anyone who has spent some time and money in San Diego knows that the city’s cost of living makes choosing to be a single-income family difficult. As our family grew and our costs increased, we decided to consider looking for a more affordable place to live.

The Job Search
The U.S. Government’s official website for job opportunities and information is www.USAJobs.gov. Most federal employees, including myself, maintain current resumes on that site in case a better opportunity comes along. Although I enjoyed federal employment, at the time I didn’t want to limit my job search to federal jobs. I also looked into some of the non-government job search sites on the web.

Shortly thereafter, the resume that I’d posted on www.Monster.com was pulled by a company in North Carolina, who flew me cross-country for an interview. I flew over on a Sunday night to interview first thing on Monday morning. Although the interview went well, we couldn’t agree on a salary, so I thanked them for the interview and flew home that night. When I returned to my office on Tuesday morning, I found an email in my inbox that changed my life.

Honey, How Do You Feel About Japan?
“Dear Applicant, your resume is under consideration for a vacancy with the U.S. Navy in Yokosuka, Japan”, the email began. After reading through the entire email and recognizing that the job description matched well with my career goals and past experience, I called my wife for her thoughts. “Honey, how do you feel about living in Japan?”, I asked.

She told me that she wouldn’t consider it until I was offered the job. Within a matter of weeks, I interviewed for the position and received an offer, which I discussed with my wife and then accepted.

Federal Overseas Employee Benefits
Many folks are already aware of the benefits of full-time federal employment:

flexible work scheduleshealth insurancelife insuranceretirement planning and matching contributions through the federal 401k-like Thrift Savings Plangenerous leave accrual policiesand so on

But overseas, the benefits are greater. I didn’t know it at the time, but by accepting the job offer, I was embarking on a wonderful personal finance journey, which included Living Quarters Allowance (LQA), Post Allowance, Home Leave, access to worldwide military Commissaries (grocery stores) and Base Exchanges (shopping centers), and one roundtrip Space A flight per year.

For those GRS readers that don’t have previous military or federal civilian backgrounds, here’s a brief explanation:

And though I didn’t mention it before, we also had access to the Department of Defense schools, medical and dental clinics, and free gym access on base.

Our Overseas Experience
We absolutely enjoyed our four years in Japan. It was a rewarding professional experience for me, and an enjoyable personal experience for the entire family. From central Japan, we were easily able to visit other parts of Asia, including South Korea, Thailand, Singapore — and, of course, much of Japan as well. We also took trips back home from time to time to see family, and enjoyed a couple of vacations in Hawaii.

Despite all the traveling, we were also able to save money more rapidly than at any other point in our lives. Without having the burden of a rent/mortgage payment and large utility bills to hammer our budget each month, our percentage of monthly income that went to pay for Needs plummeted. We were able to afford many more of our Wants and still save for both short and long term goals without hesitation.

We’re often asked whether we’d consider moving back overseas again. We most definitely would if the right opportunity came along. In fact, at the time I’m writing this, I’m waiting to hear back regarding an interview I recently had for a position in Europe. My wife and I are both giddy about the opportunity!

How About You?
This opportunity may be a challenge for some people. First, there are federal employment limitations for folks who are not U.S. citizens — though it is possible. Second, some people won’t necessarily feel the same way about international travel that my family does. If this story doesn’t appeal to you, I hope you’ve stopped reading long before now!

But for those of you that wonder if it could work for you, there’s a strong likelihood that it could. I’ve been told that the US Government is the largest employer in the world and that over 88,000 of those jobs are located outside of the United States, in over 140 countries worldwide. Available jobs include technical, administrative, educational, white-collared, gray-collared, blue-collared…you name it.

If you’re interested, I suggest logging on to www.USAJobs.gov to explore the career opportunities available to you. There, you can create and post a resume, search positions currently available, and track the status of your job inquiries. You can also limit your search to certain geographical areas within or outside of the United States and to certain salary levels.

Who knows — maybe one day you’ll find yourself traveling the world, courtesy of Uncle Sam.

Reminder: This is a story from one of your fellow readers. Please be nice. After more than a decade of blogging, I have a thick skin, but it can be scary to put your story out in public for the first time. Remember that this guest author isn’t a professional writer, and is just learning about money like you are. Henceforth, unduly nasty comments on readers stories will be removed or edited. (And on this post, that means no grousing about government employees.)

This article is about Career, Reader Stories  Sunday, 19th September 2010 (by J.D. Roth)  

View the original article here

Reader Story: How We Became Reluctant Landlords

This guest post from Jolyn is part of the “reader stories” feature at Get Rich Slowly. Some stories contain general advice; others are examples of how a GRS reader achieved financial success — or failure. These stories feature folks from all levels of financial maturity and with all sorts of incomes. You can read more about Jolyn’s financial adventures at Budgets are the New Black.

My husband and I bought our first home in Las Vegas, Nevada, when he was stationed there with the Air Force. This was right after 9/11 when the economy was stagnant and the real-estate market uncertain. In the spirit of our new hometown, we took the gamble and plunged into home ownership, banking on the economy recovering before it was time for us to move again in a few years.

Fast-forward to 2004: The market was on fire! Houses were selling mere hours after being listed! Our house had appreciated by $120,000! It was also time for us to move again — and time for us to take the money and run, right? Wrong!

It seems hard to imagine now, but we really thought it would be a good idea to hold onto the house a little while longer. We were (literally) buying into the investment mentality that many have in the military who buy a house at every assignment with the intention of renting it out when it’s time to move, slowly accumulating wealth through appreciation. We weren’t really interested in keeping the house for the long haul, but we did count ourselves fortunate to have already gained so much equity.

Besides, we were moving overseas. What if we tried to sell the house and something fell through before we could close on it? My husband had an inflexible report date. We had small children, and I was pregnant. It wouldn’t be easy to deal with any problems selling a house while trying to settle into a new one in another country at the same time. We decided it would be easier to wait a couple of years, when we didn’t have so many things going on at the same time. Maybe the house would even be worth more by then.

Now fast-forward to today.

Are you laughing yet? Because we all know what happened! By the end of 2006, the real-estate market was going south. Las Vegas was — and still is — at the top of the list of cities hardest hit by the bust. Today, not only has our house lost all of the appreciation it gained in the short time we lived in it, it also wouldn’t sell for what we bought it for in 2001! Our ship came in, and we passed it by.

On Being Landlords
We’ve had five renters in the last six years. Las Vegas is a transient city! Most tenants have been fine. Some, well, they’ve been not so fine. At least one trashed the place. Three bailed out early, one in the middle of the night. Two had serious personal crises that required them to leave the area rather quickly. The latest was involved in a domestic dispute and actually felt bad about breaking her lease after only two months. She even did her best to clean the place up before turning in the key. In the past, we’ve had to clean the place up and replace the locks.

The house has stood empty this entire summer since that last tenant left. At one point some vandals broke in through a window and stole the washing machine. It looked like they tried to take the dryer, too, before they were interrupted. They haven’t been caught. Vandalism in Vegas is becoming a rampant business: so many empty, foreclosed homes, waiting for the banks to process them. It’s going to take a while for the market to bounce back — but the recovery will probably look more like a waddle.

The Cost
When we have tenants, the rent check does cover our ownership expenses, which are plentiful. In addition to the mortgage, we also pay:

Two association feesOne bi-annual assessmentThe sewer and trashThe water bill (which, interestingly enough, runs way less in the desert than it has anywhere else we have lived)

It’s the weeks and months between tenants that cost us dearly: eighteen months total so far. The bills above are due even when the house is empty, and there are always fees involved to prepare the house for new renters: clean-up, extermination, painting, and so on. We also pay to keep the power on in our name when the house is vacant. It gets hot in Vegas! No one wants to rent a sauna.

We do have a property manager who takes an 8% cut from the rent check (when there’s a tenant). That’s an improvement over our first manager who took 10%, which is actually more typical. We changed managers because we were looking for a better business relationship, though, not because we thought we were paying too much. Land-lording long-distance is not for the faint of heart, and we started out at the bottom of a steep learning curve.

Woulda-Coulda-Shoulda
Now, I’d be lying if I told you that I wouldn’t like to bang my head on a brick wall now and then when I think of the financial gain that we let slip away. But it’s not all doom and gloom: I sincerely believe that these experiences happen to shape our character and our future choices, and that sometimes gains aren’t always monetary. What on earth do we not have? My family is strong and healthy, our income is secure, and our future is just as certain as the next person’s.

In fact, my husband just got a promotion (and a raise). And we just secured a new tenant. (Let’s hope he stays for his whole lease!) What on earth do we have to complain about? We may have missed our ship when it came in, but we’re still standing on the dock on our own two feet. And if worse comes to worse, we can always swim.

That’s not the case for everyone in Las Vegas, particularly for other members of the military. Many of them got caught buying houses during the hype and then receiving orders to move right after the market tanked. They turned around and found themselves upwards of $100,000 upside down in a house they had to leave, with no prospect of renting it out for enough to pay the bills. Fortunately, depending on when they purchased their home, there’s federal assistance for some of these owners. But often they’re required to short-sell, which still affects their credit, which will affect their housing options for the next place(s) they live.

Should We Just Walk Away?
We’ve been asked on occasion, “Have you ever thought about just walking away?” And to be honest, no, we haven’t. It’s not just a matter of not wanting to ruin our credit. We made the decision to buy the home, and we took out a mortgage for it with every intention of paying it back. Washing our hands of it because it’s painful — which it is — simply wouldn’t be the right thing to do.

Now, if we couldn’t make the mortgage payment, that’d be another thing. Obviously, if something happened that caused my husband to lose his income or to take a severe cut in pay (I don’t want to think about how that would happen since he’s in the military), keeping a roof over our own heads and food on our table would take precedence over making a mortgage payment on a house we don’t live in.

We’re in It for the Long Haul
Or until the market recovers enough for us to sell. Or until we pay off enough of the mortgage snowball-style to meet the current market value. Whichever comes first. For now, at least, we’ll continue to make payments on a house that is currently worth less than what we owe on it. And we will bide our time.

Since our time in Vegas, we’ve moved twice and are now back in the States. And we bought the home we live in here in Ohio! At the time, we were expecting to stay here (at least) four years. Alas, the military has other plans, and now we’re trying to sell this home in anticipation of moving to California. Where we have no plans to buy a house! We’re looking forward to living on base, assuming a house is available, or renting “on the economy” if one is not. Additional home ownership is on hold for the foreseeable future.

We Won’t Be Buying a House Again Anytime Soon
Not only has my husband’s career path changed, now making it less likely that we will settle down anytime soon, but our perspectives on debt and credit have completely turned a corner as well. We discovered Dave Ramsey a little over a year ago, and since then we have eradicated all of our consumer debt (almost $20,000) and are striving to never use credit again.

Except, possibly, for a house. Someday. But only for what little amount we aren’t able to pay for with cash.

Homeownership is a lovely thing. Owning rental property can be a wonderful investment! Just please don’t go about it like we did, with our eyes wide shut. Understand what you are getting yourself into, the financial risks that are involved, and prepare accordingly — preferably, with cash. No great opportunity is worth the burden of a financial responsibility you aren’t prepared to have. You can take my word on that.

Reminder: This is a story from one of your fellow readers. Please be nice. After more than a decade of blogging, I have a thick skin, but it can be scary to put your story out in public for the first time. Remember that this guest author isn’t a professional writer, and is just learning about money like you are. Henceforth, unduly nasty comments on readers stories will be removed or edited.

This article is about Economics, Entrepreneurship, House and Home, Reader Stories  Sunday, 3rd October 2010 (by J.D. Roth)  

View the original article here