Earlier this year I posted about celebrating 10 years at Financial Symmetry. I also noted that my husband and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary. This fall we would have also celebrated 10 years in our home, but it doesn’t look like we are going to make that milestone. As papa bear says in The Berenstain Bears’: Moving Day (a must read when planning a move with small children), “My dears, the time has come to move.”
Decisions, Decisions
The decision to move was a very difficult one for Jason and me. We absolutely loved our house and thought it would be our forever home. When we started our home shopping process 9.5 years ago we were focused on neighborhoods close to the FSI office and nearby areas in Cary. We looked at countless homes and just couldn’t find anything we liked. A lot of the neighborhoods in our price range just didn’t speak to us. “Champagne taste on a beer budget” as they say. Eventually we found a great house in Apex. It was a 20 minute drive to work for me and Jason was able to work primarily from home at the time, so the extra few minutes in the car felt like a no brainer.
The house was the perfect place to grow our family. We had a screened in porch, large back yard and plenty of space for entertaining. As we grew our careers the mortgage payment became very comfortable. We were even able to refinance to a 15 year mortgage at a very low interest rate. We did a few updates and remodeling projects and finally felt it was our own. Jason frequently noted that we could have the house paid off when our oldest son was still in high school. At that point the possibilities would be endless.
Change Is Inevitable
As the years passed the area grew up around us. This was a positive as we had access to more shops and restaurants, but the negative was the increased traffic. Jason also took a job where he needed to be traveling or in the office every day. Every 6 months to a year we would look at what houses were on the market that might offer us a shorter commute. Every time we did this exercise we decided to stay in our current home as the location premium we would have to pay just didn’t seem worth it.
Then our second child was born. Life instantly became more hectic and time was at a premium. We realized we were missing out on time together in the mornings and evenings because we were spending so much time in the car. We took a hard look at what we could afford and what neighborhoods might offer us a comparable home. After much consideration we decided the time had come to move.
What’s More Important?
As a financial planner it was hard for me to come to terms with spending the extra money on a new home and all the extra costs that go along with it. After all, one of our constant recommendations is to delay gratification to save money for your future. While this is always prudent advice, it’s also important to strike a balance between enjoying your life now and saving for later. The trade off between time and money was our biggest consideration and ultimately we decided that the time together was more valuable to us than the cost savings.
Time = Money
Are you grappling with a time/money conundrum? Sometimes an unbiased third party can be pivotal in helping you make a necessary financial decision. Having the feedback of my financial planning colleagues was instrumental in helping me overcome the emotions that were holding me back. A financial plan can help you get started. Embracing change is typically the next step. From there the possibilities are endless. I would like to say that making this decision was the hardest part of this process, but the buying/selling/moving that followed provided for an emotional and financial roller coaster. More to come on that later…
