Back in 2015 when I wrote The List, 30 seemed so far away. Yet here it is, 18 days away. Do I own my own home? Not even close. This dream will be the first failure I'll have that can't be fixed... and I'm completely okay with it.
A lot has changed since 2015. I had just started a new job when I wrote The List, and at the time it seemed like I'd be there forever and I should just settle right down here where I currently live for the duration. In the time that's passed I've learned a lot about myself and what I want, and buying a home - at least here - doesn't make any sense at all.
So what changed?
1. The Chief Operations Officer at my company was let go, and it really shook me; like... hard. I was 2000 miles away in Portland, OR when it happened, and my boss called to deliver the news to me before I read it in an email. But beyond that phone call and a meeting with our CEO, very little information was given on why she was no longer with us. (However, I have gleaned some more information since, and I really do think it was best for both her and the company.) But she was my rock; she was what I wanted to be "when I grew up". Her leaving the company made me re-think so many things I had thought were true about myself... and that's all I have to say about that for now.
2. I learned that I LOVE public transportation. The first time I ever navigated public transit alone was in Paris, and after that I was completely hooked. My love for it has only grown since then. This may seem insignificant, but it showed me that I'm a far more urban girl than my very rural childhood would lead anyone to believe. The idea of living in a big city like New York or Chicago thrills me, and I think about it A LOT. Buying a house here in mid-Missouri would not make any sense right now, since all I can think about is selling all my things and moving into an 800 sq. ft. apartment in some huge city...
3. I've read a lot of business books in the last couple of years. The company I work for is absolutely one-of-a-kind; there is no doubt about that. It's a place people want to work so badly they'll move across the state and take a pay cut just to "get in the door". And our attrition rate, at least in my opinion, is very low. People love this company and everything it stands for. And so do I. But I have also, in my readings, learned that there are other companies that might be just as fantastic as the one I currently work for, and they just might be located in a city I'd prefer to live in. I'm absolutely not saying I'm thinking about quitting my job, but I'm also not so tied to it that I'd never consider leaving (like I was when I first wrote The List).
4. Mortgage rates. Mortgage rates changed. For the worse.
5. Rich and I make a lot more money between the two of us now than when I first wrote The List, and we're actively working at saving and aggressively paying off debt. Right now, adding a house payment (and all the other things that come along with owning your home rather than renting...) doesn't make sense for us financially. Could we do it? Absolutely. Do we want to spend our money that way? We do not. I'd personally love to pay everything off we've got while simultaneously using the excess to travel all over the world before owning my own home at this point in my life, and I think Rich feels the same.
Eventually I want to buy a house, but it's definitely not a top priority right now. I'm crossing this one off The List because it no longer applies, and like I said before - I'm completely okay with it.
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