Am I ready for home ownership?

Waving financial matters to the side, home ownership for a single girl, is it a good idea?



Last week, my toilet broke and wouldn’t flush, I had to go into the cold water tanky thing and manually move the big black blob to flush it. Well, I called my super and half hour later he was there with a cart full of interesting instruments and 10 minutes after that my toilet was doing the happy flush dance. He had to replace the whole mechanism back there, because it basically deteriorates in water over time. He gave me a quick, serious lecture on the thing, but in one ear out the other.



Yesterday, I tried to turn on my cold water tap in my kitchen and it just spun and spun without water coming out. Again, I called my super and they will go in and fix it.



Over a year ago, I couldn’t unplug my bathtub drain, no matter how much I struggled with the plunger and how many different unplug-drain liquids I poured. They had to send a plumber in to put a giant hole in my wall in order to get to the pipe that was plugged by…get ready for it… my kitchen sink. Apparently it is very rare that the bathroom and kitchen drain into the same pipe, but of course if it will happen it will happen to me. There was drilling, and cutting and basically a giant hole in my wall, which was fixed within 3 days without any scares to the wall to indicate the mad hole. If you can’t tell, I was very disturbed by the hole, as I had strange images of monsters coming out of there or loosing my cat in it. Yes, over exaggerated it in my head, since it was an internal wall and really no monsters live there, but you get the idea.



This got me thinking this morning, what if there was no super? What happens when I don’t have access to someone to fix the un-flushing toilet, the dry tap or unplug my bathtub drain? What do I do then? I don’t have easy access to a know-it-all dad, or any other kind of handy man friend. Does this mean I will have to either call a super expensive plumber for something as small as the change of some rubbery thingy-majic inside a tap, would he laugh at me as he hands me an outrageous bill? Or would I be certain that I can learn how to fix it from a book and try my hand at fixing it? Suddenly, I have a strange vision manifest itself of water gushing like a fountain out all of my taps. Cold, freezing water that cannot be stopped…



This is what my mind is pondering today.

me vs boxing day 3:3

Well, I don't know what I was thinking 3 days ago when I decided to put myself on the shopping fast until the end of Feb 2011.
I was setting myself for a fail, which of course I did.
1. I had not finished purchasing my sister's Christmas gift.
2. I had 2 more friends that were still missing their Christmas gifts.

I was telling everyone left right and centre that I had no intentions to go shopping this week. Last year we went on a mad week long shopping spree that set me back a few grand and I am sure I am still paying for it. This year, I was/am putting my foot down.
My sister kept giving me the sad puppy eyes every time I went on my little no shopping rant and finally I broke.

We hit the mall on Boxing day.

My original gift idea was to get my sister a ridiculously expensive graphic tee from The Gap, which was now 40% off. She didn't like any of them, but I really liked one of them. I tried it on, loved it and walked around the store with it in my hand for a while. I put it back on the shelf and walked out of the store. I decided I did not need a graphic tee.

Score 1:0

We went to another store where I needed to pick up of the other 2 gifts I needed. Turned out the little set was 50% off! Score! Here is the thing though... I used a gift card to buy it which was given to me for Xmass. Is this considered re-gifting? Is it on some level extremely socially unacceptable to do something like this?

I actually picked up a second set for my other friend, covering my 2 outstanding gifts. And I also saw a cute little travel perfume jar that can be loaded from your favourite perfume bottle and snagged it for myself. $12.99 for this little gizzmo was outrageous, but the idea is brilliant and will replace the bottle of body mist that I lug around with me in my purse. On top of everything, I just got 2 for 1 gifts and part of it was not paid by me.

Score 1:1

We continued walking around and of course waked into a shoe store. One of my weaknesses, beautiful shoes that were now ready to be loved with prices lowered by more than 50%.
I looked and I loved but I didn't touch. My sister zeroed in on a cute pair of boots. She looked, she loved, she tried on. Now she wanted.
I looked, I loved and I touched a gorgeous silver Guess purse. I wanted. It wasn't on sale at all but I now wanted. I closed my eyes and handed the purse back to the store clerk.

Score 2:1

In the mean time, my sister was ready to purchase. Then she looked me and said " Well, you can get these for me and that can be my gift" *insert puppy eyes*

$90 boots now $39.99, I took out my debit card and bought them for her.

Score 2:2

Next, jean store. My sis wanted to get a new pair of jeans. And I needed a belt to hold up my $180 jeans, which have been sliding down in an unflattering way for the last month or two.

Half hour later, she had a pair of Silver jeans and I had a new belt already looped in and doing it's job.

2:3

Next, we walked into the kitchen supply store. I really need a new knife set, the blades of the one I have actually bend when I try to cut through things. I found what I was looking for, but it wasn't on sale enough to be covered by the gift card my sis gave me. I put it back and decided to wait until I can cash my airmiles for an additional gift card to cover the difference.

Final score 3:3

Not counted in here, were the few purchases my sis did for me, as she owed me some money....Is that considered shopping?

All in all, I don't think I failed too miserably....

Credit Cards are In JAIL.

I confiscated my own credit cards this morning. Well, I took them out of my wallet and put them on my night stand. Is this going to be enough, most likely not… and so I have a feeling I may steal an idea from a famous movie and freeze them in a block of ice.

After I received my latest credit card statement, I had the great plan of throwing my hands in the air and forgetting about it until January, when I will start again. Well, that is actually the most common mistake made by us the debt ridden consumer. An interesting analogy I recently heard was about going on the New Years resolution diet in after the Holidays, at which point no only do you still have that pesky 20lb from last holiday season, but now another 20 from the current bender. So, this girl is going to live credit card less. Out of wallet, out of mind … right? Any wonderfully happy shopaholic will tell you there are a reason and a need for everything.

And thus in the spirit of giving over the holidays, I am giving myself a shopping ban.
Oh this will be hard, I will probably go into severe withdraw but it has to be done.
As I see it, I have lived with the things I have accumulated thus far until now without anything bad happening to me, nobody has died from not having one more dress, and I will have to make do with what I have. And to be honest what I have is far more than the average person.

And now Ladies and Gents… I hope that you join me on my journey through life as a single young professional with lofty financial goals and just as lofty credit card bill.