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Sharon de Bruyn

20Mar 09

For Sale / For Rent

Purchase Or Rent 1 Comment »

What’s your house really worth?  If you choose to listen to the news lately, it is full of doom and gloom.  The world is in a state isn’t it!  Well, we have been through bad times before and we will again, so maybe now is a good time for all of us to do a spring clean on how we think financially to see where we can improve.

house-40-2

DO YOU RENT OR OWN A HOME?

That is the question…..and only you can answer it for yourself.

Think for a moment, if we are in the process of owning our home, what will we eventually pay for it after all the repayments &  interest, council rates, maintenance and improvements etc?  At what age will we be free from the Bank?  Usually, unless a person is careful, they will spend a good part of their lives paying off their home.

Now if we were to rent and put the same money aside as if we were making repayments etc into a high interest account over the same period of time, a large sum would be available.  I am not suggesting you leave it all in the one bank account but just for an example.  There is an article well worth reading that goes into great detail about renting versus home ownership.  Click on the following title to read the article.

What’s your house really worth?

Now renting does not suit everyone:

- the rent may increase regularly

- the owners may sell the property and you might have to find somewhere else

- it may need improvements that can take forever to get done

There can be many variables but this goes hand in hand with renting.

If you choose to own your own home you may find it an endless pit of bills with rates, maintenance, renovating etc.

Many people buy investment homes, rent them out and then live in a rental themselves as this gives them more tax benefits.  In the end renting may prove a cheaper alternative but it is not for everyone.

We all make our own choice where and how we live.

Here is a picture of where my father lived as a boy.

kerosene-shack-grandads

His parents were poor.  They lived in a tent in the show grounds for some time before my grandfather built a house in the bush which he made out of kerosene tins and whatever else he could salvage.  My Nanna used flour and sugar bags as curtains, tea towels, pillow cases etc.  They were also used to make tough mats for the dirt floor. For a time they washed in the nearby creek.

nanna-washing-in-creek

Although my Dad’s family knew hardships, they were happy there.  They lived as they could afford to.  Later on, as they prospered they were able to move into town.

In today’s climate, people are getting upset and terribly worried about what is happening in the world around them.  Maybe it is time to check to see if we are living above our means.  Are our houses homes or are symbols of status?  Are we living beyond our means?

Think about what you really want in life.  Without planning, setting goals and putting them into action, you will find your progress slow.  Sometimes, you need to make tough decisions to get ahead in life.

So whether  you choose to live in your own home or rent is up to you  Life is full of choices, don’t just plod through life and see it as a hard slog.  We only get one life, so plan, set goals and work towards living the life of your dreams.

Best wishes,

Sharon
Copyright© 2009

POST SCRIPT:

My father gave me this updated information, so I thought I would share it with you:

This is an old Kerosene & tar drums house Snows dad Leslie built out in the bush, about 2 miles out of Atherton On the left side was a big bedroom, all slept in the 1 room dived off at one end.
On the right was the kitchen. It had dirt floors, a wooden table & stools. Used newspaper on the table for a tablecloth. A recess for the wooden stove. Had a hanging safe & put wet bags over it to keep it cool. A big round tin tub in the kitchen to bath in and all shared the same water. Mainly kept clean by swimming, took a cake of soap with us.
Had bags on the windows to keep out the sun an rain. A carbide light sat on the kitchen table and kerosene lanterns we carried around.
A copper to boil the clothes in. Had a good walk down to the creek to fill the kerosene tins with water for washing, cooking, drinking.
We use to catch chooks in the trees and bring them home and catch some wild ones and put them in the chook run. Had them for eating and eggs.
We had a tree climbing kangaroo as a pet, we would let him out of a morning and he would come back at night and we would lock him up.
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Our toilet was a Dunny which was a shed with a bag door.  A big hole in the ground with a square box over it to sit on. A big nail on the wall that held the newspaper squares, that was used as toilet paper.   It was quite a walk to the dunny.