Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Moving (Inshallah)

We are moving. Not far. A block away.

I am so excited, it's all I think about nowadays. We are moving into a glorious little brick cottage, with two bedrooms and a breakfast nook and beautifully-painted walls. And a FENCED. IN. BACKYARD. WITH A GARDEN. Can you tell I'm a little excited?!

Two things stand in our way now: one, being approved by the management company, but I don't imagine any difficulties. Two, selling our contract to our current apartment, and I'm hopeful about this as well. We've had 4 or 5 couples already come by and look today, but no definite answers. Hopefully it will work out. I'm getting nervous. I think I'll gussy the place up a bit and make it look real nice to convince someone. I mean, it's definitely not the best apartment out there, but it's functional and cheap.

Our new place: not cheap. But I'm slowly releasing the frugalness inside of me. It all started with our IKEA mattress... now we have a KitchenAid and soon a BlendTec (that's what I've decided on.... I'll blog more about it once I actually buy it). Life is too short to be a cheapskate, you know? Mind you, I'm not going to be throwing money away left and right... I'm not a shopper and don't anticipate ever being one. But there are some purchases I've been delaying but contemplating for a while now and I'm finally deciding it's ok to take the plunge. I think a big part of me is hesitant to buy things because I always consider the money I spend could be better spent elsewhere. I feel so guilty about sleeping on a $300 mattress when some kid in Cambodia is sleeping on car tires in a dump. I just look at the inequality in the world, and it makes me so sad and I feel helpless to stop it and it frustrates me. And even though we're considered low-income in the US... I still feel incredibly rich most every day. But I've got to release the guilt of spending money and stop over-analyzing every single little purchase and thinking the money could be better spent. Money is money is money. The world sucks. But me not spending money and buying cheap-o, unethically-made, commercialized produced lame stuff and food, and not being content with my life (ie, living in a tiny basement apartment and obsessing over coupons) will NOT make the world a better place. It'll just make my and my family's world a little more tense and the earth a little more abused.

So, here's to buying local and handmade and living in beautiful little cottages with backyards and gardens! Even if it means spending more money.

2 comments:

  1. I'm so happy to see you had an epiphany about money. Its a balancing act really, I find I'm still learning needs vs. wants.

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  2. Sometimes you just have to come to grips with the fact that a happy, comfortable life may require some expenditures. But after that you have to decide how MUCH to spend and how much to save. And that's where everything gets difficult! For me, anyway.

    Kayla
    Freckles in April | a modest clothing blog

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