The American dream of a little cottage with a white picket fence in a pastoral setting has passed us by. These days more is better and enough isn't. Why aren't we satisfied with a cozy little home, decent clothes, and plenty of food? Why do we have to have the largest house on the block, drive the fastest car (You know, the one that will garner multiple speeding tickets and higher insurance rates.) wear the $200 Lucky Brand jeans or the $300 Jimmy Choo designer shoes? Once upon a time the American dream was a well-defined common goal. Now, it's a nebulous category called "stuff." We're all so afraid of missing out on the latest techy toys that we spend more hours working than ever before just to purchase something we don't have time to play with.
Vacations are just another status symbol. When school starts every year I hear endless stories of two weeks in Europe, an Alaskan cruise, and surfing off of Maui. While all these sound grand (and like something I'd love to do), I know many of the people who are bragging spent money they didn't have on credit cards they'll be paying off for years to come - long after they've forgotten where they stored the vacation's scrapbook. Don't get me wrong; I am a believer in the work-hard-play-hard philosophy of life, but I'm also a believer in pay as you go. Still, it's often tempting to book that all-inclusive Jamaican resort holiday and make some payments in return for the instant gratification of looking forward to a great summer trip and fall bragging rights.
These days, though, I'm more interested in making the place I come home to 50 weeks of the year better. Even here, the temptation is to take out an equity line of credit, redesign the entire kitchen with granite counters and high-end cabinetry, create a second master suite from our current offices, build a wet bar / kitchenette in the basement game room, and purchase plush theater seats for movie night. The list goes on and on, but (once again) none of these items is necessary - none will grant me fulfillment or magically make my day-to-day life better. However lovely the dream is, I still must subscribe to the don't-do-it-if-you-can't-pay-for-it method of home improvement. This, of course, limits what a person can and cannot have forcing him to make choices about lifestyle, use, etc. As Jeff and I consider making some changes to our nest, the guiding questions is, "How will this enhance our lives?" If the answer is, "It won't; it just looks cool," the item is on the chopping block. We are looking to streamline the way we live and simplify our home to create an oasis of tranquility in our chaotic world - a spa vacation every night. This is a do-able goal on a tight budget with plenty of sweat equity. Over the years, our idea of the American dream has become less and less stuff with more and more time to enjoy it and each other. If the housing market were better, we might even downsize to a smaller place requiring less maintenance. Since we can't have that, though, we're trying to create that lifestyle with what we already have through smart choices and careful spending.
Vacations are just another status symbol. When school starts every year I hear endless stories of two weeks in Europe, an Alaskan cruise, and surfing off of Maui. While all these sound grand (and like something I'd love to do), I know many of the people who are bragging spent money they didn't have on credit cards they'll be paying off for years to come - long after they've forgotten where they stored the vacation's scrapbook. Don't get me wrong; I am a believer in the work-hard-play-hard philosophy of life, but I'm also a believer in pay as you go. Still, it's often tempting to book that all-inclusive Jamaican resort holiday and make some payments in return for the instant gratification of looking forward to a great summer trip and fall bragging rights.
These days, though, I'm more interested in making the place I come home to 50 weeks of the year better. Even here, the temptation is to take out an equity line of credit, redesign the entire kitchen with granite counters and high-end cabinetry, create a second master suite from our current offices, build a wet bar / kitchenette in the basement game room, and purchase plush theater seats for movie night. The list goes on and on, but (once again) none of these items is necessary - none will grant me fulfillment or magically make my day-to-day life better. However lovely the dream is, I still must subscribe to the don't-do-it-if-you-can't-pay-for-it method of home improvement. This, of course, limits what a person can and cannot have forcing him to make choices about lifestyle, use, etc. As Jeff and I consider making some changes to our nest, the guiding questions is, "How will this enhance our lives?" If the answer is, "It won't; it just looks cool," the item is on the chopping block. We are looking to streamline the way we live and simplify our home to create an oasis of tranquility in our chaotic world - a spa vacation every night. This is a do-able goal on a tight budget with plenty of sweat equity. Over the years, our idea of the American dream has become less and less stuff with more and more time to enjoy it and each other. If the housing market were better, we might even downsize to a smaller place requiring less maintenance. Since we can't have that, though, we're trying to create that lifestyle with what we already have through smart choices and careful spending.
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