Monday, November 18, 2019
I am living in a disaster zone. It is one of my own making and it is extreme. Some of the craziness will soon be leaving my house, but right now… wow. I have boxes and bins as far as the eye can see. On one hand I am doing a happy dance, I have almost finished clearing all my 24-year-old’s, Megan, possessions from her old bedroom. On the other hand, Megan has not started moving the packed boxes of her possessions to her house and they are piling up.
Megan is a responsible adult and I could certainly insist she pack up and move all her stuff. I could set an ultimatum and make her take care of it; however why would I want to stress out my family like that?
Megan bought a home at the end of August and is currently working three jobs so she can make double payments to pay it off early. She understands the importance of making those extra payments early in the life of her loan to significantly affect the total interest paid during the life of the loan. Megan works 14 hours a day between her three jobs, seven days a week. Time to do chores is in short supply for Megan right now.
The reason Megan wants to pay her house off early is to become a foster mom. She has had the dream of fostering all her adult life. She is not closed to the idea of giving birth to children, but she wants to support children who are already in need. In five years, Megan plans to start the process of becoming a foster parent and she would like the financial stability of owning a mortgage-free home.
Megan wants to pay off her mortgage in five years. Honestly, I do not think the math works. I think it will take her seven to ten years to pay off her mortgage. The housing market went up more than $100,000 last year in Colorado Springs and it is almost impossible to buy a home for less than $250,000 that is large enough for a family. Megan’s total mortgage amount is simply too high, even with roommates kicking in.
I told Megan that when she left to help my client for two weeks on a movie set, she could no longer be in control of packing and moving her stuff out of my house. She had moved very little in the six weeks before she left, and I wanted to declutter my home. That was my ultimatum; if she could not find the time to pack, I would gift her some of mine. It was a stress-free, win-win situation.
As I look at all the boxes and bins piling up across the room, there might be a little stress. However, as I finish each room upstairs there is a sense of accomplishment. I am fairly sure I will finish Megan’s bedroom tomorrow and I can not think of a better birthday present to myself than the look on my seven-year-old’s, Mika, face when I tell her it is officially her bedroom. I am expecting a happy dance.
Of course, now Mika and I need to start sorting and downsizing all her belongings so they can live in her room now. That will be a difficult task with 20-30 boxes of her sister’s stuff filling up our working space. I have a new, stress-free, win-win ultimatum for Megan. Take one box home with you every night after you put me in bed. Any boxes left at my house on Christmas will be moved to your house and placed in the middle of your living room. My Christmas present to myself will be a Megan-free home.
My piece of advice to you is to lower your stress level. I could be mad because Megan is not willing to take the time to pack up her belongings or I can just do it, so it gets done. Megan has thanked me for packing her stuff even though I am not doing it the way she would. I am not pressuring her to get it done, and she does not need to feel guilty for not doing it. Megan really has become a responsible adult.
Until next time,
Susanne
Please check out my GoFundMe page.
I am living in a disaster zone. It is one of my own making and it is extreme. Some of the craziness will soon be leaving my house, but right now… wow. I have boxes and bins as far as the eye can see. On one hand I am doing a happy dance, I have almost finished clearing all my 24-year-old’s, Megan, possessions from her old bedroom. On the other hand, Megan has not started moving the packed boxes of her possessions to her house and they are piling up.
Megan is a responsible adult and I could certainly insist she pack up and move all her stuff. I could set an ultimatum and make her take care of it; however why would I want to stress out my family like that?
Megan bought a home at the end of August and is currently working three jobs so she can make double payments to pay it off early. She understands the importance of making those extra payments early in the life of her loan to significantly affect the total interest paid during the life of the loan. Megan works 14 hours a day between her three jobs, seven days a week. Time to do chores is in short supply for Megan right now.
The reason Megan wants to pay her house off early is to become a foster mom. She has had the dream of fostering all her adult life. She is not closed to the idea of giving birth to children, but she wants to support children who are already in need. In five years, Megan plans to start the process of becoming a foster parent and she would like the financial stability of owning a mortgage-free home.
Megan wants to pay off her mortgage in five years. Honestly, I do not think the math works. I think it will take her seven to ten years to pay off her mortgage. The housing market went up more than $100,000 last year in Colorado Springs and it is almost impossible to buy a home for less than $250,000 that is large enough for a family. Megan’s total mortgage amount is simply too high, even with roommates kicking in.
I told Megan that when she left to help my client for two weeks on a movie set, she could no longer be in control of packing and moving her stuff out of my house. She had moved very little in the six weeks before she left, and I wanted to declutter my home. That was my ultimatum; if she could not find the time to pack, I would gift her some of mine. It was a stress-free, win-win situation.
As I look at all the boxes and bins piling up across the room, there might be a little stress. However, as I finish each room upstairs there is a sense of accomplishment. I am fairly sure I will finish Megan’s bedroom tomorrow and I can not think of a better birthday present to myself than the look on my seven-year-old’s, Mika, face when I tell her it is officially her bedroom. I am expecting a happy dance.
Of course, now Mika and I need to start sorting and downsizing all her belongings so they can live in her room now. That will be a difficult task with 20-30 boxes of her sister’s stuff filling up our working space. I have a new, stress-free, win-win ultimatum for Megan. Take one box home with you every night after you put me in bed. Any boxes left at my house on Christmas will be moved to your house and placed in the middle of your living room. My Christmas present to myself will be a Megan-free home.
My piece of advice to you is to lower your stress level. I could be mad because Megan is not willing to take the time to pack up her belongings or I can just do it, so it gets done. Megan has thanked me for packing her stuff even though I am not doing it the way she would. I am not pressuring her to get it done, and she does not need to feel guilty for not doing it. Megan really has become a responsible adult.
Until next time,
Susanne
Please check out my GoFundMe page.