Practicality Has My Vote

1st of all, some good news (to me) that I successfully lost 1 kg. It's slow going but I truly feel slow & steady will get me there this time. Every other time, I've been impatient, wanting rapid results but failing becoz I restricted myself so much that I just couldn't carry on. So hopefully, this will be the 1st of many kilos to go.

Naturally, our subject of conversation today revolves around houses. Hubs is worried that I'll be swayed by friends' negative opinions. He said that most Singaporeans have this problem that they want a big house & it's not becoz they need it but becoz they want to feel superior (feed the ego). He's very sure that people will tell us that this house we so love is too small & start pointing out reasons why we shouldn't get it. Here's my view on it.

I can't say this frequently enough. I'm a practical person. If I don't need it, then I don't want it. Since we're not having kids, 2x1 is plenty big for us. Even if by accident we do have 1 (which is not likely), we've got another bedroom. This house have no lawn & it's great since I don't need to spend time, effort & money caring for it. It has sufficient garden beds for me to grow whatever herbs I want. Flowers? No thank you. I can't do anything with it. At least with herbs, I can use them in my cooking. House work will be a breeze in a house of this size. If I'm working 5 days a week already, the last thing I want is to spend time "working" at home on the weekends. I very much rather enjoy myself on a day out or just chilling at home. Even if we miss out this time, I'll still be looking for something exactly the same in the future when our finances permit.

Yes, I know a big lot & a 4x2 will fetch a good price when you sell it in the future. But we're not looking to sell. We're looking for something we'll stay in permanently. I don't care that I won't make much profit out of it becoz I want it to be forever home. I use the word home becoz if you're always thinking of it in monetary terms, it'll forever be just a house.

A small place with a smaller price tag means smaller monthly repayments. Why must we stretch ourselves to the limit just so we can stoke our ego? At the end of it, I'm much more likely to have saved up a huge sum of money & can retire comfortably instead of just depending on my super. We're not young. A 30 year loan means I'll be in my 60s & hubs nearing 70s. Do we really want to still be working beyond that age becoz we've got no money?

Perhaps it's becoz we grew up with little. So financial freedom means so much to us. We're not asking for the sky. We're contented with just a small place. What is perfect for you may not be perfect for us. The reverse holds true too. So nobody can change my mind on what I envision to be a "perfect" home. I firmly believe that if I set my mind to it with a strong ichinen, my prayers will be answered without a doubt.