Is Homeownership Right for You?

I recently wrote an article for Trusted Choice® entitled How to Know if You Should Rent or Buy a House. You may want to check it out. These days, while interest rates are remarkably low, it’s a great time for first time home buyers, but there are a lot of things to think about before taking the plunge. If you are on the fence about whether to rent or buy, this article might help.

In the meantime, I can share some of my personal experiences. My husband and I have owned our house for 14 years now. In that time, we certainly have had our share of sudden necessary expenses. For example:

• There was the summer when temperatures were in the high 90's and our air conditioner decided it was time to give up. That necessitated the purchase of a new air conditioner immediately because if there is one thing I can't stand, it's being hot. Though the initial expense was high, our savings on electricity when using it have nearly made up for the cost!
•  There was the time when excessive rain caused one of our sump-pumps to quit without giving notice. Though we live on top of a hill, that fiasco caused our basement to flood. Until then, I did not think that flood insurance was necessary where we lived.
• There was another time when our hot-water tank decided it had had enough and dumped gallons of hot water onto the floor of our (previously) finished basement. That was fun.
•  There was the time that a clogged gutter caused water to cascade into our kitchen through the wall just above our kitchen window.
• Right now, we can see the need for a new roof, new windows, and a new stove approaching quickly.

We have been consistently saving money for these frequent home expenses, but it doesn't make it any less painful to shell out thousands of dollars when the needs arise. At times like these, I sometimes hear myself asking, "Is home ownership worth it?"

In the end, the answer (for me, anyway) is yes.

There are a number of reasons I love my status as a homeowner.

• I love that we are building up equity with every mortgage payment.
• I love that we can paint our dining room orange on a whim. (The color we had in mind was terracotta but when we got it up on the wall, it looked more like pumpkin.) We found the color altogether ridiculous but it made us laugh so we stuck with it. We can always change it later.
• I love that I don’t have to worry about rent payments going up every year the same way that our health insurance and grocery expenses increase over time.
• I love my kids have a yard to play in and that when they work on digging a hole to the center of the Earth, they are doing so on property we own.
• I love that we could take a building at make it into our “home.”

In the end, home-ownership was the right move for us. Is it right for you?

How I Found Happiness by Becoming My Own Boss

I recently wrote an article for Trusted Choice® about how to start your own business. I was able to speak from experience having starting my own business, MS Editorial Services, two years prior. For me, quitting my job and pursuing a career as a freelancer was a leap of faith that has been paying off ever since. I will never get rich doing what I do, but I enjoy my job and find it more fulfilling than any other job I’ve done since I accepted my first paycheck-earning job in 1986.

For years I’d heard advice such as “the key to happiness is finding a job that you enjoy” and “discover what you love and let it kill you.” I tried out several different careers since graduating from college. I’d done everything from patient registration in an Emergency Room to working as a COBOL programmer (this despite having only taken one computer programming class in college.) I spent ten years working for a large, multi-national financial services company and five more working for a small community bank.

Truth be told, I’ve always loved noodling around with numbers. I actually supplemented my English major with a minor in mathematics because it was “fun.” I majored in English because I loved reading, analyzing and writing. Twenty years out of college, I still had not used my English degree in any way.

After my second child was born, I stayed home with the kids for a few years but found it necessary to return to work. However, my first priority was my role as a parent. This made it necessary for me to work part-time; and, if you have ever looked for part-time work, you probably know that it is very difficult to find a job that is both flexible and fulfilling. After five years doing my part-time job, was unhappy and, at times, frustrated. 

Becoming a business owner and taking on the responsibility of being my own boss was not something I’d spent years dreaming of doing. Rather, it was an idea given to me one day in casual conversation. I had befriended, through the powers of Facebook, a man by the name of Kent Westmoreland, whose debut novel Baronne Street had impressed me greatly. In a discussion with him one day, I mentioned, “I should have been an editor. Maybe in another life, I’ll do that.”

He responded with a surprisingly eye-opening question: “Why wait for another life? Why not just do it now?”

Why not indeed? I picked up a few books including The Copyeditor’s Guidebook and Copyediting & Proofreading for DUMMIES® and learned as much as I could about the art and business of copyediting. I also spoke with two friends from college who had experience working as freelance editors. 

When I was certain that this is what I wanted to do, I met immediately with a tax advisor to learn what I needed to do to go about setting up a business. And then, I jumped in with both feet.

Initially, I’d thought that I’d be happiest editing fiction, but soon found that non-fiction editing appealed to me more. Later, I found myself writing as well and I composed a number of articles for the insurance industry. That’s the thing I like best about my freelancing job. It allows me flexibility so I can follow whatever path my heart leads me toward. 

I love my job and I am extremely happy that I made the decision to be my own boss.