Being Satisfied with what I have

Over the last few years Tony and I have been very undecided about what to do with our house. Do we move? Do we stay put? We finally decided after over five years of living in our home we are going to stay put for a long time. Right now we are locked into a 30 year mortgage at 5.875%. Today we sign application papers at BB&T to refinance our mortgage to 15 years at 3.75%! Our payments will be a little more than they are right now but not by much. If we stay at our house for 15 years I will have the house paid off by the time I am 43. Now I do doubt we will be there a full 15 years but we will have a nice down payment on the next house.

After a lot of thinking we decided with the location of our house and how much work we put into it we really would just like to sit back and enjoy what we accomplished. Still more to do with completing the patio and getting new carpet but everything else feels complete. Our house is large enough for the two of us if not too big and we have a great back yard. Sucks being off a busy road but when it is not rush hour it is really not that bad.

It seems like as Tony and I get older we realize having the latest and greatest things are not worth it. I would love a bigger home and a new car and we can afford it but at some point we stepped back and decided to be satisfied with what we have. Maybe that is what more people need to do. Stop trying to get the nicer car, the nicer house, the newest TV and just be happy with what you have. Having extra money for his motorcycle and traveling are more important to us. I am looking to our future now and we both do not want to work forever. I just read in a magazine the other day to spend money on experiences, not things. If I try to keep up with the latest I am going to miss out on experiences.

Now a bit of therapy I need. Stop filling my closet full of new clothes and be happy with what I have. Maybe the next time I get the urge to go shopping I start making new outfits out of the clothes I already have.

Then about the new car since you all know I really want one. I gave up on it. I am good with what I have. Although Tony does not seem to believe since I have always gone back and forth. The difference is whenever I wanted a new car I went out and bought it without even thinking twice. This last year I keep going back and forth and can’t even decide on what type of car. That tells me I am just not ready for a change and need to be satisfied with the car I have. Tony’s job is bringing me back to reality if I start talking about a new car again. He can put his foot down and say I don’t think so. Even though I could get a cheaper payment than what I have now the bigger picture is having less than two years left on my car loan and only having $9,000 more to pay off. Just like with the mortgage. We were just fine with our payments going up and having to pay the refinance fees since our home will be paid down at a much quicker rate. It is about the future and not the present.