This past week I entered into my first real estate
transaction. True I’m only buying a few acres of land but it’s the first time I’ve
ever made purchase on this scale. This could be characterized as my first major
purchase. To date the only large ticket items I have ever purchased have been
new computers and used cars. 2 of each to be exact.
It’s kind of cool to have broken the seal on this.
As some of you may know (if you’ve been following
this blog), I left home at age 17, a few months shy of high school graduation.
I lived on the streets for a while, managing to almost flunk every class but
ultimately earned my diploma, owing to the fact that I’d been a good student
until I left home.
When I left home, headed for parts unknown (really just the closest
city), I more or less left behind everything.
For many years I had no interest in living a
conventional life and I had very little to do with my parents. One of the
reasons I had left was because I despised my parents and anything that smacked of
“the establishment.”
I realized that living on the streets was unsustainable,
in fact it was very damaging, so I elected to return to society. I’ve always
lived in rented apartments either with a girlfriend or roommates. I had a
series of low wage jobs until 1998 when I took my first salaried position. At
that time I had only college debt. I spent the next ten years paying down my
debt. I’ve never been big on consumer spending so I didn’t have to pay down any
of that debt.
About 8 years ago I decided that I needed to figure
out how to save money. At that time I had $0 savings. I used to watch PBS money
shows in the evening. One night I heard a guy mention that people “need to be
in control of their emotions to be in charge of their money.” That sounded so simple
and like something I could do. Since that day I’ve been in charge of my
emotions and money.
I bought the land with cash = every last cent I have. No way in hell was I
going to give a bank one cent in fees or interest or nuthin. Someday I’ll probably
build a small house on the land. The house will make use of passive heating. I haven’t
figured out how to get water into the abode without electricity, other than a
dug well which tends to dry up in the late summer, but I’ll keep looking around
for that solution.
It was weird as I was entering into purchasing
the land when I realized that I didn’t “have” anyone of the parental type to
ask for advice and/or discuss the deal with. Yes both of my parents are among
the living and I do have a civil relationship with both of them, but I haven’t
got even 1 iota of desire to hear their thoughts on anything. You might think
that sounds harsh but I have my reasons. In the end I had to pay a lawyer for
sound advice (so yeah, thank goddess for lawyers). There was a moment of
looking for someone older, and wiser, whom I trusted and finding no one, I didn’t
feel regret -- I took a minute to reflect back on my entire life and I realized
that while I have made a lot of mistakes, I’ve also lived a life that has been
all mine and that when the big moments come along I can usually trust my guts
and make good decisions. (wow, that was on heck of a run-on sentence.)
It feels cool to be a landowner. I’m looking
forward to taking good care of my few acres. I think I’m gonna set up a
camera to photograph the wild life that traipses through. I’ll be sure to post
those pics on this blog. Stay tuned.
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