“Do something today that your future self will thank you for.” -Sean Patrick Flanery
Let that quote resonate with you. Welcome, it’s Friday! Our wildcard day, you never know what you’re going to get but today you get TJ. My item today is a big one for me both literally due to size and figuratively as this is a huge step towards minimalism. I love that this blog post is on Day 22, it’s my favorite number and the perfect day to take what may possibly be my biggest step forward of the year. So before talking about the item, I want to bring to your attention something that affected me with this particular item, buyer’s remorse. If you are unfamiliar with this, its having anxiety after making a big purchase. This can happen for many things homes, cars, jewelry, etc. basically anything that requires you to get a loan for the purchase. It’s real. It happened to me and could happen to you so make sure you really put thought into your big purchases in life. The key is to do research and thoroughly learn about everything involved with the buying and loan processes.
Just so you know Amalia and I did just buy a house recently (December 2020) with zero buyer’s remorse. Why? Well because the best thing about mistakes is you have the opportunity to learn from them. I researched and read books about buying homes. We knew our limits and we knew that we wanted not a perfect house but a house that we could live in below our means and be happy in. We spent countless hours on Zillow searching for homes and went to see many houses we liked. Most importantly, we said no to the temptations of the houses that were bigger than we needed and that would have stretched our budget. As first time home buyers, I really am proud of us and as a previous go big or go home buyer, well I decided to go home… lol. So let’s talk about the previous big item purchase and get into today’s item.
Item 022 of 360+
Wednesday. I woke up Wednesday and smelled excellence, well maybe more financial freedom, but you get the point. It was the day I’ve been telling myself about the last year and a half. I had a vehicle I wanted picked out, I made a call to the dealership and I said I would be there after work. Buying a vehicle? That’s not an item… No it is not, but more importantly, Wednesday, January 20th was the day I decided it was time to say goodbye to my 2019 GMC Sierra Truck. It was so useful for very limited times I needed to use it to get big appliances or move. However, I didn’t like driving it because every mile depreciated the value, it was bad on gas and Amalia’s SUV was just easier to drive around town. I bought it so I could do anything I needed to do and help family or friends do things with it but at the end of the day, the juice was not worth the squeeze.
What I actually got was serious buyer’s remorse from day one. I got close to $800 payments per month on top of more payments for a Tonneau cover and accessories for a vehicle that got used very little for its primary purpose and was instead used for mostly commuting. Why am I so detailed? Not to talk anyone out of having a truck, trucks are great if you use them daily for things you need to do. I’m detailed because it’s important to really think through your decisions on big purchases. I was very lucky. I have a great job and was able to afford my mistake but just because you can afford something doesn’t mean you should buy it. This is now all over for me and I am relieved! I planned my resell perfectly and got $3,000 over what I owed and was able to use that as a down payment for my certified pre-owned 2017 Subaru Impreza. This will now serve as my daily commuter that also has AWD for when it snows. A vehicle is just a thing, it is not made to impress others nor to do anything else for the average person other than reliably get you from A to B. This was a big step forward for me on my path to minimalism and I am excited to keep decluttering my life of things while focusing more on what adds true value to my life. I am happy to say that today, well Wednesday, I did something that my future self will thank me for. Out with the new, in with the old (reliable).
Minimalism Everyday 