One of my goals is to eventually be able to purchase a house. Many of my nursing colleagues are purchasing homes that are worth $450,000, $500,000 or even more. Sadly, my budget is about half of that or even less, which means the houses I have to choose from are not appealing. Most of them are small, old, or both.
I am just curious how other nurses manage to purchase decent houses? I've been looking through my income, and I just can't find a way to make it possible to incorporate such a house into my budget. I am salary, so there are no opportunities for overtime.
What are other nurses' experience with buying houses? How did you make it work? Did it require switching jobs? Inquiring minds want to know!
And don't compare someone else's fifth house (bought with the equity gain from the previous four) and a typical starter house (where you start building that equity).
Envy gets you nowhere except unhappy. Buy what you can reasonably afford.
I LOVE that you said this... SO very true. Comparing your success to others' "success" can be deceiving. They could be drowning in debt... you never know the whole story. Buy something that you can comfortably afford. Don't worry about "keeping up with the Joneses."
I like to be able to have a garden, ride a four wheeler, target shoot, let my dogs out to run go for a walk for 30min without running in to many people. Poland and Romania seemed more affordable and the people seemed quite friendly despite the language barrier. They seemed the sorts of places where you could have a house in the country and do these (for less than say a half million) if only you had the job to afford it (good luck in those countries). The UK was SO expensive for homes in the country such as I describe. Again, my landlord's home was a "hovel" (except that it was nice stone construction) and was valued over 1.5million pounds. However, the home that we rented at the time from them for $1600.0 per month was valued at about 350K and was a six bedroom 3000 square foot in a gated community with a nice inground pool. They (my landlords) constantly assaulted me with stories of how much more affordable "the states were". One of the stories that stuck in my mind was that he went to Home Depot was awestruck that he could buy so many quality hammer s for under twenty dollars. He said in his Welsh town that he had TWO hammer choices at the local hardware store and the were both more than double that. He gave me example after example of "how good we had it" and didn't appreciate it over here.
It sounds like he was taking the piss out of you. It's the one thing that you need to remember in the UK. You are not in Kansas Dorothy! You will be made a fool of in so many different ways because it's their pass time. We are too polite and naive here. Other cultures especially the Brits don't have that inferior gene and will make fools of anyone.
You really don't understand perspectives, do you? What you say here, to a Brit or French person, you will be viewed with derision! Riding 4 wheelers, stockpiling ammo and guns, you didn't mention the pick up truck and the cat fishing. Myo, if I wasn't so afraid of you, I would invite you over to dinner!
You live in a country where you are so afraid of the govt that you arm yourself because you are afraid they will abduct you AND YOU TALK ABOUT FREEDOM!
You support a political party that is riddled with rapists, child molesters, racists and misogynists. AND, you are proud of them to the point of actually laying down your life for them, while they sneak and get their vaccines and get access to monoclonal txs. Covid denial? I still say, don't change. Maybe Covid-19 will do for liberals what we are unable to do re votes.
Good luck with the telepsych, you seem extremely wise and I'm sure you will dispense excellent advice!
It sounds like he was taking the piss out of you. It's the one thing that you need to remember in the UK. You are not in Kansas Dorothy! You will be made a fool of in so many different ways because it's their pass time. We are too polite and naive here. Other cultures especially the Brits don't have that inferior gene and will make fools of anyone.
You really don't understand perspectives, do you? What you say here, to a Brit or French person, you will be viewed with derision! Riding 4 wheelers, stockpiling ammo and guns, you didn't mention the pick up truck and the cat fishing. Myo, if I wasn't so afraid of you, I would invite you over to dinner!
You live in a country where you are so afraid of the govt that you arm yourself because you are afraid they will abduct you AND YOU TALK ABOUT FREEDOM!
You support a political party that is riddled with rapists, child molesters, racists and misogynists. AND, you are proud of them to the point of actually laying down your life for them, while they sneak and get their vaccines and get access to monoclonal txs. Covid denial? I still say, don't change. Maybe Covid-19 will do for liberals what we are unable to do re votes.
Good luck with the telepsych, you seem extremely wise and I'm sure you will dispense excellent advice!
I appreciate the sincere advice and well wishing thoughts. I have never claimed that my approaches are effective or my advice is wise (but I do have a three month waiting list to be seen so people seem to want to pay me for it all the same). Also, most of my clients are so left of center as to make you seem like President Trump by comparison. Still many blessings to your and yours as well. My point was simply that different perspectives and values can both be correct from their own vantage points. It does not make one perspective superior to the other, just different.
It sounds like he was taking the piss out of you. It's the one thing that you need to remember in the UK. You are not in Kansas Dorothy! You will be made a fool of in so many different ways because it's their pass time. We are too polite and naive here. Other cultures especially the Brits don't have that inferior gene and will make fools of anyone.
You really don't understand perspectives, do you? What you say here, to a Brit or French person, you will be viewed with derision! Riding 4 wheelers, stockpiling ammo and guns, you didn't mention the pick up truck and the cat fishing. Myo, if I wasn't so afraid of you, I would invite you over to dinner!
You live in a country where you are so afraid of the govt that you arm yourself because you are afraid they will abduct you AND YOU TALK ABOUT FREEDOM!
You support a political party that is riddled with rapists, child molesters, racists and misogynists. AND, you are proud of them to the point of actually laying down your life for them, while they sneak and get their vaccines and get access to monoclonal txs. Covid denial? I still say, don't change. Maybe Covid-19 will do for liberals what we are unable to do re votes.
Good luck with the telepsych, you seem extremely wise and I'm sure you will dispense excellent advice!
Also I do not consider myself an especially good person but not even on my worst day to my worst enemy would I ever do anything approaching this:
It sounds like he was taking the piss out of you. It's the one thing that you need to remember in the UK. You are not in Kansas Dorothy! You will be made a fool of in so many different ways because it's their pass time. We are too polite and naive here. Other cultures especially the Brits don't have that inferior gene and will make fools of anyone.
I assume most people are nice and want to be kind to others. Yes we may have vastly different perspectives (and yes I do believe in real Evil as well, but see it as the rare exception). However, most people whether Christian, agnostic, Muslim or otherwise I feel truly want to "love their neighbor as themselves" its just that we really are poor at it much of the time and it can be really hard. Also, we rented from this family for ten years and although they "sold the house we rented" I still consider them to have been kind people and land lords and they cooked us dinner on several occasions. I will always appreciate their kindness in many ways.
Good. The IRS will be relentless if you don't pay them.
Yesterday I was out walking and realized that what you do with your money is your decision. I am sorry I commented on your expenses. You have the right to spend however you please. I wouldn't like to think of you looking at my spending habits:) I have a large room full of early phonographs (Edison cylinders and discs and Victor machines). My hobby, but atleast you can say you spend on your family. Best wishes
One of our core issues is that my SO and I live "separate" financial lives. There is no coordination. Our long term goals are fairly different. Thus it makes Dave Ramsey's approach difficult. It has been this way for over 30 years between us and I do not see it likely to change now.
If your goals are different how are you going to mesh re where to live and building your practice? Regardless I agree with others suggesting learning about personal finance. I recommend Your Credit Score and Deal with Your Debt by Liz Weston as you mentioned you had a lower credit score. Her approach to debt is more flexible than Dave Ramsey. David Bach has some good advice and pertinent books for you would be Smart Couples Finish Rich and Start Late, Finish Rich. I was put off by the flashy titles, but there is a lot of substance. Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki is also a good read. Also Personal Finance for Dummies by Eric Tyson is a great overview. Lastly Congresswoman Elizabeth Warren suggested a budget of 50% needs, 30% wants and 20% debt and savings. Once you have your finances in order there are many books on first time home ownership and it is worth it to research to make sure you don't get a bad loan. Many credit unions have free workshops as well. Hope this helps!
It sounds like he was taking the piss out of you. It's the one thing that you need to remember in the UK. You are not in Kansas Dorothy! You will be made a fool of in so many different ways because it's their pass time.
I think Curious is overstating it slightly, yes we Brits will "take the p*ss" but I get the feeling from what you said was that your landlord was understating things.
As a British person with money he could not say that he had a great house etc. He had to understate it. So his £1.5M house outside London was a "hovel." You can be pretty sure it wasn't. But he had to downgrade it in your eyes. Google house prices IN London then see what you can get for £1.5M OUTSIDE London.
If your goals are different how are you going to mesh re where to live and building your practice? Regardless I agree with others suggesting learning about personal finance. I recommend Your Credit Score and Deal with Your Debt by Liz Weston as you mentioned you had a lower credit score. Her approach to debt is more flexible than Dave Ramsey. David Bach has some good advice and pertinent books for you would be Smart Couples Finish Rich and Start Late, Finish Rich. I was put off by the flashy titles, but there is a lot of substance. Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki is also a good read. Also Personal Finance for Dummies by Eric Tyson is a great overview. Lastly Congresswoman Elizabeth Warren suggested a budget of 50% needs, 30% wants and 20% debt and savings. Once you have your finances in order there are many books on first time home ownership and it is worth it to research to make sure you don't get a bad loan. Many credit unions have free workshops as well. Hope this helps!
Thanks, I will look in to those. To paying down the credit cards at 18% average is top priority. Then I will probably split putting money back and paying student debt 50/50% I am 1099 after all and could go from 25K per month to 0 with no unemployment instantly. Part of me feels like having 200K in the bank with a student loan payment of $800.00 might be preferable to eliminating the payment but having less than 10K in the bank. If I lost my job (with 200K in the bank) I could easily go a year without working (even paying the student loans). However, even without the student loan debt (and credit cards that I will pay off first) I could only survive for a few months without the money. Finding a new job as a PMHNP and builiding a practice can take a lot of time especially one where you can realistically earn upwards of 25K per month.
I think Curious is overstating it slightly, yes we Brits will "take the p*ss" but I get the feeling from what you said was that your landlord was understating things.
As a British person with money he could not say that he had a great house etc. He had to understate it. So his £1.5M house outside London was a "hovel." You can be pretty sure it wasn't. But he had to downgrade it in your eyes. Google house prices IN London then see what you can get for £1.5M OUTSIDE London.
I just want to live someplace rural where I can have a garden, keep my guns and maybe have a dog and or cat. The SO thinks Wyoming is to cold (although it is surrounded by IP states for NP's Colorado, Idaho, Montana, and Nebraska) and it is only a matter of time until Florida implements gun bans (Wyoming actually has constitutional provisions against enforcing federal anti gun regulations). Plus we will need to travel once per month to Wash state to see clients after Covid and since neither of us want to take the vaccine it is likely we will soon be unable to fly. Driving from Florida isn't really an option, but it is only about 12 hours from someplace like Cody Wyoming (near Yellowstone). Of course WHEN the Yellowstone super caldera goes pop we will be toast.
I think Curious is overstating it slightly, yes we Brits will "take the p*ss" but I get the feeling from what you said was that your landlord was understating things.
As a British person with money he could not say that he had a great house etc. He had to understate it. So his £1.5M house outside London was a "hovel." You can be pretty sure it wasn't. But he had to downgrade it in your eyes. Google house prices IN London then see what you can get for £1.5M OUTSIDE London.
Myoglobin ? Doesn’t sound like your European holiday was much of a success...
I’ll start by admitting that most Gibraltarians probably don’t have the opportunity to live in rural areas. I mean, there’s about 34,000 of them living on 2.6 square miles. Slightly crowded one would assume...
Curious mentioned several European countries but I’ll focus on the three he listed first; UK, Denmark and Sweden.
a. What on earth do you mean when you say that the middle and working class folks have less ability to work in rural areas? Some of the smaller countries in Europe have quite high population densities, but in a country like Sweden with a population of only ~10 million and that is the approximate same size as California, there’s ample opportunity to live rurally. Denmark and the UK are more densely populated but still, plenty of rural to go around...
b. It wasn’t quite 50% last time I checked but even if it were, I could live with that.
I work fulltime night which is three 10 hour and 50 minute shifts. If you work nights you only work 32.2 hours per week (instead of 38) because of the increased wear and tear on the body.
I own the apartment I live in (apartment by choice because I love living in the city center), I can comfortably afford to travel abroad on vaccations or extended weekends as often as I want. (Well, pre-Covid). Seven weeks of paid vacation per year, sick pay for as long as needed. (The first year is automatic with a physicians note, after that it becomes a bit more bureaucratic).
In Sweden (like in many other European countries) university is free, maternity/paternity leave here is fifteen months per child (can be stretched to eighteen months at a lower $ rate). Paid sick leave to stay at home to care for your child until the child turns twelve. For children with special needs, it’s until the child is eighteen. Healthcare is universally accessible. My employer pays towards my retirement. I save extra not because I really need to, but because I want to be able to afford a bit more then the basic necessities when I retire.
c. What has given you the idea that Europeans have less ability to choose what they want to do for a living? The fact that university is free, makes higher education available to everyone (who qualifies academically).
d. Smaller apartments, houses and especially cars, is mostly a choice. Small cars are better for the environment. Walking or riding your bike to work is better still. The smaller appartments and houses are sometimes due to a limited amount of space available, but in general we aren’t that fixated on size.. or status...
g. Truncated free speech rights? Europe is a continent with almost as many countries as you have states, and the majority have protected free speech. Some countries like for example Poland, which you for some unknown reason seem to like, has definitely taken a turn in an authoritarian direction. Hungary is another. And Turkey.
h. Again, Europe has many countries with different cultures, but yes the UK, Denmark and Sweden are all quite secular. I don’t find that problematic. Do you think it’s a problem?
I definitely haven’t been to all US states. The ones I have visited are New York, California, Nevada, Arizona, Kansas and Colorado. And Illinois and Texas I guess, if you count O’Hare and DFW ? Which I don’t. Anyway... I’ve really enjoyed the times I’ve spent in the US, but it always surprises me when some Americans express such a strange opinion of Europe. But it’s been educational Myoglobin ?
To say nothing of how the USA is superceded my multiple countries on the Happiness Index. We are not a happy people by any measurement. IMHO, M represents the kind of person who doesn't care for other people, and I'm not making a moral judgment here. I think it's a personality type that some are just born to. They just need more isolation and equate that with "freedom". But I prefer happiness as a measurement of a society's worthiness. I prefer to be free of mass murders, politicians who preach hatred, suppression of the middle class as a tax policy , etc. but no other country wants me:)
I think Curious is overstating it slightly, yes we Brits will "take the p*ss" but I get the feeling from what you said was that your landlord was understating things.
As a British person with money he could not say that he had a great house etc. He had to understate it. So his £1.5M house outside London was a "hovel." You can be pretty sure it wasn't. But he had to downgrade it in your eyes. Google house prices IN London then see what you can get for £1.5M OUTSIDE London.
adriggs54, BSN
2 Posts
I LOVE that you said this... SO very true. Comparing your success to others' "success" can be deceiving. They could be drowning in debt... you never know the whole story. Buy something that you can comfortably afford. Don't worry about "keeping up with the Joneses."