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Backing the future horse

avatar of @tarazkp
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@tarazkp
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5 min read

It surprises me when I think about what my wife and I have been doing the last 6 months to our house. Firstly, it surprises me that we have a house at all.

For a very long time I believed that owning a house (the bank owns most of it) was out of my reach, as I have always struggled financially and as a foreigner in the country with the background I do, I had zero when I started and no inheritance to speak of - other than my dashing good looks... cough. But here we are, renovating a huge house on a very tight budget.

This means that the second surprise is that we are willingly doing this on such a shoestring, knowing that it is going to be tight, knowing it is going to be difficult, knowing that we didn't have enough for calculation and work errors - and there have been errors, many of them.

But, I also think that we have made the right call and despite the timing with Covid and the challenges that has brought into our lives including crushing us even more financially, I feel that we are making a worthwhile investment. We don't plan on moving from this house for a long time, but we also have to be aware that we might need to.

After having a look at what else is available in the area, our place is looking pretty good, with the houses that are cheaper being far inferior, and the few that are more expensive, significantly more expensive. A house 2/3rds of our size in far worse condition sold for about 20% more than what we paid for ours, plus what we expect to spend on the renovations. This means that if push comes to shove, we should be able to at the very, very least cover our costs and best case scenario, make significant gains.

We also have equity in the home as we were able to put up the minimum 15% to get the loan, plus hold capital back to insulate our renovation budget a little. I'm glad we did put it aside instead of putting it all on the loan, as interest rates are low and we have a collar for 10 years. But, our insulation is wearing thin and we are getting exposed to the elements rapidly. Thankfully, we currently both have jobs and income coming in, so we are burning through our resources a little slower.

This has actually been a hidden "perk" of Covid - as we have been driving far less, eating out far less, we don't need to buy clothes, my wife doesn't have to pay for the bus or lunches at work - which means our normal living expenses are down. If we had been like this for the year before getting the house, we would have had a fair bit more in the kitty.

I am still worried daily about our financial situation however, as we aren't planning on having to sell this place ever. We really are hoping that we will be able to retire here, but with the state of the world and global political climate, nothing is assured.

All we can do is keep doing all we can do.

And that is what we are doing, although it is taking its toll on my mind and body recently. I have coped with a lot of stress in many ways throughout my life, but this prolonged period for the last four years with this year being highly unusual and pressured, is wearing me down to some degree. But, what doesn't kill us, makes us hurt terribly... or something along those lines.

Since coming to Finland, I have never felt that feeling of "having enough" money and the majority of the time I have been in the position where I worry if my card is going to clear at the supermarket.While this is not uncommon in the world, it is also not a good way to live. This is the start of my 18th year in Finland and I feel that finally, I am building a portfolio that is worth something - the house, some crypto, my work, my daughter's future, my wife's career - Yes, the portfolio is more than money, my investment is time, energy, effort into betterment.

This is why I enjoy writing on Hive so much, it hits many points of what I consider value-adding to my portfolio.

My daughter is four years of age now and I am hoping that by the time I retire from "normal work" in about 25 years, I will have built a little nest egg that we can enjoy using to support her. There is a huge amount of value in starting from nothing and building oneself up, but isn't easy and many do not make it because they don't get lucky along the way. Having a little financial support at her back, will mean not having to rely on luck alone to get to where she is going - It could help her in her education or perhaps a deposit on her first apartment to get her started - but that can be a huge difference down the road. Getting the money doesn't guarantee building with it - that is up to her.

Someone tonight thanked me for supporting them on some posts, giving some occasional votes and as I see it, they are welcome. In many ways it is like a gift, but once I have given that gift - it is up to them what they do with it. In the past I have been disappointed with what some have chosen and how some have acted after I have supported them - but that really is their choice. Sure, I can remove my support, but the past has gone. I think there are people who have squandered their opportunity here in many ways, even if they really didn't need to.

Some took it for granted they were earning as if they always would, some decided not to invest themselves into putting the best version of themselves. Whatever it is, we all make decisions and we all have to live with the consequences. The thing is that as far as I have observed and experienced, we are all affected by our economic conditions and the circumstances we find ourselves in, so we probably should try to improve ourselves if we don't like where we are.

You know, sometimes we back the wrong horse, we make decisions to invest into something that doesn't give a good return on investment. They say, invest in yourself. But I wonder, if we were an objective investor, how many of us would invest into ourselves as we are today, thinking there is potential for better from us tomorrow?

I think I am worth it, but is it true?

People don't gamble on workhorses - they just want them to do their job.

Taraz [ Gen1: Hive ]

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