My finances are up in the air at the moment. I have an investment property that no-one seems to want to rent, unless I spend $5000 on a new carport. The roof needs repair after some severe storms and the bathroom wants a facelift. This property has been a pain in the rear end since I bought it. It now has a new stove, hot water system, toilet, shower and wiring. I'm thinking of selling, but if I do, I won't make back what's been spent. If I don't, and I can't rent it, I'm up for $1000 per month for the mortgage plus running costs.So when my kids get eaten alive by our new sandfly infestation caused by the floods, I think to myself, "gee, some new windows with screens would be nice in the bedrooms" which is immediately negated by the little voice inside my head which says, "we can't afford any new renovations right now". Luckily for me, I have another personality living in my head which says, "it can't hurt to get a quote". So I got my builder out here again and he measured me up for some windows. "It'll only be about $1200" he says.
So I've ordered the windows.
What does your head tell you?
I've discovered that it is almost impossible to follow your dreams if you don't allow yourself to have them. It's also hard if you have dreams but don't find out what's involved in making them happen.
My new policy is not to scrimp and save on the off chance that I may be able to do something one day. I now decide what I want, order it, then get really creative with how I am going to pay for it. Which is the opposite of what I used to do, which was to figure out my income and then allocate it to various purposes.
No longer will fear rule my financial decisions. The new key questions are: What do I want? What does it cost? How can I get that money?
What do you want?
