Jiggity Jog

If you’ll recall, we’re living in an itty bitty tin box, despite buying a house about a year ago. The original plan was the daughter person would hold down the fort for a couple of years then either buy the place from us or buy another place and vacate so we could move in. Preferably the latter, because frankly I’m sick of living in a tin box, I love the little house, and the daughter has kids so needed a bigger boat… er, house.

As it turns out, plans can change. This is actually a GOOD thing, if not ideal timing according to the spousal unit.

Daughter is still recovering from the emergency surgery she had at the end of April, and is doing extremely well. She’s feeling better than she has for the majority of her adult life. Still significant underlying health issues that are chronic, but at least they’re no longer exacerbated by internal hemorrhage.

Said daughter’s boyfriend is also a huge step up for her. For one thing, he’s gainfully employed and living with his parents so he could stash cash back to buy a house. Unlike other people, the process in his case was more than lip service. He built up an impressive bank account and has initiated the house-buying process. He’s looking for a big enough place to accommodate his kids and hers.

Sooooooo… Looks like we’ll be moving before the end of the year.

My spousal unit wants to wait until spring. Which, while I understand his perspective somewhat, it’s not the smartest choice. See, we’ve also gotta move (i.e., sell) the tin box. The proceeds from that will be used to get a big shed the hubby can turn into a workshop (and I hope partly to retire a couple of small bills).

We don’t want to put this sucker up for sale in springtime when the snowbirds are leaving. The best time to unload it is autumn.

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Hubby will come around to my way of thinking. He always goes into panic mode when change is involved. This time was no exception. Full-on meltdown, slamming doors, “I’m not moving before next spring,” etc. etc.

We went through the same thing when we originally bought the bigger house, then when we bought this place, then when we bought the little house we’re moving into. I know the pattern and no longer get stressed about it. It’s just one of his endearing (ahem) qualities. Once he settles down, he realizes it’s the right thing to do. While I tend to be impulsive on some things, I’m most assuredly NOT jumping into the housing pool without checking to see if it’s filled with water. (There was an impulsive element to buying the last house – sort of – but once we talked it over, we both agreed it was a smart move to buy a house. And it absolutely was and is the right thing for us.)

I never leave him out of the decision-making process in any of this, which would be ridiculously unfair. But if I waited for him to be onboard before starting anything, we’d still be renting an apartment, or more accurately out on the streets. When we bought the first house, we literally started talking about it a full year before we started house hunting and he still went bonkers. If we’re going to accomplish a blessed thing, I have to get the ball moving without him and then bring him onboard. It’s not only the housing situation, by the way. It’s a regular pattern for any moderately-big decision. He’s still not bought his new computer, nearly a year later, despite having the cash to do so.

Our tin box itself is paid off. It sits on a rented lot, though. That’s a problem, because rent goes up every year. Come January 2021 it’ll approach the $500 mark. Cheaper than renting an apartment? Indubitably. But it’s going to keep climbing. Arizona allows rent increases of up to 10% per year. It adds up to a big chunk o’ money over time.

I’m tired of parking on somebody else’s property. We own the house and we like the house and I wanna move into it.

We could rent it out. Spousal unit is adamant he doesn’t want to do that. (I agree.) Which brings us back to moving. You can’t have your cake and leave it out to mold.