~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Office Magic Newsletter Dynamite Your Status-Quo to Achieve Breakthrough Success. January 2010 Greetings! Tom McCawley's book, The 4 Simple Secrets to Avoiding Life's Big Financial Messtakes, is out and as soon as you finish it, you're going to make your spouse read it. Your spouse won't mind, because it's a financial blueprint that makes you laugh and cry on almost every page. It's that good. Here's a little bit of what Tom has to say about houses. Your House is Not an Investment All those extra rooms of your McMansion have to be filled up with furniture and all those windows need curtains. The extra space requires more utilities, repairs, etc. Buying a house you can't afford will not bring you joy. The number one cause of divorce is conflict over money. A big house is bricks and mortar, and not necessarily a home. And it's not a home if you're never there because you have to work so hard to pay for it. I've seen too many people in my own neighborhood move into their dream home and end up divorced within the first year! Moving frequently increases costs dramatically. It also uses up a lot of your time and energy. Every time you move, the new home will require a lot of remodeling and new furniture. New owners spend a fortune remodeling, even when the new house was remodeled only a few years previously. Buy a house you can reasonably afford. Save for retirement and your children's education. Don't expect a house to buy you more than short-term happiness. Coming Next Month Love, Pat, Ginny, and Lorraine Contact Information |