Who wants to keep up with Joneses anyway?

This is about to get serious, so prepare yourself or feel free to move on!

The hubby and I believe in living within our means. We are by no means rolling in money, but we have planned our life to live comfortably with the money we make.  Just like anyone else we have bills, a bit of student debt, a few savings accounts, and things we like to do/purchase every month or year.  My husband has created a very specific budget with certain amounts allocated to various categories. From what I know, this is the typical family budget. It would be fabulous to spend whatever amount on anything, but similarly to probably most people we just cannot do this.

When my husband was first looking into buying a home he looked in a variety of different areas. He was very specific about what he wanted and how much he wanted to spend. At the time when he started looking he was living in an area that was rather affluent. He was renting a condo (within his rent budget, of course), but the surrounding areas were very nice.  Some may refer to those living in this particular area as the “Joneses” (i.e. expensive cars, large homes, fancy shopping centers, great schools etc.).

After looking at a few different homes in multiple cities within the same region and even placing an offer on one (which he later withdrew due to other circumstances) he found our current home. Our home isn't necessarily in the best area of town. I grew up close by to where our home currently is and the city is rather large and some parts are great whereas others are not. The house was perfect. It was brand new (actually still being built at the time of purchase), had all upgraded amenities, free HOA for a year, all upgraded appliances included, and all closing costs covered.  It was too good to be true and he felt great about the whole process and knew this was the home for him. The actual neighborhood is a cute little area of all the same type of townhouses with a large grassy area in the center. 

The areas around our home are definitely not the best. I feel safe once I am in our actual neighborhood, but I would absolutely be cautious when venturing out.  Not in a need to carry a gun kind of way, but just in the sense that I would be smart and aware. As a woman, you really should be anyway regardless of where you are.

We absolutely love our home. It is perfect for us! It has the right amount of space, plenty of storage, a garage, a great open living room, large master bedroom etc.   We could even start a family here if we wanted (maybe more on that subject another time).

The whole point of this post expressing our home and our way of living is not to brag or show off what we do or do not have, but rather a chance for me to express my frustration (i.e. get ready, vent session coming up!). 

We have gotten some negativity from our friends regarding where we live.  A few of our friends live in better neighborhoods/cities-some of them own their homes, some of them do not. This does not matter to me. I do not pick my friends based on their finances (SHOCKING, i know!). Frankly, it is none of my business and to me character is what counts. Money does not define you. This is a hard lesson to learn and some people never get it. Personally, it’s been a struggle of mine. I used to spend my money on designer items hoping it would attract friends. It did not. Once I started working on myself and cutting people out of my life that I did not need that is when I found true, genuine girlfriends.

It really bothers me that our friends would make comments about where we live. They say things like “it’s not a good area” or “it’s shady” or “the people who live in that area are not good”. These are all hurtful to me. Yes, I am probably over sensitive. My husband can laugh it off, but I am not that person. My home is close to my heart and to have friends (yes, multiple, not one) say something derogatory insults me to the core. I am the first person to say our home is maybe not in the greatest area given our location, but our actual neighborhood is great and I never feel unsafe. Plus I love our home and that to me is the most important.

I would much rather live comfortably in our home than to try and be something we are not just by living in a particular zip code. I am not saying this is what our friends do, but for me personally, I do not want pressure of trying to keep up with the Joneses. I am actually relieved the first offer Chris put in was withdrawn because living in that environment would bring me right back to where I used to be of trying too hard to fit in.  We do not have the advantage of living lavishly.  One day maybe we will, but right now our life works for us based on our current incomes. I can go to sleep every night knowing our bills are paid and if one of us loses our job tomorrow we will be okay for a few months until we get back on our feet. This brings more comfort than I ever thought possible!!  I do not feel like there are things in life I am missing out on. Sure, it would be nice to have a vacation home in different parts of the world or to be able to purchase anything I want, but reality is most people cannot. 

We have a nice home where we will get money back from our investment one day and this means so much to us and our future. I feel so blessed just to have a home in Southern California because I never thought this would be possible. So, shame on you for saying something negative about where we chose to make our home.

Cheers to your own home!

Just so you have a visual this is our home:

Obviously, I'm kidding this is Oprah's home.