4.15.2006

The Simple Life

Mark, my best friend, owns a home. He bought it about six years ago, just before the housing market went batshit all over the country. So he ended up gettin a pretty kick ass house for less than $100K. Sure, it's in Lemoore, but Mark likes Lemoore, so that's not really an issue. He owns his home and is happy. So leave him the fuck alone, okay?

Since the housing market exploded, everyone has become a real estate expert, not at all shy to dish out advice on what other people should be doing. Mark owns a home? One he bought at a good deal? Well, then he HAS to cash out the equity. He's be an idiot not to, right? Then he could buy another house, and rent it, and tax write-offs and blah blah blah blah. When I hear that kind of talk, the first word that comes to my mind is.....headache. Mark just wants to live in a house he actually owns and doesn't owe the bank a mind-numbing amount of money for. He doesn't want to deal with having to rent another place out, or with the maintenece and upkeep of another house. I mean, he only has one Mom (Just kidding, Mark).

Why would you want to worry about more than you have to in life? For "net worth"? Fuck all that, you greedy bastards. I'd rather sleep at night. Without ulcers.

What ever happened to just trying to live a simple, happy life? Why are we obsessed with having more, more, more? Why is it a bad thing to own your one home outright? Why am I asking so many goddamn questions?

I simply do not understand the mindset that says you are what you own. If I'm at the store, and I see an attrative woman get into a normal, perhaps even shitty car, suddenly I find her more attractive. Yeah, maybe she's really depressed at the fact she's not driving a Lexus, but I'd like to think she's just cool with a normal car, and is confident enough of her personality that she doesn't need to make a statement with what she drives. To me, the statement that an overly expensive car makes is, "I owe the bank a lot of fucking money in order to impress you with this here car that I can't even afford, and I am stressed out beyond belief with these huge car payments, but I am going to fake it, because I lack personality and need something to make me the least bit interesting."

The headaches people are giving themselves in order to keep up with the Jonses has reached a breaking point. People cannot fathom the idea of living simply (he types on his laptop from an overpriced coffee shop - yes, I can be a huge hypocrite), and once this real estate bubble bursts, it's gonna bite everyone in the ass.

I just hope I'm not supposed to feel sorry for them when it does.

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