The Downside of Home Ownership

Work has been a bit of a struggle lately what with projects that aren't going well, annoying co-workers, department management decisions that are, to put it politely, interesting, and, mostly, my own inner voice that's shouting "what the heck are you doing here?"

The short answer is money.

I miss my F fund. (F for "freedom" or "forget this" because this is a family blog.)

Before I put the downpayment on my condo, spent some more cash to pretty it up, and came face to face with the reality of property taxes, I had a chunk of change just hanging around waiting for me to hit the breaking point.

During painful Friday afternoon meetings when poking my brains out with a pen seemed more pleasant than listening to another painful word, I would fantasize about walking out of the conference room, grabbing my stuff from my desk, and walking away forever. On drives into work, I would think about how nice it would be to just keep driving. And I could have done it. It's not that I ever would quit my job without notice and a back-up plan. It was just nice to know that I could.

For purposes of full disclosure, I actually have quit my job with no back-up plan in the past. I did give a two week notice. Then I went to Europe for a month and a half. It was fun. I highly recommend it. Of course, this was before T, the wonder horse, and while I was still living at my dad's house. Ah, youth. And no fixed expenses. Those were the days.

Today, I've got a mortgage and a horse and a salary that's about half of what it was when I was working full time. I'm so glad I didn't buy that purse while I was at the mall at lunch yesterday. Here's to the rebirth of the F fund ... one non-purchase at a time.