Systems that Control You: Housing

J.C. LaCroix Personal Finance, Personal Productivity, Power Tactics

Ah. The little box of stick walls. Home. Where lives are built. The place where you can relax and get away from it all. Where you make and collect your memories. Sigh.

Smile. It is a prison that turns into a coffin.

Simply put, because 90% of you don’t Own it. But you rely on it. Which means, by default, it owns you.

Your landlord, or the bank owns it. The phrase LAND-LORD should be a dead giveaway here, but okay…

For most people, rent or their mortgage is 40% of their income.

Frozen. Locked in. Must happen.

This causes a whole host of Dependency problems, behaviors that you would otherwise not engage in that fall down into your world like dominoes. Most of you would probably like to work part time, but you can’t, because you have to pay the rent. You’d rather tell your boss that you won’t be in Thursday so you can go to your kid’s softball game, but you don’t because you have to keep the boss happy so you can pay the mortage. It sure would be nice to start your own little pet project, but you don’t make the leap because you won’t be able to ride-out the initial phases of your business, when you’re not pulling in much. I know a crap ton of people in relationships they hate because that other person pays half the rent. See how this works? That’s just the tip of the iceberg. You can’t even enjoy your Saturday mornings if you are required by your neighborhood association to mow the grass on time…

And, most of you are kidding yourselves – you’ll never pay it off. If you rent, this is true by default. All you are doing is making someone else, like me, richer. If you have a mortgage, and you pull off the miracle of actually paying it off – you will inevitably refinance the equity before you die. That’s how life works. Shit always happens.

Congratulations. You will die tied to the little box. Hope your coffin at least has nice pillows.

I know I’m extreme here – but for these reasons, I would rather live in a tent on a little piece of land that I own than get suckered into rent payments or a mortgage for something so basic to my survival. You are literally paying for the privilege to live. This is a purely modern-world, developed-world phenomenon. For years, people simply purchased the space itself then built simple structures on it. Check this out for yourself – people had to be forced into what we know as the obligatory payment for their living space.

First, for the timid, you can free yourself a lot just by bringing that obligation down. Roomies aren’t bad if you take the time to find someone you like. But, that’s a trade-off ultimately, not a solution.

Second, broaden your mind. The purpose of shelter ultimately is to protect you from the elements. I’m assuming you are at an average income level. It is better to start with something small, inconvenient, that you own, and work your way up. Here are an ass-load of resources to get your creative juices flowing, thinking outside the “box”. And, little city lots even can be had for dirt cheap. Lots of land has motivated sellers who will sell off small parcels just to clear it. Call a realtor today and start sniffing around. Buy a weapon, learn to use it, and consider the low-income neighborhoods. A security system and a romper-stomper dog doesn’t cost that much. Like I said, I’m just trying to get you started:

Point is, stop begging with banks. Start small, scale up as you go.

And yeah, you’re going to have to stretch your comfort zone and learn some basic construction skills. If you don’t have the balls to do just that – you’re not ready to be Elite. Sorry, that’s just how it is. If that kind of power twists you up, Godlike proportions will make you shit yourself. After all, you might just found out you like that stuff. It’s how I got into flipping.

Remember, part of waking up is a cat and mouse between you and the world.

It’s a game. Have fun with it.

What I said at the beginning of this article is true. Your home is your most sacred place. Stop letting other people piss on it and turn it into a death-march, a cracking whip. Even with limited resources, you have more power than you imagine. Use it. Try something new, off kilter, whacky. The universe has a hard on for that shit. Trust me.