Non Argent, S'il Vous Plait

Officially a "no money spent day."

Took my parents to see a house for sale in a little town south of where they live. They seemed to like it- whether or not they'll actually attempt to buy it is another question.

The city they've lived in for the last 30 years has become increasingly unsafe, and it's time they get out and enjoy their retirement in a place where they don't have to worry as much. It's also good practice for me, because it lets me know what I can buy for the money.

We saw a house today that was selling for $45,000 that was in really good shape. It had 9 foot ceilings and was built in 1939. They don't build houses like that anymore- the solid wood window frames, the crown moulding in every room, hardwood floors throughout. Given that we have almost $20,000 saved up, my wife and I could probably buy it ourselves, but we'd rather not at this juncture.

What's funny is that roughly four years ago, we bought a house in Georgia for $120,000 with no money down. I don't even think we thought twice about it. We were dumb, but in our defense, it was a subprime mortgage lender. In retrospect, no responsible creditor would have let us borrow the money. Oh well. You live, you learn. Now, we won't buy a house that costs 33% less, even though we have roughly 40% of the asking price. I'm proud of us.