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What are you going to do?

May 23rd, 2015 at 02:39 am

I've been asked that question a lot lately. Along with are you afraid? Absolutely I am TERRIFIED. I'd have to be insane to not be afraid and crazy not to be worried.

Fact we are moving literally cross country with a "semi" mapped out plan. Fact we are moving without a job. Fact we do not know where we are going to live. Fact we are giving up a lot of income and gambling on finding a job. Fact we will be without income September 2015. Fact we have enough saved in cash for 3 years without a job at current burn rate.

Guess - we are guessing that we can rent for less money than we are currently paying in our mortgage (high likelyhood). Guess - DH will land a job in April 2016, so we will be 8 months without an income. Guess - that I may find work. Guess we will be without health insurance but will be able to buy some. Guess that our burn rate will be close to what we spend now. Guess that we will get a large tax refund because we've been overpaying this year at our normal rate something like $10-15k potentially. Yeah we didn't know we were moving so we've just been giving them an interest free loan.

My thoughts are if I manage to even land a minimum wage part-time job like starbucks then perhaps we can minimize the drain on our savings. If we aren't working and see the money going away we may also minimize expenses. We can also focus on lowering our spending.

But the bottom line and truth is we aren't doing this because it makes sense financially. We are doing this because we want to do it. We are moving because long term this is something that will make us happier both lifestyle and career wise. This move will bring us closer to family and friends. This will allow DH to try a new field. And he's moving pretty much home and I'm just much closer.

Even if we take a paycut we are doing it before we get settled with buying our "final" home. Before we got used to the big income and needing it.

It's a hard truth to digest and most people think we are nuts. BUT sometimes life isn't about $ but rather living life. At the end of the day we still have to live our life at a level each of us can be satisfied.

I'm not sure but I think this move could derail us financially for a few years. BUT I believe that overall good financial habits will right the ship and we'll still be able to retire when we choose. And we'll still be able to afford a lifestyle we enjoy.

So we have no plan and will be hemorrhaging money but it's life. And for the record I am afraid.

6 Responses to “What are you going to do?”

  1. ceejay74 Says:
    1432394964

    It sounds a lot like I felt when we took this leap to buy our dream house way before we were ready, and AS was leaving her full-time job to try freelancing at the same time. We had two of our three incomes intact (not as high as I'm guessing your DH's income is, but at least we knew the money was coming in), BUT we'd used our cash cushion on renovating the condo and on the down payment for the new home.

    Of the options it was close to the worst financially, but it was the very best emotionally. All the "facts" were on the negative side of the balance sheet (carrying two mortgages etc.) All the "guesses" were where hopefully the money would come in when we needed it.

    The thing that kept me going was that we had lots of "guesses" and I figured if only a few of them came true, it would be enough to keep us afloat. It would take a ton of bad luck for NONE of them to pan out.

    Luckily for us, every one of them has fallen into place (or about to; the last, biggest piece of money is slated to come in the next three weeks). Some took longer than we hoped but we managed to keep going.

    You're super smart and a good planner, so taking a leap is a truly calculated risk, not just a plunge into the complete unknown. I think enough of your guesses will work out that things will work out really well for you.

  2. Ima saver Says:
    1432403098

    At age 40, (my age), we decided to move away from Florida (where I had lived for 32 years) to the mountains of North Georgia. My husband built us a log house, completely by himself. (he never had one days help) He had never built a house before in his life!
    We had no jobs and no idea what we would do for a living. We just wanted to move away from Florida and to a beautiful piece of land in the mountains and on the Toccoa river. We had to live in a travel trailer for a year (15 feet) with a teenager, a doberman and a poodle. It was the most exciting year of our lives.
    I managed to find a job making minimum wage ($3.15 an hour) and after a year, my husband got a job building houses ($7.50 an hour)
    WE have never regretted the move one bit and we would do it all again tomorrow!
    Don't be afraid, you all will be fine!!!

  3. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    1432427178

    About a year ago I moved to NE with no job - my only safety net being able to stay at my boyfriend's apartment. It was scary, but I do think it was worth it.

  4. rob62521 Says:
    1432493151

    Your fear may make you a little more careful as you spend and it sounds like your move could be a good challenge for you. Sometimes fear is a healthy motivator.

  5. LivingAlmostLarge Says:
    1432577848

    Ceejay, it is a lot of calculated risk right now. We did do a lot of planning financially and mapping out what should happen and why. The question of how to manage it I'm not entirely sure. But we have a lot of variables that we have to manage.

    Imasaver I am so happy to read your story. It sounds like something we are doing except moving into a rental and not a trailer. And we're not going to build a house. Amazing.

    FrugalTexan I'm also so glad to hear you leap with just a small safety net. It's a defining moment and experience.

    Rob, fear is a motivator. Right now it's hard to see further than tomorrow but hopefully we get back on track and start moving in the right direction.

  6. creditcardfree Says:
    1432759090

    I'm probably not as scared for you as I would be for others because you have a large cash cushion and you aren't making big purchases without income and a job. You are being very mindful of the risks that are there while still diving in to live where you want to. I think you will be fine!

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