Flip Flops, Waffles, and Parking on the Beach

Home prices keep falling. The recent downgrade of the US credit rating could trigger harder and more troubling times. As I search for a home to buy, my wish-list keeps flip flopping in wants and needs. Do I stick with the original plan of buying a home large enough to have 2 roommates to generate income? Or perhaps buy a very small home and pocket the difference and buy a small RV?

My initial thoughts of having enough space for roommates also buffered the idea that I may possibly be in another relationship someday, and may want room for a family. Admittedly though, as I am 43 years old, starting a family at some time in the relatively near future does not sound appealing.

The whole thing seems crazy anyway, as the homes I can purchase either need too many repairs or will deplete my savings completely.

I have a small amount of savings that I am hoping to put on a house, and potentially not have a mortgage payment. If I can play my cards right, I might even have enough left over for a decent small-sized RV or large conversion van.

My plans start to waffle quickly when I start to add more variables to the equation. Maybe I shouldn’t pay cash for a home, and take out a loan instead? The roommates would pay the mortgage, and I would still have my savings and I could still get the RV and also have money to travel. Maybe I should look at houses further from the city and my work?  I might be able to get a less expensive home, but roommates would then be difficult to find and the commute would not be enjoyable.

This is retirement savings I am messing with. And what is my fascination with the RV lifestyle anyway?

My wife stopped working about 2 years before her death. Her disease would not allow her to work any longer.

 We used to take wonderfully long road trips in our mini-van to remote areas and camp out. The back of the mini-van was large enough for a double sized memory foam mattress. We were more comfortable sleeping in the mini-van than in most motels. A little over a year before her death, I was in the process of changing careers, and my wife expressed the wish for me to take 6 months off between jobs so we could travel the country. We could keep the house, buy a small RV, and have plenty of savings to travel. My fear kept us from fulfilling one of her last wishes in life.

My Fear.

Her Life.