Alignment

It was almost two years ago. I called my dad and expressed to him that I wanted to buy a new car. Granted, the car I had was in tip top condition, only have owned it for a few years. I had been living in Kennesaw, Georgia for about 5 years. I think I lived in about 4 different apartment complexes. From roomates to living by myself. Right when I got to the end of the phrase…. “Dad I want new ca…”, his first response was, “You don’t need no new dam car, you need a house”. In my head I was like why?? Oblivious to the fact that I had spent a LOT of money on rent and had nothing to show for it. I had no idea what equity was, a home loan, homeowners insurance etc. so I was immediately lost. So he helped me do the math. I spent an average of $1,100 on rent monthy. Multiply that by..( let’s see, moved to Kennesaw in 2011 and had lived in apartments until 2017)okay multiply $1,100x(12monthsx6years). ….gives me…$79,200!!!! Are you kidding me. And that’s just roughly! My rent went up every year! I put $2,000 on a downpayment for a HOUSE. A WHOLE HOUSE. And only having been in my house for 2 years it is now worth $50,000 more than what I paid for it(positive equity). My God! Now don’t get me wrong. This is not the easiest of processes. It requires a lot of discipline. I had to put my needs before my wants. I needed to maximize my living by investing in something that could pay ME back! For a few months I put my focus on saving. And my main priority was to not ask my parents for a thing! All it took was a focus on priorities. Now I have something that I own, not rent and that’s a blessing! Invest in your self! Align your priorities. Seek financial advice. Phone a friend. Lets be a group of good decision makers at a young age. The clothes, trips, cars will all come once we are in alignment with our purpose.

—Yours Purely