Chasing the American Dream

If you live in the America you are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to do just about anything you dare attempt. You can live anywhere and move whenever you like. You can start your own business, fail miserably, and then wake up the next day and try again. You can buy a piece of land and own your house, an opportunity that many in the world still are unable to do. In a land such as this it can be easy to take all of our opportunities for granted, or even to consider them our right. However, I’d like to offer a simple reminder if might, that all of these “rights” or “opportunities” are really privileges.

If I forget that owning a house is a privilege and consider it my right, I may end up facing what many people are facing today: foreclosure and/or bankruptcy. If I’m not careful during my pursuit of the American Dream of a house with a white picket fence and the perfect family waving back at me from the front door, I may be walking myself into a perfectly terrible mess. Buying that dream house that I can’t really afford just to give off the appearance that my life is soaring right along could very well be halting any real progress towards achieving healthy financial fitness. Too many people, especially in younger generations, feel the need to buy a house quickly and in the process they bite off way more than they can financially chew. It isn’t uncommon (though it’s very unhealthy financially) these days for people to be paying 45%, 50%, or even 60% of their usable income towards their house payment.

I’ve heard the argument for this behavior too, that“buying a home is the best investment you will ever make!” To some degree that is a true statement. Buying a house, or some form of real estate, is typically the single largest investment a person will make during their lifetime. But as with all investments, some are good, some are bad, and what makes the difference between most is the timing. When a person is spending 50% of their usable money on a house payment, their monthly budget (if they use one) is probably broken and some element is being left out of the equation. For most people the first thing to go is investing for their future. When 50% is used right off the top it can be difficult for people to find 10-15% to put towards their retirement plan. Investing thrives best when it has time to grow. Losing five to ten years in an investment that earns 10% annually can equate to losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in the long run.

It would be helpful to remember as strive towards your personal American dream remember that there is a difference between a house and a home. A house can be bought, sold, moved, knocked down, or burned at anytime. You can buy another one practically anytime you want. But a home cannot be bought. A home is made anywhere you and your family resides. Be patient during your pursuit of your dreams so that when you reach them you haven’t sacrificed many of the greater things life has to offer.