The Problem with Money

I wish...

I am the worst person at saving money. I cannot, for the love of anything dear, save.
I don't really see the point unless its for something I really want or somewhere I want to go to. But now the place I want to go to and the thing I want have become the same thing.
I want to buy my first house.

What should look like this..

I have had a peep on a few real estate sites and liked what I saw. ($250k for a 2 bedroom appt in the city? Nice.) Then it was revealed to me that there is other costs. I hate other costs! Why the hell is interest so high anyway? With Australian banks now a little more than a couple of billion dollars ahead of their usual earning for the year (in March), now they're just being greedy. I get the whole stamp duty thing and other moving costs. But this interest rate business is getting a bit out of hand isn't it? So when I did a loan calculator with the current interest rate over the maximum period possible, which was 30 years (so you pay less monthly, ie. $1,700pcm), it showed that I would end up paying a whopping $560k interest on top of the $240k I would borrow from the bank. Making the grand total of a small, 2 bedroom starter apartment, $800 000.

Yikes!

Really looks like this.

No wonder you don't see any people in their 20's owning houses! With most people in that age group only averaging 2 years at each place they work in, (its true!) its hard to find a well paying job you love these days. Not to mention the courses you have to take to be able to do some of the jobs out there. Good luck even paying rent during your full time 5 year engineering course. You could just live with your parents the whole time. But after you become engaged or pregnant or any derivative of another person coming into your life, say goodbye to any harmony you may have had.

If on the other hand, if you want to say, pay your dream house off in 5 years. Be prepared to pay $3-4000 a month. So you will probably have to get say; a second job, plus be a stripper on the side, just to pay your loan and live. I can see why people are so hesitant on getting a mortgage now. I never knew what horrible things they were. And if you so happen to have a mortgage and win the lotto. The bank (you know. Those guys who are totally fair and all..) will charge you a penalty fee for paying off the remainder of your loan before the set date.

Yeah, you heard me.

So my dream of being a home owner is a little far off for now. But one day, I will have the castle of my dreams. Oh the things I will have in there! Now all I need is the winning numbers for the next lottery.

xo-xo