Beemer, Beemer, Benz, Benz

July 17th, 2008; 7:08 PM

Current mood:determined

Beamer? Beemer? How do you spell it? BMW made longer and into a nickname that is not like it's original spelling? BAVERIAN MOTOR WORKS or Bayerische Motoren Werke. Beeeemmmmeeeer. Anyhoo..

Beemer, Beemer, Benz, Beemer, Benz, Benz. I look at the full parking lot outside the office and notice there is a definite trend at work. The people I work with all drive very nice, very expensive, and also NEW cars. Immaculately detailed and always sparkling. And part of me wonders about how people afford cars like this? Or the gas? Or insurance? And then I think back to my lessons learned with the Saks family, and how there are lots of people out there living hand to mouth, just on a higher level. They're living hand to mouth in their mansions, and driving their SUV's. and all the while they are on the brink of financial ruin. One big fall is all it takes. But people like that tend to be resilliant. They slither back up after a bankrupcy, and start over.

I was reading about mortgage interest rates, and how conservative lenders look for the ammount of the monthly payment to be at, or less than, 28% of the individuals income. And I was thinking about how much money I would have to make to reach that figure! It's staggering. I don't know how people can afford to buy what with interest rates being what they are, plus insurance, and property taxes. Even with the market being tanked like it is (there's a good deal around every corner, and a better one coming up right behind that one...) but still...even with the price of real estate plummeting, I can't wrap my head around how one ever achieves that ratio without being a lawyer, or doctor. I don't know many people who make $7,000 or more a month at my age. I don't know how people can meet that percentage goal? Unless they are married. That must be it! (The light bulb goes on!)

I remember when I was a kid, my mom saying how she could never buy a house on her own. That's why she skipped the house around the corner from grandma and grandpa's and bought a condo in the hood. I do remember how proud she was of herself, when she and another single parent friend of hers bought and shared a house together in Colorado. We lived in a great house. It was big, and really fun. We had 2 fireplaces. I liked that house. I get now why my mom felt such pride in that accomplishment. As a working class mother, and the only provider for her family, she had a right to be proud of bucking the odds. Now it's my turn and I am thinking about how my career has to provide financial stability, so that without anyone elses help, I can provide the life and home that I want to live in. And with that, also the passive wealth building that homeownership provides. Owning your own home is one of the keys to a better life. Geting through the door is the hard part.