A New Chapter in Our Lives - Coming Soon....

Haven't posted much in quite a while, mainly because of something I mentioned back in December of 2013. At that point I was a little excited about buying some containers to store my preps out of sight so we could sell our home and hopefully move to a smaller house with more land. Well, the house sold in May. Since that time, I've been staying with my sister & BiL while my wife is in OK helping my parents out. We've had to stay apart so I can hang on to my job.

This has all been so that we can shop for a new home in the Tulsa area. Initially, we were extremely picky about what we wanted in a home. First, the house MUST be within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation (my dad's medical benifits require that he live within the Cherokee Nation), but it also needed to be close enough to Tulsa so that we can find decent employment. We wanted a minimum of four bedrooms (this will accommodate my wife & I, my parents, one guest room for visiting family, and an office for my writing), at least an acre of land, no HOA, and I really wanted a decent workshop in back because I may have access to a wood lathe that a relative is willing to get rid of. And of course the house has to pass muster with the wife, which means a decent kitchen, floors, etc). We found a few that seemed right, but were unable to move on them quickly enough due to my having to arrange time off from work before I could see them (without anyone at work knowing what I'm up to - can't risk losing the job yet).

After months of this, we finally realized we were going to have to compromise, and it looks like we've finally found something that will work for us. It's in the right area, close to Cherokee Nation medical facilities, is a nice four bedroom home on just a smidge over an acre with an aerobic irrigation system fed by the septic system, and the previous owners already have a good sized raised bed garden in back (I think I'll want to redesign it, as it's based on a more traditional rowed garden, and I want to try a series of raised narrow bed gardens combined with a bit of a food forest, but that can be done later). It has the kitchen my wife wanted, has a nice master & master bath that we can move my parents into, and the master bath is spacious enough that we can modify it as needed (Dad's cancer, and Mom's knees could eventually put either one of them in a wheelchair in the next few years).

It took some haggling, but it looks like this one is actually going to happen. They say that a good negotiation is when nobody feels like they got what they wanted, but everyone can live with the results, right?

Well, there is an HOA, but it appears to be minimally invasive (so far) and only costs $50/year. And we went over our budget on the house, plus we will have to do some repairs and upgrades when we move in. That's going to eat a big chunk of my wife's 401k, which makes us a little pretty nervous. Our broker is trying to talk us out of doing this, saying that we will lose too much of our investment potential, but as far as I'm concerned, this home IS an investment. It's something tangible, and not just a series of numbers in an account somewhere. It also allows us to drop our monthly overhead to about half of what it was in the old house, which by my "off the cuff" calcs will save us about $20k per year. There is no workshop, but I may be able to put the lathe in the garage. There are also no decent trees on the property, but I plan on rectifying that as we settle in.

All in all, we'll definitely have a bit of work to do, but in a way that is a great opportunity. I plan on getting a good mini food forest going that (assuming I design it properly) will begin some small returns from the bushes and shrubs in the first year, and fruit from the trees within a few years after. If I do manage to get the lathe, then I have some projects in mind that will help keep my dad occupied and feeling useful, without tiring him out too much. Plus, they could bring in some additional cash. And I plan to put in a storm shelter, which will be able to double as food storage.

So it looks like we're about to begin a whole new section of our lives here. I'm honestly pretty nervous about it, but nothing gambled, nothing gained, right?

Wish me luck, monkeys.

 

Good luck!

 

Good luck.

 

Thanks, guys.

 

I'm nervous for you for such a big change but I'm also more than a little jealous. Best of luck!

 

Best of luck, Jeff!

 

Wow, lotsa big changes. Hope everyone lands upright!

You did not ask for input/advice, but I must say something about dipping into that 401K: You probably already know there are a lot of serious strings attached when you mess with a 401K before it's ripe. It's true that a home is a tangible investment and not "numbers in an account" but it's also true that spending your Golden Years house rich and cash poor isn't exactly a dream life, either. If having a tangible asset was that much of a priority, then you should have never put the money in the 401K to begin with. I think you should listen to your broker.

Anyway, we all have to do the best we can with what we have. Good luck and best wishes!

 

I too would chime in on the 401k. May I suggest that you call the Ric Edelman radio show, or just their offices, and chat with an adviser. (888) 752-6742‎ They don't pressure you to do anything. And, pro bono, will review your situation, ask some questions, and give you advice. Free. I'm a Client. But I have had many friends take advantage of their offer to "help". Many of those friends will never do business with them. But every single one rave over the help. I can't tell you -- nor can anyone -- what is the "right" thing to do. But often it helps to have a disinterested third party look over your shoulder and advise. After all, what can it hurt. And, the advice might well be go fo it. 401ks are fraught with unpleasant consequences. YMMV, good luck. fjohn

 

Thanks again, everyone.

BT - Already have plans for a storm shelter. However, I hadn't thought about tornado insurance. Honestly, I hadn't thought to see if there is such a thing. Thanks for the suggestion.

I also appreciate the concern from those of you worried about my wife's 401k. We've talked about it at length and this is the only real option for us. We realize we're going to take a hit, but another part in the equation is that once the dust settles, *my* 401k will also drop from corporate control into an IRA (because I will have to leave my job). And as for the idea that we shouldn't have put money into it to begin with, well, my better half and I have both been contributing to them for more than twenty years - long before we considered whether or not we would need the money to help take care of my parents. And over that twenty years, the numbers have gone up, and the numbers have gone down. But the thing that has not gone up is the viability of the economy as a whole. And with the government beginning to make a push to "myRA"s, I would rather get my money working for me in tangibles than to wait for them to find a way to get even more of it in the next few years.