Utilizing Naperville Asset Management To Figure Out How Much Home You Can Really Afford
I teach English as a Second Language to adults from around the world. It’s a job that reminds me, on a daily basis, how very fortunate we are in this country, even in these currently strained economic times. I know most of my students would be stunned if they ever saw my house, even though it’s fairly modest by Naperville standards. For heaven’s sake! Each of my three children has his or her own bedroom. Extravagance! And “backyard”? Some of my students need to be taught the concept before they can learn the English word. A number of them come from countries where families live in small apartments, others from areas where multiple generations share ancestral homes, and still others didn’t even have electricity.
Sometimes, viewing American society through their eyes, I become appalled. Many of us make the mistake of buying too much home, either for our needs or for our budget. If you don’t have a handle on solid Naperville financial planning, you can easily find yourself in over your head. When my former neighbor got a promotion and substantial raise, he and his wife decided to move into a stately new home that had been built where a more modest one was torn down. What they didn’t realize was that the property taxes they were quoted were based upon the humble home. After they committed, but even before moving in, they realized that there was no way their budget would accommodate another $1500 a month for taxes alone.
You may scoff at such poor Naperville asset management, but stories like this are not uncommon. Even people who ought to be able to afford fabulous financial advice find themselves with more home than they can afford. Before he passed away recently, TV personality Ed McMahon made headlines when he found himself broke and his home in foreclosure. Heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, who has earned almost $250 million in the ring, has fought off more than one foreclosure on the home that costs him $1 million a year in maintenance.
Is it any wonder that people from outside our culture are aghast at our excesses? Many of them strive to be like us. I, for one, will strive to be an example of a sensible American, utilizing good Naperville financial planning to live within my means, and remembering to be very happy with my affordable home.
