Better Living

For years, I lived in the basement of Property 1 with the bare necessities. As long as I had a toilet, a shower, and a used futon to sleep on, I was fine. Then I had the basement apartment finished, fully equipped with a kitchen area and an actual bed. Not only did I save money through home-cooked food, but I also felt better. I realized that there was no honor in struggling when I didn’t have to, and I deserved to sleep on a nice bed. But lately I had forgotten that realization, and went back to accepting crappy situations.

My living situation sucks. My Jeep Cherokee is crap. Even though there’s nothing mechanically wrong with it, the leg room is awful and the 4-cylinder engine can’t handle the Jeep’s frame. So every time I step on the gas, it feels like someone just rear-ended me. The new Nepalis that moved in above me have a kid who comes by and runs around the apartment like an asshole. Being able to hear every step is annoying, but the sounds multiplies when someone is running. My washing machine seems to have a bad motor or something, so my clothes smell almost as bad before the wash as it does afterwards. But the biggest problem I have are the pests. If it’s not the mosquitoes, it’s the flies. If it’s not the flies, it’s the mice. And if it’s not the mice, it’s the bats. The bats fly around all night and make it near impossible for me to get sleep. Sometimes it gets so bad that I've actually had to leave the apartment in the middle of the night and rest in my car! Not having a good home base makes life much worse than it should be, and I had to start making changes.

New car... kind of

More speakers allow me to hear my favorite songs better

Navigation. Finally!

Soft leather seats so I don't have to sit on a pillow anymore

Yep, I upgraded my Jeep Cherokee Sport to a Jeep Cherokee Limited. For $1,700 I received the following upgrades: 6-cylinder engine, navigation, leather seats, air-conditioned seats, sunroof, roof racks, park assistance, push-button start, MUCH better leg room, trunk remote, panoramic roof, sunroof, increased head room, better heat positioning, and 7,000 less miles than the one I traded in. Since then, my driving experience has improved exponentially. Between rounds at the bank job, I sit in my Jeep and watch stuff on my phone. Usually my legs hurt being cramped up but, thanks to the increased legroom, I no longer have to deal with pain in my legs. It finally feels good to drive again. Could this be the beginning of change?

I have a bat problem. The bat company wants a shitload of money to set up a bat exclusion system, so I'll go with the cheaper option and buy one of those sonic bat repellents. My washing machine sucks. So I’ll use the one at Property 2 until I can afford my own. And I’m tired of living in the basement, under the footsteps of the first floor tenants. So I’ll find a solution with new living arrangements. It’s either my next property has a finished attic/free apartment, or I'll finish the attic at Property 2.

I’ve always been a minimalist, willing to be uncomfortable to save money. But now that I'm a bit wiser and older, it doesn't seem worth it anymore. After all, why suffer when I don't have to? 

P.S.: One of the cool things about the car purchase was finding out that my official credit score is 755. I've come a long way from 565, man.