I recently read a blog post written by a famous Norwegian blogger, where he wrote about how he freed himself of the tyranny of debt and owning a house and everything that comes with it. He divorced, sold the house, paid down his debts, and felt a huge sense of relief. Instead of being in debt and owning a big house that needs to be taken care of, he rents an apartment. He went on to write about how it's not necessary to live the traditional family life, and how we should break free from the chains of what's expected of us.
Here I am, recently having increased my debt buying both a brand new house (new as in built this year), and a new car. In addition to that, I have two kids (one born this year, even), and a dog. But instead of feeling like this weighs me down, I feel great about it! For the first time in my life I actually care deeply about where I live - I own a house! With a garden and everything!
I love working in the garden, watering and cutting the grass, planting plants. For the first time in my life I've built something that I can touch and feel - a wind fence for our terrace. I love my car because we can fit everyone in it, and it has a five year warranty, which means that if anything breaks we don't have to worry about suddenly having to spend tons of money on it. I'm able to provide a great place and environment for my kids, and we don't have to stress about not having enough room or stuffing ourselves into an old, beat up car.
Somehow I feel as if I should be worried about being in debt, and that I should view having kids and being locked down like this is a bad thing - but I'm not and I don't. Is it a defence mechanism? Am I in denial? I've never been in this situation before, so I really have no idea how it will work out in the end.