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10 Steps to a Stress-Free Holiday
“The stress-free way to enjoy the holidays is to plan, take one step at a time, and have a sense of humor.” Beth Tabak
Can you feel the holiday jitters beginning? Suddenly there it is right around the corner. Well relax. Take the time to plan...
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Crisis Fund
What would it be like to have a pot of money available when you have an unexpected expense? I used to think that unexpected expenses was something that happened very rarely. But it seems like these days I have as many unexpected expenses as I do...
You Want to be a Stay-At-Home Parent
The subject of stay-at-home parenting is touchy, and emotionally tangled up in a maelstrom of emotion, advertising, society pressure, culture demands, and personal beliefs. When you have a mixture of that many ingredients swirling around, the result...
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Bay Leaf Ritual for the New Year
HI would like to share with you a ritual I do every New Year's that is quite involved and requires a lot of thought and meditation time. It is derived from an ancient Greek ritual for prosperity and fertility. As you may recall, ancient...
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Discover Your Housing Value System
Are you stuck trying to make a housing decision? Small wonder. Your housing decisions are about everything in your life, and they involve your inner motivations and desires as well as finances, design and logistics.
Consider this. Our relationship with our home is the most personal nonhuman relationship we may ever have. Home is something we “provide” for ourselves and our loved ones. It offers control over our physical setting and our leisure. It provides security and independence. In the best-case scenario, home is our sanctuary. The psychology of housing decision-making is rooted in our housing past. That history starts with childhood dreams of a safe, secure, happy home, dreams that persist long into adulthood. Identifying childhood relationships to home will help give you insight into your current feelings, and even what may be holding you hostage about your decision. The goal, however, is a home that fully reflects your adult values rather than needs mired in your childhood.
In addition, everyone has a “housing profile.” Discover yours and you are on your way to making a smart decision, whether that decision involves buying, selling, remodeling or investing in another home.
Your unique housing profile consists of four areas:
* Personal factors that deal with your identity, desire for autonomy, need for personal safety, security, and other aspects of the “real you.”
* Social factors that refer to your concerns about others: your partner, family members, friends, neighbors, and the people in your community.
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Tangible factors include the physical comforts that are important to you about where you live. The home itself and its surroundings, convenience, commuting time to your job or business, schools and other aspects of your home's location.
* Money factors are what you think or believe about your financial affairs: how you handle money, savings and investments. It really isn't about how much you have.
If you can recall your housing past and prioritize your current housing values, you can more easily make housing choices and push through any decision barriers that may be stopping you from having the home of your choice.
Fully understood, this system reveals competing values, needs, wants and “shoulds.” Your housing value system is your best tool for making good housing choices. It can help you stay focused and maintain your objectivity, guiding you through all that really matters to you. It can help you counter frustration and anxiety so you can sort through your alternatives and make your best decision. Most importantly, it can guide you to decisions based on your true housing values and needs rather than on subconscious wants or other people's “shoulds.”
About the Author
Lois A. Vitt is a housing expert and financial sociologist, and is the author of "10 Secrets to Successful Home Buying and Selling: Using Your Housing Psychology to Make Smarter Decisions", the first book in the real estate market to demystify the psychological forces behind our housing decisions. To learn more about Lois and this book, visit http://www.RealtyStudies.com.
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