Everyone says money doesn’t buy happiness, but it clearly has something to do with it.  You can’t be very happy if you’re deeply in debt and about to lose your house because you don’t have enough money to make the mortgage payments, for instance.  So some money is necessary, but it does have diminishing returns.  Once you have all your basic needs met, and have enough to make yourself comfortable and do the things you enjoy, getting more money doesn’t really help an awful lot.

I see money as more of a hygiene factor and less of a motivator: having more of it doesn’t really make you happy, but having less of it can definitely make you unhappy.

Money has been on my mind a lot lately due to an unexpected issue with my teeth.  I got an abscess beneath one of my teeth that infected the one next to it as well.  The root canal treatments failed and I had to have both teeth surgically extracted.  So far, I’ve spent about $1,800 on that, but the worst is yet to come.  Because the two teeth are together, I can’t get a bridge.  So I need either a denture, or implants.  Implants are the best solution, but come with a $12,000 price tag.

Now, I have that money currently in investments, but I had it in mind to one day think about buying a house or apartment of my own.  I’m at least a year away from having enough of a deposit to even consider it, but spending that money on my teeth would put that goal back another year or more. 

I’ve still got three months or so to make the decision about what I want to do about my teeth, but it’s raised all kinds of questions in my mind about what exactly is my money for?  I love the apartment I’m renting, but I would never buy it due to it being leasehold.  I’ve always vaguely had an idea that I would buy a place, but I could never buy a place even a fraction as nice or as convenient as the place I’m currently renting.   Perhaps I don’t really need to buy at all?  But I hate moving with a passion, and don’t want to be at the mercy of a landlord’s financial situation again. 

All this angst over my goals in life caused by a couple of teeth!

Most people who list their houses for sale try to put up a range of photos to show the house. Trademe listings allow up to 20 photos. Those with enough savvy try to show off the best features. Most of the rest at least try to show all the main rooms and outside areas.
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Seriously, this was the headline under which this house was first listed on Trademe. Not exactly a headline to interest potential buyers.
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The house pictures I posted yesterday showed a house that was very cluttered and a bit untidy, but otherwise clean and in apparently a good state of repair. It’s not how I’d present a house if I wanted someone to fork over $300k+ but hey, it’s not too bad. By contrast, this listing that arrived in my email this morning is a shocker.
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Since I’ve been living at home, I’ve had access to Sky. Mostly, I’ve been watching the Living Channel & Food TV, with a little bit of CI & Discovery thrown in. One common Living Channel style program is to help out someone who is trying to sell a house but hasn’t been able to.
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I’ve been keeping an eye on properties I might like to buy. One of my saves searches brought me a house in Kelston with the caption “Heaps of potential -character plus”.

The listing touts the proximity to bus stops, schools and shops, and suggests a bit of paint and new carpet will transform this home.

It also mentions that there is a “a cosy conservatory off the kitchen (possibly a little unpermitted work here but at the price you may not care).”

The listing includes a picture of it:

Maybe it isn’t that bad. Plenty of people do great work without getting the expensive council permits …. right?

This picture gives a better view of the conservatory:

Possibly unpermitted? Only possibly? I know the various city councils were a bit shoddy about certifying work a decade ago (and hence the leaky homes problem), but how can anyone imagine Waitakere City Council could give a permit to a conservatory that requires a tarp to keep the rain out and a bucket to catch the leaks?

I don’t mind redecorating, but fixing something like that and getting retrospective consent isn’t part of my plans. At least they’re up front about it I guess.