Escaping the Hamster Wheel
Is it even possible?
Escaping the Hamster Wheel
Is it even possible?
As Americans almost all of us are used to the constant “putting your nose to the grindstone”, pushing ahead and telling ourselves that we will eventually “catch a break” and get ahead. The main way we assume this will happen is through a raise, or possibly a promotion of some kind.
Other methods that may finally give us a break are paying off your car, paying off your mortgage, or finally paying off your student loans.
In reality, most jobs keep people in a pay freeze, or the raises aren’t even enough to keep up with average inflation, while promotions often go to those who know someone, or are related to the boss (nepotism).
As far as paying off your car or house? Well, most people in the younger generations don’t own a house since they can’t afford one, and those who manage to end up paying multiple times what the house is worth by the time they finish paying off the mortgage. If you ever want to get depressed go do the math on how much interest you’ll end up paying on your house by the time you finish making your way down that amortization sheet.
All of that aside real estate is one of the best investments you can make, although you’re still tied in for 30 years, and that’s an enormous amount of your life.
The word comes from Old French morgage, literally “dead pledge,” from mort (dead) and gage (pledge).
So what about paying off your car? A lot of the time by the time you’ve paid it off it begins to have major mechanical failures, although paying off your vehicle is still a boon in many cases. If you can save back some of the money you were spending on your car note you can still come out ahead even if you have to make some repairs, if it’s a reliable model.
A huge downside though is that cars depreciate fairly quickly, and in my experience, in Texas, I consider them more of a utility than anything else. Since they are absolutely necessary for keeping a job with all of the distance between everything in Texas and the lack of public transportation in most regions.
However many people decide to trade in their vehicles at this point, because a sudden breakdown leaving you on the side of the road can be dangerous, as well as putting your job at risk if you rely on your vehicle for work. Given that Texas is an “at-will” state these employers can cut you loose for any reason.
So after trading it in you may have a nice new reliable car, but you’re now stuck paying on it for another 3–6 years on average, depending on the type of loan you took out.
This just renews the cycle of commuting and working yourself into oblivion.
“The things you own end up owning you. It’s only after you lose everything that you’re free to do anything.”
― Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club