Home owners and the decisions that follow....

In two days, B and I will own our first home! The amount of decision-making we have had to endure seem to act as a confirmation that we are now fully-fledged grown-ups no longer under our parents' wings.

For starters, the initial decisions that had to made were: Do we buy or rent? When shall we buy? Where shall we buy? What shall we buy? Townhouse vs house? Followed by: How much can we afford? Who do we go with for a home loan? Which financial institution offers a better interest rate or a better mortgage package all around? Who should we go to for conveyancing matters?

Once all of that had been taken care of, all we could do was wait until settlement, a whole six months later. And then more decision making followed. We have had to enquire, research and decide on various things for the house - security doors, fly screens, who do we go with for that? We enquired with two suppliers and one charged almost double the other! What made his doors and fly screens so special?? Then it was blinds vs curtains, and if blinds, what type of blinds - romans, vertical, venetian? All three for different parts of the house?

Then came the furniture and white goods. Bed for the master bedroom? Not yet. Perhaps later in the year, closer to the wedding. Bed for the spare bedroom, yes, and B can sleep on it in the meantime. What bed? Single? Double? Queen? Sofa bed? How about those "aerobeds", the inflatable mattress? Don't laugh, I slept on one in London and it was very comfortable! Refrigerator? Darn, the brand that we wanted was too big for the space and the one model down was too small. Back to the drawing board. Which model washing machine? Do we get one now or wait for the newer model? Which microwave? How big do we need it?

More furniture - where do we look for furniture? What do we need? Sofas, coffee table, dining table, buffet, and an entertainment unit. What colour? How do we know if we like it? Will it fit in the house? Do we get a TV now or later? Is it necessary? Can we afford all this?? When shall we have them delivered??

There will be more shopping to be done shortly for normal daily household items....imagine the decision-making to be made then, what brand detergents, and how many sponges and buckets will we need?

A very wise friend said recently that everything you do this side of 30 is a pain. He was right!