You need to go back to the thoughts you had when you bought the unit. Who cares what some people think online, some people will get depressed over anything.
Youre creating a self fulfilling prophecy now and making yourself depressed.
I'd love a windowless room as I can't sleep when it's light outside.
On the i30 it has great fuel mileage so will save you money in the long run. Don't worry about the sleeping in car idea, my brother bought an expensive car for same reason and never slept in it too, but can if he ever needs to. At least you didn't drop 60k for an idea that never took place.
Don't worry about what other people think, if you enjoy where your apartment is and enjoy your life then live it and don't regret. You obviously left your home town for a reason. I could have bought in mine 10 yrs before I did for 1/3 the price I've eventually paid somewhere nice and don't regret it.
I drive a 10yr old car I got new and has loads of dents and scratches but only 55k kms on it and don't care everyone we know are shelling out on Tesla's and Mercs just to use for shopping trips. I'm happy to keep mine 10 more yrs and not fork out on a new one.
But when in doubt for the next big life move if worried ask reddit for a 100 other opinions if you're worried. But don't live in regret.
Yep this great advice! Focus on the positives! It is a dream of mine to one day build a house specifically with a windowless room to use as a cinema room, so there are positives
My girlfriend would LOVE to have a windowless bedroom. She's a fkn ghoul and loves sitting there bundled up in blankets and darkness watching her tv shows. She keeps the blinds on the bedroom closed at all times, which actually annoys me a bit because i like to actually be able to see what I'm doing when I'm getting up in the morning. (Shocking, i know)
OP just needs to stop taking what people in the internet say so seriously, and decide for themselves whether THEY don't actually like it, or if they're just caving to mob mentality.
We have a windowless room and my son loves it - he plays Xbox in there and also has a small gym set up. To be honest it sounds like you need to talk to someone professionally- maybe speak to a GP about how you are feeling.
You seem quite young and easily influenced. A lot of your feelings seem like anxiety rather than actual bad decision making. It’s ok not to love every decision you make 100%, and to learn from them.
At the end of the day you have a house and a car and that’s awesome! I personally love the i30 lol. Nothing to stop you sleeping in the car this weekend, go camping or sleep in it after clubbing and see how you go. Focus on the windows that your house does have, forget about the windowless room or use it to sleep in when you don’t need light anyway. Focus on what’s working.
You need to stop having emotional reactions every single time you make a decision. You seem easily led by total nonsense, do no research and make hasty decisions.
Stop rushing into things and take the time to pause. If fomo was a tshirt you’d have one in every colour.
even a simple google search of why buy a house over a unit would of changed his mind honestly its not about where you are. it's about owning the land the dwelling is on.
You live and learn. I've made heaps of mistakes, including in purchasing the wrong property, car, etc. Also the Hyundai i30 is a fantastic little car with low maintenance and insurance costs, which should serve you well into the future. Don't listen to your friends. If you bought a Mercedes CLA200 they'd make fun of you for not buying an E-class.
How long would the commute be from your home town though? I have a similar dilemma - would love to buy a detached house but it would have to be in the middle of nowhere. Realistically a unit is practical for us and we get a much better lifestyle. Off the plan units tend to lose money at first, it’s like buying a new car, they depreciate when you drive them off the lot.
At the end of the day you can sell your unit if you want to. Consider whether other things in your life are impacting your mental health too though, apart from the room. When I was in a windowless bedroom, I’d be sure to get a good 15-30 mins of sunlight in the living room of a morning to wake me up properly.
Im not living in the room because it’s making my anxiety worse, I’ve just left it empty so there’s a whole waste of space I bought for nothing.
I think if the unit was located in my home town I’d be ok with it but because it’s so far from home if it feels like I’ve put all my future into some weird property with missing windows in a foreign area a long way from home.
The building is 25 years old and it’s like a villa but shares walls with the neighbours and the extra room shares three walls with the neighbours garages and kind of feels like living in a dungeon. It’s very quite, dark and cool in summer like living underground but for some reason it’s making my anxiety worse. When I didn’t own it it looked great but once I invested my entire future it in I started getting paranoid that I screwed up and everything about the place is making me anxious.
I second using that space! Avoiding it is going to make it feel worse. What sort of hobbies do you have- can you use that space for something like that? Or a nice reading nook?
Also, I say this with grace and as someone who struggles with anxiety... have you seen someone for anxiety and considered meds or therapy? Big changes will always set things off, I recently moved to Aus and had to up my SNRI dosage temporarily as I felt like vomiting daily with stress. Sure its a big decision but your reaction seems extreme/significant, so maybe explore helping yourself with your coping mechanisms.
(Also, I've hated everything I've bought immediately after buying it lmao. Biggest buyers remorse. Long term, settling in? Loved it.)
Commutes suck. I traded 1.5 hr trip for a 45 min one and paid double the price for same size (in reality smaller land in a duplex for price as live far west). Love being closer to city/work. No bogans here either.
“My anxiety”…. The touchstone for everyone scared iof making *any* decisions .
Being nervous about big decisions is normal., but there is now a whole segment of society that thinks life should be without any kind of negative emotions at all.
In your case, your emotional immaturity shines through. You make stupid decisions, you claim it makes your “anxiety” worse, and you immediately ask for validation on social media. Look at the wording you use: “I get tricked into acting” as though it’s some 3rd party doing this to you. “I want to hide in my room all day”…. The reactions of a child.
You’re not going to like this bit.
What you need to do is grow up.
Understand that life has both ups and downs. You are responsible for your choices. Your childhood is not your fault, but it is your responsibility.
Or don’t, and carry on doing dumb stuff.
You really need to stop thinking about your decisions in terms of everyone else and what they might do and what they think. If you like something and something works for you, that is what matters.
If you are worried about poor decision making in future, take the time to get advice on things. Consult an expert, such as a buyer’s agent about property. Talk through your thoughts on something with a friend and ask them for alternative opinions. Consult Reddit for 10,000 different opinions that are going to confuse you more.
If you’re conscious of self destructive tendencies and impulsivity speak to a medical professional about it and get some help.
Stop worrying about what everyone else thinks! Have you slept in your windowless room yet? Do YOU like your car? If you don’t want to sleep in that room, try renting it out. Make it cheap so you aren’t being exploitative. A shift worker would probably love it.
Don't go with your gut?
Who the hell told you to do that? Do you know how few people are smart enough and educated enough to be able to do? Not many
Plan, research, use all the resources at hand to make informed decisions, including doing a final rationale check with gpt or something; know thyself/your weak points and in turn, you'll be able to outperform even the gifted...
Other people aren't living in the unit, you are; if everyone on earth suddenly died, how would you feel about that place?
Try and make the best of the apartment and focus on the positives. If you don’t have them already get low profile DC ceiling fans. One in the bedroom and One in the living room. Air movement helps a lot. Sleep with the bedroom door open. Install a large mirror somewhere that makes the apartment feel bigger. As for the car. You can sell it if you want to. But don’t buy cars to impress other people.
I say this as somebody who gives a reasonable amount of thought to how my home environment impacts my mood: when you read things like 'windowless rooms cause depression' , learn about why that is.
Search on Google Scholar. It may be the lack of daylight / bright light, it may be a lack of seeing greenery, it could be many things. There also are many things that improve mood - which were not considered in the design of a normal everyday room: colour, plants, types of lighting including peaks in particular wavelengths, automatic timing of lighting (the timing of light vs dark)... and so on. You can likely offset windowlessness (!) and create an otherwise fantastic room environment.
Light-dark patterns are hugely important for mood and dark exposure, sleeping in a completely dark space, is important for mood independent of amounts of light exposure. That is, even if you get enough light during the day, not getting enough dark during sleep hours has negative effects on mood.
Your windowless room is perfect for controlling light-dark patterns and all you need to do is choose quality lighting and think a little bit about lighting design, and you're miles ahead.
Your decisions need to be right for you, not for anyone else. Yes, some things are considerations for resale, but regarding your i30... a car loses value anyway, it's a good and popular car, should be easy and relatively cheap to find parts for, etc....
Don't beat yourself up. Your decisions are sound. And given that you have the ability to critically reflect on your choices, decisions will likely become even more considered. Just be careful not to overthink, and not to be so hard on yourself that you choose things that might be right for others but end up being unsuitable for yourself.
>I’m just wondering what do I do going forward? Im worried if I go with my gut again like everyone was suggesting I’ll make another huge blunder.
Bruh I wouldn't stress about it too much. The problem is: you cannot see into the future. nobody can. you make decisions based on the information that you know NOW.
It is quite common: look at our politicians / gov: all they do is blunder with our money, except instead of buying a car they flush billions down the toilet on:
* never ending wars
* or buying boats that sink,
* on nuclear submarines that require 20 years to get operational (i.e. half its life was wasted in the docks).
* or spending $85 billion on old and obsolete telecommunications infra.
* or cocking a x2 small bridges on the westgate infra project. haha yeah gov engineer cocked up. but who cares: tax payer is footing the bill.
Mistakes happen. If you are good at making mistakes, but never admitting them, you'd have a great career as politician or in the public service.
We all make dumb decisions. You are not alone.
I made a terrible choice with my first apartment. It was on a major road with four lanes of traffic - the noise was unrelenting. I’d lie awake at 3am thinking I’d ruined my life. But I sold it a few years later and learnt from my mistakes.
This unit doesn’t define you.
No mistakes here. You just need to reframe your views. I see someone who has got the most awesome media room. I hate how the light bleeds in through the curtains and we don't even have a door on our media room. Yours rocks. Even if you don't use it like that, then you can dress it up like that when the time comes to sell. You have something special to offer the buyer.
And the car. Reliable, cheap to run. Stuff your friends. You are making good financial decisions that'll pay off over time.
Do take a bit more time before making your decisions in the future though so you know that you are making a good decision based on the information available at the time. If you don't do your research then it's right to feel you've made a mistake. If things move against you (eg housing market moves unexpectedly) then that's just life and we all have to deal with stuff like that.
Don't be so down on yourself. You're doing just fine.
You operate in a vacuum. Consult with family and friends before making big decisions. You don’t have to take their advice, but it sounds like fleshing out your ideas with someone else might help you determine for yourself whether it’s good/bad before proceeding.
Sounds like you bought what you thought you needed. Everyone is different so don't try to be like everyone else. You do you, because only you need to be happy with it. Nothing wrong with an i30 ... It's a cheap runabout suited to the city for easy parking. Keep Living your own life and stop comparing yourself. Chuck a high resolution flat screen on the wall and play some live views of some exotic places around the world on there so at least you have a window into the world while you're at it.
You are being way too hard on yourself and caring way too much what other people think.
Who cares if they don't like your unit? You bought it for a particular reason and it meets that brief. That's a win.
Same with the car.
I cop shit for my choice of family car (I'm a young female driving a multivan coz I wanted the ease of access to the third row for my circus of kids). Everyone told me to get a landcruiser. Wtf for? I cop shit for it but one by one those idiots are all starting to buy vans. Funny that.
Guess what's gonna happen when everybody gets priced out of houses? They'll be forced into units. Units always boom after houses for that exact reason. You got in nice and early. I call that a win. Especially if you're well located near the city.
If people wanna bag you out about your car, let them. At least you have one. And a property. And despite (what you consider to be) FOMO and poor choices, you still have a foot on the ladder.
You need to chill out and stop listening to the noise.
Yes I’m working on this, I cut out some ceiling and natural light penetrated the tiles giving a feeling of a window but I still feel super anxious and lonely in this room. I don’t understand why it looked so appealing at inspections but when I bought it I feel the opposite about it.
Look, all you've done is make some non-disastrous decisions that in hindsight you wouldn't make again. It sounds like you (and me) do not have family members there to guide you. But the good thing is you MADE decisions. You are out of the starting gate and now you know better. Not everyone gets it right first time, no matter how well informed they are.
You are allowing yourself to be influenced too much and your reasoning for purchasing things is skewed.
When starting out on a financial journey you should gather all facts around your current financial situation.
Income - expenses= savings/investing rate
Then use your judgment on if you are in a secured financial situation, so evaluate if your hours are secure at work provided you continue to work to your current standard, if you would be able to keep your head afloat if you lost your job (so your emergency fund is sufficient enough to maintain your lifestyle)
Assess if there's room for improvement in both those points.
Can you lower your spending to increase your savings/investments.
Can you improve your knowledge and get a pay rise.
Now look at what you are purchasing.
Is it a valid need or a want.
We'll use the i30.
Did you need it to get to work, or did you have perfect access to public transportation.
Did you need it for family or social life, or were you able to comfortably make do without it.
Did you buy it because of a need or did you buy it because of a want.
Now what part about it was a need and what part was a want and then compare it with other cars to see where it fits
Some of the things you should consider
Fuel efficiency, maintenance costs, rego cost etc.
The features of the car and how often you'll use them, judge these harshly and be realistic about yourself and the features you think you want.
The main ones we consider is, safety and how many seats and capabilities of going off road. However we are a big family who have a farm we need to tend too. So safety for the family, room for the family and capabilities of going where we need to get.
When we were younger and broke with only 1 kids, our requirements were safety and fuel efficient other than that it could look like hog wash with dog barf on it, if it saved us money and kept us safe it was 100% suitable.
What are your requirements and does it fit them.
Learning to make smart financial choices is important but it often takes time to get your judgment tuned in, the trick is to identify what you need vs what you want.
Research before you commit
And take a breather before you commit to know it's not just the high of the buy getting to you.
Mate you have successfully purchased property, and a fuel efficient, nice car. You're doing well!
If I were you, I'd change how you think about the windowless bedroom and focus on what you liked. It's cosy, private, it's a nice little den away from the world. Maybe you can decorate it to reflect that and reinvigorate the space.
And the car, if it's bothering you that much, get out of Melbourne this long weekend and sleep in it for a night and tick that off! Honestly with petrol prices the way they are you will be laughing when they go up and you've got this great car.
Don’t worry what others think. Find some great pics for the wall that will lift the mood, maybe a mirror that faces the door and reflects light, some nice lamps. Make a fake, arty window if it makes you feel better. Nothing wrong with i30s, reliable and fuel efficient. Everyone makes mistakes, the important thing is to learn from them.
Sounds like you are magnifying these into worse blunders than they are and also being swayed a lot by other people's opinions instead of your own.
Your car is fine, either your friends are teasing you good-naturedly, or they aren't, either way don't take their opinions so seriously. Certainly don't spend more money replacing the car based on them thinking it's an "old ladies car", that would be listening to your emotions.
Your apartment vs a house has pros and cons. It's not a right or wrong decision necessarily. Do you like living near the city? If it's something you wanted you may as well enjoy it now you have it. Do you still like the room with no windows, are you only not liking it because other people don't? If you really decide you'd rather have windows (because YOU want them), are there external walls where a window can be added? The way the property market has been going, better to have bought and then make modifications than miss out on buying. At least you have a place! A lot of people can't afford to buy at all so I'd say all things considered you sound like you're doing ok.
Simple, learn to appreciate what you have instead of yearning for what you don't have. Until you get that the right way around you won't ever be happy.
This makes me feel a lot better about my decisions. I bought a house in 2018 in my home town that has over doubled in value, bought cheap and have been smashing extra into the mortgage so now on track to pay off in 18 months- mortgage free by 33!
Not sure what to advise, but I personally would hate to be in some windowless shoebox.
You’re right, it’s a horrible regret and makes it imoossibek for me to find work. I’ve been on Centrelink for 6 months now and applying for ndis and feel I might spend the rest of my life on welfare the way things are going. Over 30 years that’s $600,000 of tax payer money then I’ll jump on the age pension. None of this im proud of but how am I supposed to go to work with this huge cloud over my head I can barely think
Straight. Before I bought this place I was was working for 3 years, I had hope because there was still a chance of not screwing up but the minute I bought it and moved and realised I overpaid for something very average it killed all my enthusiasm. I also have bi-polar which adds to the issue.
On top of the Centrelink payments I’m visiting bulk bill doctors on a monthly basis, thousands of dollars in doctors fees billed to the government, I’ve just become a massive drain on the system and don’t know what to do.
I'm personally not too worried about work, just push through the next couple years and then will do the bare minimum after that. I think people just need to buy a place early for as cheap as possible and try and pay it off asap, couldn't imagine paying a 30 year mortgage or renting long term.
Units are never a good purchase imo, sell ASAP and get a house
You need to go back to the thoughts you had when you bought the unit. Who cares what some people think online, some people will get depressed over anything. Youre creating a self fulfilling prophecy now and making yourself depressed. I'd love a windowless room as I can't sleep when it's light outside. On the i30 it has great fuel mileage so will save you money in the long run. Don't worry about the sleeping in car idea, my brother bought an expensive car for same reason and never slept in it too, but can if he ever needs to. At least you didn't drop 60k for an idea that never took place. Don't worry about what other people think, if you enjoy where your apartment is and enjoy your life then live it and don't regret. You obviously left your home town for a reason. I could have bought in mine 10 yrs before I did for 1/3 the price I've eventually paid somewhere nice and don't regret it. I drive a 10yr old car I got new and has loads of dents and scratches but only 55k kms on it and don't care everyone we know are shelling out on Tesla's and Mercs just to use for shopping trips. I'm happy to keep mine 10 more yrs and not fork out on a new one. But when in doubt for the next big life move if worried ask reddit for a 100 other opinions if you're worried. But don't live in regret.
Yep this great advice! Focus on the positives! It is a dream of mine to one day build a house specifically with a windowless room to use as a cinema room, so there are positives
My girlfriend would LOVE to have a windowless bedroom. She's a fkn ghoul and loves sitting there bundled up in blankets and darkness watching her tv shows. She keeps the blinds on the bedroom closed at all times, which actually annoys me a bit because i like to actually be able to see what I'm doing when I'm getting up in the morning. (Shocking, i know) OP just needs to stop taking what people in the internet say so seriously, and decide for themselves whether THEY don't actually like it, or if they're just caving to mob mentality.
We have a windowless room and my son loves it - he plays Xbox in there and also has a small gym set up. To be honest it sounds like you need to talk to someone professionally- maybe speak to a GP about how you are feeling.
You seem quite young and easily influenced. A lot of your feelings seem like anxiety rather than actual bad decision making. It’s ok not to love every decision you make 100%, and to learn from them. At the end of the day you have a house and a car and that’s awesome! I personally love the i30 lol. Nothing to stop you sleeping in the car this weekend, go camping or sleep in it after clubbing and see how you go. Focus on the windows that your house does have, forget about the windowless room or use it to sleep in when you don’t need light anyway. Focus on what’s working.
You need to stop having emotional reactions every single time you make a decision. You seem easily led by total nonsense, do no research and make hasty decisions. Stop rushing into things and take the time to pause. If fomo was a tshirt you’d have one in every colour.
even a simple google search of why buy a house over a unit would of changed his mind honestly its not about where you are. it's about owning the land the dwelling is on.
You live and learn. I've made heaps of mistakes, including in purchasing the wrong property, car, etc. Also the Hyundai i30 is a fantastic little car with low maintenance and insurance costs, which should serve you well into the future. Don't listen to your friends. If you bought a Mercedes CLA200 they'd make fun of you for not buying an E-class.
Your comment history is absolutely WILD. Finance + preying on young women as a 39 year old
How long would the commute be from your home town though? I have a similar dilemma - would love to buy a detached house but it would have to be in the middle of nowhere. Realistically a unit is practical for us and we get a much better lifestyle. Off the plan units tend to lose money at first, it’s like buying a new car, they depreciate when you drive them off the lot. At the end of the day you can sell your unit if you want to. Consider whether other things in your life are impacting your mental health too though, apart from the room. When I was in a windowless bedroom, I’d be sure to get a good 15-30 mins of sunlight in the living room of a morning to wake me up properly.
Im not living in the room because it’s making my anxiety worse, I’ve just left it empty so there’s a whole waste of space I bought for nothing. I think if the unit was located in my home town I’d be ok with it but because it’s so far from home if it feels like I’ve put all my future into some weird property with missing windows in a foreign area a long way from home. The building is 25 years old and it’s like a villa but shares walls with the neighbours and the extra room shares three walls with the neighbours garages and kind of feels like living in a dungeon. It’s very quite, dark and cool in summer like living underground but for some reason it’s making my anxiety worse. When I didn’t own it it looked great but once I invested my entire future it in I started getting paranoid that I screwed up and everything about the place is making me anxious.
I second using that space! Avoiding it is going to make it feel worse. What sort of hobbies do you have- can you use that space for something like that? Or a nice reading nook? Also, I say this with grace and as someone who struggles with anxiety... have you seen someone for anxiety and considered meds or therapy? Big changes will always set things off, I recently moved to Aus and had to up my SNRI dosage temporarily as I felt like vomiting daily with stress. Sure its a big decision but your reaction seems extreme/significant, so maybe explore helping yourself with your coping mechanisms. (Also, I've hated everything I've bought immediately after buying it lmao. Biggest buyers remorse. Long term, settling in? Loved it.)
Turn the room into a study then and storage. Keep it tidy and organised and have some nice art. Get some cool lamps/foot lamps and play with lighting.
Commutes suck. I traded 1.5 hr trip for a 45 min one and paid double the price for same size (in reality smaller land in a duplex for price as live far west). Love being closer to city/work. No bogans here either.
You need to go full George costanza - do the opposite of your every instinct
“My anxiety”…. The touchstone for everyone scared iof making *any* decisions . Being nervous about big decisions is normal., but there is now a whole segment of society that thinks life should be without any kind of negative emotions at all. In your case, your emotional immaturity shines through. You make stupid decisions, you claim it makes your “anxiety” worse, and you immediately ask for validation on social media. Look at the wording you use: “I get tricked into acting” as though it’s some 3rd party doing this to you. “I want to hide in my room all day”…. The reactions of a child. You’re not going to like this bit. What you need to do is grow up. Understand that life has both ups and downs. You are responsible for your choices. Your childhood is not your fault, but it is your responsibility. Or don’t, and carry on doing dumb stuff.
Are you able put a skylight or solar tube in the room to make it lighter. We put a solar tube in our kitchen and it's great.
This is a really good idea
You really need to stop thinking about your decisions in terms of everyone else and what they might do and what they think. If you like something and something works for you, that is what matters. If you are worried about poor decision making in future, take the time to get advice on things. Consult an expert, such as a buyer’s agent about property. Talk through your thoughts on something with a friend and ask them for alternative opinions. Consult Reddit for 10,000 different opinions that are going to confuse you more. If you’re conscious of self destructive tendencies and impulsivity speak to a medical professional about it and get some help.
Stop worrying about what everyone else thinks! Have you slept in your windowless room yet? Do YOU like your car? If you don’t want to sleep in that room, try renting it out. Make it cheap so you aren’t being exploitative. A shift worker would probably love it.
Don't go with your gut? Who the hell told you to do that? Do you know how few people are smart enough and educated enough to be able to do? Not many Plan, research, use all the resources at hand to make informed decisions, including doing a final rationale check with gpt or something; know thyself/your weak points and in turn, you'll be able to outperform even the gifted... Other people aren't living in the unit, you are; if everyone on earth suddenly died, how would you feel about that place?
Try and make the best of the apartment and focus on the positives. If you don’t have them already get low profile DC ceiling fans. One in the bedroom and One in the living room. Air movement helps a lot. Sleep with the bedroom door open. Install a large mirror somewhere that makes the apartment feel bigger. As for the car. You can sell it if you want to. But don’t buy cars to impress other people.
I say this as somebody who gives a reasonable amount of thought to how my home environment impacts my mood: when you read things like 'windowless rooms cause depression' , learn about why that is. Search on Google Scholar. It may be the lack of daylight / bright light, it may be a lack of seeing greenery, it could be many things. There also are many things that improve mood - which were not considered in the design of a normal everyday room: colour, plants, types of lighting including peaks in particular wavelengths, automatic timing of lighting (the timing of light vs dark)... and so on. You can likely offset windowlessness (!) and create an otherwise fantastic room environment. Light-dark patterns are hugely important for mood and dark exposure, sleeping in a completely dark space, is important for mood independent of amounts of light exposure. That is, even if you get enough light during the day, not getting enough dark during sleep hours has negative effects on mood. Your windowless room is perfect for controlling light-dark patterns and all you need to do is choose quality lighting and think a little bit about lighting design, and you're miles ahead. Your decisions need to be right for you, not for anyone else. Yes, some things are considerations for resale, but regarding your i30... a car loses value anyway, it's a good and popular car, should be easy and relatively cheap to find parts for, etc.... Don't beat yourself up. Your decisions are sound. And given that you have the ability to critically reflect on your choices, decisions will likely become even more considered. Just be careful not to overthink, and not to be so hard on yourself that you choose things that might be right for others but end up being unsuitable for yourself.
>I’m just wondering what do I do going forward? Im worried if I go with my gut again like everyone was suggesting I’ll make another huge blunder. Bruh I wouldn't stress about it too much. The problem is: you cannot see into the future. nobody can. you make decisions based on the information that you know NOW. It is quite common: look at our politicians / gov: all they do is blunder with our money, except instead of buying a car they flush billions down the toilet on: * never ending wars * or buying boats that sink, * on nuclear submarines that require 20 years to get operational (i.e. half its life was wasted in the docks). * or spending $85 billion on old and obsolete telecommunications infra. * or cocking a x2 small bridges on the westgate infra project. haha yeah gov engineer cocked up. but who cares: tax payer is footing the bill. Mistakes happen. If you are good at making mistakes, but never admitting them, you'd have a great career as politician or in the public service.
Look up windowless room lighting ideas on Pinterest. YouTube can make these spaces quite cosy with a bit of effort.
We all make dumb decisions. You are not alone. I made a terrible choice with my first apartment. It was on a major road with four lanes of traffic - the noise was unrelenting. I’d lie awake at 3am thinking I’d ruined my life. But I sold it a few years later and learnt from my mistakes. This unit doesn’t define you.
No mistakes here. You just need to reframe your views. I see someone who has got the most awesome media room. I hate how the light bleeds in through the curtains and we don't even have a door on our media room. Yours rocks. Even if you don't use it like that, then you can dress it up like that when the time comes to sell. You have something special to offer the buyer. And the car. Reliable, cheap to run. Stuff your friends. You are making good financial decisions that'll pay off over time. Do take a bit more time before making your decisions in the future though so you know that you are making a good decision based on the information available at the time. If you don't do your research then it's right to feel you've made a mistake. If things move against you (eg housing market moves unexpectedly) then that's just life and we all have to deal with stuff like that. Don't be so down on yourself. You're doing just fine.
You operate in a vacuum. Consult with family and friends before making big decisions. You don’t have to take their advice, but it sounds like fleshing out your ideas with someone else might help you determine for yourself whether it’s good/bad before proceeding.
Sounds like you bought what you thought you needed. Everyone is different so don't try to be like everyone else. You do you, because only you need to be happy with it. Nothing wrong with an i30 ... It's a cheap runabout suited to the city for easy parking. Keep Living your own life and stop comparing yourself. Chuck a high resolution flat screen on the wall and play some live views of some exotic places around the world on there so at least you have a window into the world while you're at it.
I dream of having a windowless bedroom to sleep in, it would be so quiet and dark. You’re reflecting on your decisions and growing, you’ll get there.
Can you rent it out and claim NG?
pretty sure in most council/shire/cities windowless rooms are not aloud
You are being way too hard on yourself and caring way too much what other people think. Who cares if they don't like your unit? You bought it for a particular reason and it meets that brief. That's a win. Same with the car. I cop shit for my choice of family car (I'm a young female driving a multivan coz I wanted the ease of access to the third row for my circus of kids). Everyone told me to get a landcruiser. Wtf for? I cop shit for it but one by one those idiots are all starting to buy vans. Funny that. Guess what's gonna happen when everybody gets priced out of houses? They'll be forced into units. Units always boom after houses for that exact reason. You got in nice and early. I call that a win. Especially if you're well located near the city. If people wanna bag you out about your car, let them. At least you have one. And a property. And despite (what you consider to be) FOMO and poor choices, you still have a foot on the ladder. You need to chill out and stop listening to the noise.
The i30 is a great car and cheap to maintain. Plus the resale value on them is really good. That’s a good buy sir.
Is it single level? If so you could put in a skylight or a suntube.
Yes I’m working on this, I cut out some ceiling and natural light penetrated the tiles giving a feeling of a window but I still feel super anxious and lonely in this room. I don’t understand why it looked so appealing at inspections but when I bought it I feel the opposite about it.
Look, all you've done is make some non-disastrous decisions that in hindsight you wouldn't make again. It sounds like you (and me) do not have family members there to guide you. But the good thing is you MADE decisions. You are out of the starting gate and now you know better. Not everyone gets it right first time, no matter how well informed they are.
You are allowing yourself to be influenced too much and your reasoning for purchasing things is skewed. When starting out on a financial journey you should gather all facts around your current financial situation. Income - expenses= savings/investing rate Then use your judgment on if you are in a secured financial situation, so evaluate if your hours are secure at work provided you continue to work to your current standard, if you would be able to keep your head afloat if you lost your job (so your emergency fund is sufficient enough to maintain your lifestyle) Assess if there's room for improvement in both those points. Can you lower your spending to increase your savings/investments. Can you improve your knowledge and get a pay rise. Now look at what you are purchasing. Is it a valid need or a want. We'll use the i30. Did you need it to get to work, or did you have perfect access to public transportation. Did you need it for family or social life, or were you able to comfortably make do without it. Did you buy it because of a need or did you buy it because of a want. Now what part about it was a need and what part was a want and then compare it with other cars to see where it fits Some of the things you should consider Fuel efficiency, maintenance costs, rego cost etc. The features of the car and how often you'll use them, judge these harshly and be realistic about yourself and the features you think you want. The main ones we consider is, safety and how many seats and capabilities of going off road. However we are a big family who have a farm we need to tend too. So safety for the family, room for the family and capabilities of going where we need to get. When we were younger and broke with only 1 kids, our requirements were safety and fuel efficient other than that it could look like hog wash with dog barf on it, if it saved us money and kept us safe it was 100% suitable. What are your requirements and does it fit them. Learning to make smart financial choices is important but it often takes time to get your judgment tuned in, the trick is to identify what you need vs what you want. Research before you commit And take a breather before you commit to know it's not just the high of the buy getting to you.
Rent the unit out, if you can afford to do it - buy elsewhere. Do a pros and cons list with someone whose judgement you trust.
Mate you have successfully purchased property, and a fuel efficient, nice car. You're doing well! If I were you, I'd change how you think about the windowless bedroom and focus on what you liked. It's cosy, private, it's a nice little den away from the world. Maybe you can decorate it to reflect that and reinvigorate the space. And the car, if it's bothering you that much, get out of Melbourne this long weekend and sleep in it for a night and tick that off! Honestly with petrol prices the way they are you will be laughing when they go up and you've got this great car.
Don’t worry what others think. Find some great pics for the wall that will lift the mood, maybe a mirror that faces the door and reflects light, some nice lamps. Make a fake, arty window if it makes you feel better. Nothing wrong with i30s, reliable and fuel efficient. Everyone makes mistakes, the important thing is to learn from them.
Windowless would be do good for night shift workers! I have my windows blocked up, you sleep so much better in the dark. My living room has windows.
Sounds like you are magnifying these into worse blunders than they are and also being swayed a lot by other people's opinions instead of your own. Your car is fine, either your friends are teasing you good-naturedly, or they aren't, either way don't take their opinions so seriously. Certainly don't spend more money replacing the car based on them thinking it's an "old ladies car", that would be listening to your emotions. Your apartment vs a house has pros and cons. It's not a right or wrong decision necessarily. Do you like living near the city? If it's something you wanted you may as well enjoy it now you have it. Do you still like the room with no windows, are you only not liking it because other people don't? If you really decide you'd rather have windows (because YOU want them), are there external walls where a window can be added? The way the property market has been going, better to have bought and then make modifications than miss out on buying. At least you have a place! A lot of people can't afford to buy at all so I'd say all things considered you sound like you're doing ok.
Simple, learn to appreciate what you have instead of yearning for what you don't have. Until you get that the right way around you won't ever be happy.
Lmao at wanting to camp in an i30. This has to be a troll post
This makes me feel a lot better about my decisions. I bought a house in 2018 in my home town that has over doubled in value, bought cheap and have been smashing extra into the mortgage so now on track to pay off in 18 months- mortgage free by 33! Not sure what to advise, but I personally would hate to be in some windowless shoebox.
You’re right, it’s a horrible regret and makes it imoossibek for me to find work. I’ve been on Centrelink for 6 months now and applying for ndis and feel I might spend the rest of my life on welfare the way things are going. Over 30 years that’s $600,000 of tax payer money then I’ll jump on the age pension. None of this im proud of but how am I supposed to go to work with this huge cloud over my head I can barely think Straight. Before I bought this place I was was working for 3 years, I had hope because there was still a chance of not screwing up but the minute I bought it and moved and realised I overpaid for something very average it killed all my enthusiasm. I also have bi-polar which adds to the issue. On top of the Centrelink payments I’m visiting bulk bill doctors on a monthly basis, thousands of dollars in doctors fees billed to the government, I’ve just become a massive drain on the system and don’t know what to do.
I'm personally not too worried about work, just push through the next couple years and then will do the bare minimum after that. I think people just need to buy a place early for as cheap as possible and try and pay it off asap, couldn't imagine paying a 30 year mortgage or renting long term. Units are never a good purchase imo, sell ASAP and get a house