A Country of Storage Units

The country is full of storage units. We have so much stuff that we have to rent a place to keep the overflow. To be fair, there are valid reasons to rent a storage unit, but not as many reasons as people think.

One of the common reasons for renting a unit is that a person is downsizing. Maybe the kids have grow up and they’ve decided to move into an apartment or condo. People who decide to live in RVs or boats have the same downsizing dilemma.

First of all, people get way too attached to their stuff. They also overestimate the value of their things. It doesn’t matter how much was paid for that 1970s furniture. It doesn’t matter how much you loved it at the time. You kids will never want it. That’s a fact. Let it go.

People keep a lot of things for sentimental value. That’s fine, as far as it goes. However, you can’t expect other people to love the things that meant so much to you. I’ve seen a lot of clean outs where the kids have to deal with what their parents left behind. The vast majority of it ends up in the dumpster -right down to the family Bible.

My guess is that the vast majority of stuff sitting in storage units has very little intrinsic value. There are exceptions, but the good stuff should either be used, sold or given away. Storage units are a constant monthly drain on your finances. Eventually, the cost of the rental will exceed the value of everything inside it.

Storage units only make sense for short term use. For example, you might have sold your house but are unable to move in the new one yet. Perhaps you are downsizing and need temporary storage while you figure out what to sell, give away or junk. My thinking is the more valuable something is the quicker you should figure out what to do with it. I’ve seen people who had expensive things in storage but ended up forfeiting the unit for non-payment. They would have been much better off selling those items, even at fire sale prices.

People who run those places tend to be pretty mercenary. One of my daughters moved across country on fairly short notice. She took the important stuff with her, but a fair amount ended up in a storage unit for a month. It was dear old dad’s job to clean it out. I found homes for most of the stuff. However, there were two very nice sleeper sofas that nobody wanted. Those things weigh a ton and I wasn’t going to move them by myself. I decided to leave them behind.

Then the storage unit owner expected me to pay a disposal bill. That wasn’t going to happen. I knew he also owned a trailer park and those sofas would end up in a rental unit. He just thought he could get a little more money out of me. He didn’t know me very well.

-Sixbears

Happy National Gift Return Day

Today is the unofficial gift return day. That's when people trade in those things they don't want for something they do. Sadly, it's also engagement ring return day for those sad guys who's girlfriend said “no” at the Christmas marriage proposal. Sorry dudes.

I hope the commercial nature of the holiday did not ruin it for too many of you. My family's happiest Christmas took place the year we were totally broke. We let the children know they'd be getting very little for the holiday. We invited a lot of friends and family over Christmas Eve and had a really great celebration. There really is such a thing as the Christmas spirit.

Christmas is not my favorite holiday. Some holidays come with a lot of baggage attached. I've gotten better about it in recent years and do my best not to be a Hum Bug. This year we spent it with my step-mom and my new extended Florida family. We spent the holiday in her retirement park. One of the fun things was driving around in a golf cart, checking out all the decorations. Some of those retired folks go all out.

My lovely wife and I did not get anything for under the tree. Our gift to ourselves is sitting in a marina right now. We did pick up some nice things for our boat, so that counts. West Marine had a great sale on a handheld chart plotter. I'd wanted one for years and the price just came down low enough. We also got some essential but lest than flashy gear like sail repair items and hull plugs.

We'll be heading back to our boat soon and hope to be out on the water, maybe as early as Monday. If one is not careful it's possible to get stuck in a marina. Life is just a little too easy. While it's great to meet people and to have access to shore amenities, that's not what boats are made to do. The worse chains are the ones that you let slowly grow on you. There's sailing to be done.

-Sixbears

Personal financial meltdowns

I've learned my lesson the hard way. No matter how stable or secure a financial situation is, it can go away in an instant.

When I was a firefighter, I thought my financial situation was pretty good. I had seniority in a unionized shop. We were told that if anything happened to us, we'd be taken care of. I even had some wage insurance that would cover me for a year.

Then I got injured and discovered I would not be taken care of. Legal expenses came out of my pocket. The first year wasn't bad, but once the insurance ran out, things got very tight. It took 4 years for everything to get settled. Had the state not settled with me, within two weeks my house was going up for auction. Mentally I'd let go of all my material possessions.

So now I have a little pension from the state. That's supposed to last for the rest of my life. When I retired the system was funded at 104%. Everyone could be paid and there would still be money left over. Last I heard it was funded at something like 35%. Good work professional money managers!

The strain is being felt. The state hasn't given me a raise in years. The medical subsidy did not keep up with the price of insurance so I had to drop medical benefits. However, the checks keep getting deposited on time -so far.

What will I do if the system goes under? Fortunately, I've been down that road before. I know what it feels like to say goodbye to all my possessions. You know what? It doesn't feel that bad. It's almost liberating. When you've lost everything, you've nothing to fear. Having no fear is a powerful arrow in a warrior's quiver.

Should those monthly checks every stop, I'd quickly strip my life down to the bare essentials. Waiting for foreclosures and tax seizures is for people with hope that something will turn up at the last minute. My luck was all used up on that years ago. Now I wouldn't chance it. I'd act first and liquidate on my terms. Before long my expenses would be reduced to the point that they could be satisfied with occasional casual labor. That's also a liberating feeling.

One thing the 2008 housing crisis has shown me. The big guys will be protected at all costs. The government bailed them out, not homeowners. The system was tweaked so that normal capitalist rewards and penalties would not take place. Don't expect rescue from “the system.” The big boys have their golden parachutes. Us little guys will be stitching together ratty old bed sheets as we fall to the ground.

Forget hope. Maybe not forget it, but don't trust in it. Consider what you'll do if things continue to grind down rather than progress forward. Prep like a pessimist. We might be doing a bit more than the metaphorical tightening of the belt. We might have to do the equivalent of deciding what limbs we can live without.

-Sixbears

Just stuff

My dad lives in a retirement community in Florida. There’s nothing unusual about that. Lots of people end up in those places. There’s a fairly high turn over. To be brutally honest, people die there all the time. Relatives are always cleaning up after the funeral.

One of the things that struck me is how little stuff of value most people leave behind. By the time they’ve moved to a trailer in Florida, they’ve cut back on the amount of stuff they own. Life gets pared down to the essentials: some clothes, a few dishes, a TV and a few mementos. There may be a car and/or a golf cart.

Most of the clothes and kitchen stuff is given to charity. Maybe someone takes the TV, but often those are sold or left behind. Someone will claim the car. What surprises me is how many of the mementos end up in the dumpster. Old family photos, albums and albums worth, are tossed away. Too often the things that documented a person’s connection to the people of the world isn’t worth anything to anyone.

A couple of years ago my mother-in-law had a great idea. She gathered up all her old photos. They were put in nice new albums and carefully labeled. Those albums were given to her kids, and grandkids -the only people in the world those photos will have any meaning to. We all appreciated getting them. It connected people to their past and to their ancestors.

Most of us don’t leave much stuff behind when we finally shuffle off this mortal coil. If you want to leave something that means something, better do it before you go. Otherwise, in the haste to get things squared away, the story of your life will go into the trash.

-Sixbears