Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Downshifting

[Kevin Wolf (kjwolf]

Pamela
One of the good things about N Street Cohousing is that there are a number of 
members who work or study out of their homes and thus are around during the 
week.  We take breaks, sometimes see each other for lunch, doing laundry, 
working in the garden etc.  We are incredibly valuable to each other and other 
parents in helping with the car loaning, kid watching, and other day to day 
needs.  Most of us don't make as much money as if we worked in "real" jobs but 
no commuting expenses, tax writeoffs, etc make up for a lot of it.  Maybe you 
bite the big one and get the mortgage while your incomes are high and then 
gradually shift to the lower end lifestyle by using work from home as a 
transition.  Unless you have a good set of tax returns that show you making 
money for a few years from your at home business, it is much easier to qualify 
for the loan while working for the system.  

Good luck.

Kevin 


At 04:13 PM 4/5/99 -0500, Pamela Leitch wrote:
>I would love to hear from other cohousers who are following the Money or
>Your Life or other voluntary simplicity programs.  
>
>We are faced with the prospect that purchasing our cohousing unit could
>significantly delay our otherwise very near cross-over point.  How have
>others reconciled the high cost of cohousing with your need/value that
>tells you that less expensive housing would be "enough" from a financial
>perspective?
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