Nighttime thoughts...

I couldn't get any sleep last night. Jason and I have been having talks recently about selling our condo and using the profits to pay off our house mortgage and put away a little nest egg.

A few people at my work think we are crazy to think of selling the condo. The building is right beside the skytrain, and the Olympic developments going on are causing the value of the properties to increase. We currently have tenants in the condo that cover the mortgage, strata, tax, etc. which seems like a pretty good deal, and it is... if you have a good cash flow.

BUT we don't.

With Jason in school and my impending mat leave, cash is tight and will be for the forseeable future. Juggling two mortgages, rocketing money back and forth between accounts, and the risk of "what-if" expenses of two properties is taking years off our lives in stress. Even more so, I am hoping to leave the high-tech industry, which means buh-bye big salary! That is not to say that I won't work, but it certainly won't be full-time, and it won't be in engineering. Jason's teaching salary (if he can land a job in Vancouver) will not be nearly what I am making in nerd-land.

An obvious pro would be paying off the house that we live in. Jason and I were both lucky enough to have bought property before the Vancouver housing market skyrocketed. Now both the condo and the house have climbed significantly in value. We could make out like bandits if things fall into place.

The market is good for selling right now, and if stock options have taught me anything, it's that it's way too easy to get greedy and hold out for the BIG sell. So many times I've held on to my options, waiting for things to get a little bit better, and had the whole house of cards come crashing down. I've learned from that mistake, and even though my current job options aren't worth much, I cash little bits here and there to "ride the wave".

If we sold the condo, we'd be able to use our little bits of extra income to continue contributing to RRSPs, to start an education fund for our kid(s) and to pay premiums for things like life insurance. We could afford to go out once in a while, we could afford to have me work part-time and not have to put our kid(s) in daycare. We could even afford for Jason to complete his Masters and for me to return to school eventually.

The thoughts of getting my Masters in Physiotherapy still appeals to me. Until then, I am pursuing a few things in the fitness industry. Life is short. I'm all about planning for the future and socking away cash for our kid(s) but I'm also about the present. Presently I hate my job!

So many things to think about, but the more we do, the more it looks like a no-brainer.

Anyhow, just a little note on things I noticed when I was trying (unsuccessfully) to get back to sleep at 3:30am, after my fourth pee break...

1. If my hubby is sleeping and his breathing is shallow and fast, when I rub his temples and head, his breathing slows down almost instantly.

2. If I am laying in bed on my back, I can feel my baby's head and rock it back and forth. The baby will kick and punch back at me on cue, I can even guess where I will feel the kicks across my abdomen. The baby's tae-kwon-do practice doesn't hurt, yet!

3. When Bella stirs from the couch after hearing me waken, she comes to the side of the bed for some petting and scratching. If I let my hand just rest heavily on her, she will duck under it with her head and try to get my attention with her wet nose. If I continue to pretend to have fallen asleep, she will let out a whine or two, then fall to the ground beside the bed with a HUGE sigh.

Life would be so much simpler if I were a dog.