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Encouraging Heroes. You can be one too.

“Home is the nicest word there is.” — Laura Ingalls Wilder

At the end of the day, do you get to go home? Truly home, where you feel comfortable being yourself and you feel at one with your surroundings?

Or do you go to a dirty or cramped apartment, or a living space shared with a rotating cast of roommates and strangers? Do you live in a space where the hot water doesn’t work, the cupboards don’t quite close and you can never scrub the bathroom fully clean?

Very few people get to experience the comforts of home these days. Instead, we have become a nation of people living in temporary living spaces, moving every few years to a new apartment or a new city, setting up house in yet another disappointing apartment with a new roster of roommates to befriend.

“There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort.” — Jane Austen

Every year you live in a temporary space – every year you put off finding your own home – is a year that weighs down your psyche and makes you less of the person you could be. That little piece of stress that lingers in the back of your mind as you wonder if you’re being too noisy for your housemates, or worry whether your landlord has fixed the leaky faucet, often prevents you from being your most authentic self. These living spaces become places where we hide our feelings, instead of places where we can fully relax.

A real home, on the other hand, is a space where you can be comfortable. Whether you live alone or you share your home with a partner or family, home is where you get to be you. Like Dorothy says, there’s no place like home.

However, there’s good news. If you live in one of the top US metropolitan areas, it is less expensive to buy a home than it is to rent. If you live in rural America, homes are even less expensive than their urban cousins. After years of recession, we’re finally at a good time to buy a home and settle down.

“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” — John Lennon

Take some time to think about the fears preventing you from making a down payment on a home. Are you afraid of losing your job in the future? The odds are you will experience a career change of some kind in the next ten years, so set aside a little bit of money every month to see you through.

Are you worried about giving up the ease and security of a rental to manage and maintain your own property? Between professional plumbers, DIY wallpapering videos, a good alarm system, and a visit to homeownersinsurance.com, you’re much more secure in your own home than you ever would be in a rental.

Of course, there’s one more fear to consider: are you hesitant to buy a home until you find a partner, start a family, or achieve another “life milestone?” Don’t let the years pass by while you wait for something you can’t predict. Every grown adult deserves a home of their own. It’s the prize we accept after leaving the homes of our childhood.

“This my home, my friends are here. I love the way that I feel when I’m here. This is home.” — Fred Rogers

Imagine how your life will change when you spend every night in your very own home. Watch how you and your family blossom and grow when you have a space in which to be truly yourself. Home is not only the best word there is, it’s the best place there is.