Small House for the Money?
Living in a house is a blessing for most of us and even more if you own the house or have a mortgage… You find ways to save money, build your credit, keep your job that you love or hate to be abble to purchase or lease this beautiful place.
I see peoples struggling with bills, mortgage payment, credit card debt but i think we never take the time and ask:
- Is this place too big for me?
- Should i downsize?
- Is this decision could help me save money and pay the debt?
All of those questions are legitimate ones, we don’t ask them out loud but should we consider them and say, why not. Why not go for a change, this could help the family, release the stress but again require some courage i think.
What could be the benefits of staying in a small house?
Minimalism.
This word is use constantly but most of the time, not practice in reality. The real practitionner of the discipline of living below your mean in a small place are called minimalist or practicing the minimalist lifestyle. Is it for everyone? Of course not…
- Having a big yard
- Two floor houses
- 5 bedrooms
- garage
- swimming pool
- And many more Big options of a home.
Are we easy to let go and decide to go move somewhere else, downsize our home, change the habits of the family? Maybe not but the benefits for this one could be… You take care of less and have more time for yourself, this is a big plus and don’t forget more time for “La Familia.”
Smaller Home = Smaller responsibility.
When we thinnk about all the things that we have to do around a house is just crazy.
We don’t even have enough time just to seat down for two minutes , imagine having to clean this big house from head to toe. It is possible, your paying someone to clean the house for you but why not have a smaller place and save on the cleaning cost.
Extra savings would mean:
- more money for the vacations,
- emergency fund,
- car repairs,
- less debt
- and more…
This is a much better option for whoever want to have more money in their pockets.
Extra Money Available.
Having a smaller place is such a great idea,just thinking about the extra money available.
We all know houses are one the biggest investment of our lives and also take the largest paycut on our salary every month. Having the right amount to pay each month should be put in priority that you lease or own a home, it is the same thing.
We need to pull money out of our pockets and give it to someone else, it is a fact.
Let say your paying 2000$ per month everything included…
- Mortgage-Lease (1400$)
- Insurance (150$)
- Taxes (City ,mortgage,water,garbages) [450$]
We see the real amount come up really fast to 2k a month in a snap. It’s a good exercise to have all the right numbers on the table to understand the real picture.
What could we do from here?
- Decide to maybe move neighborhood
- Lease instead of having a mortgage
- shared bedrooms (if smaller house)
- don’t look for house with garage or swimming pool
There is no good or bad options…
The goal is to have more money in our pocket and by having the real numbers in front of us, it is a lot easier to take the decision to downsize the home.
Is it a easy option? No it is not but we will gain so much at the end.
Family Ties
Do you hear this sometime? “I lost my cat again in the house, nowhere to be found but i know he will come around at the end of the day.”
It is a common sentence formulated by all of us since our house is so big, even a cat could be in a hidden James Bond scenario without any problem. When in front of a scenario like this one ,you know your house is too big or you have good hidden spots in there.
When leaving in a smaller home, the family ties are a lot better, we feel closer.
- Shared bedrooms: Not always easy but force the communication for the kids
- One TV in the house: Everybody feel included by watching the same thing
- Cleaning: Take less time ,everybody participating
Talking from experience: It improve 100% the communication from all family members since we are most of the time all together in the same room.
Considering buying or keeping a big house? Again your family will be spread throughout the home so again having your family close to you is better than running after them in the mansion!
Quality Life
Some will agree and some peoples will desagree and that’s ok:) Having a smaller place will improve your quality of Life for a couple of reasons…
- Less time cleaning
- Your level of strees is almost gone (i hope)
- Lower financial pressure
- Insurance cost is less
- Electric bill drop by half
- More organise
- and more…
For a example: You own a big 3000 sqft mansion and you love it (understandable,you bought it) but there is always something to fix in this house since it is dated from the 50’s. Nothing wrong with fixing your house again depending on the condition and prior renovations performed..
Looking at your credit line, i think your not happy because your spending way too much on the house and thinking maybe to downsize and save a lot more and enjoy life. Comparing, forcing money into the home and neglecting time off for yourself and the family.
Not easy when thinking about how to go from a big home or appartment to a smaller one:
- Moving
- schools
- commute
- neigborhood
- and more…
The question is more toward, “Am i abble to go ahead , take action and do it?” I thnk it is a chance to take and see if this option could be good enough to improve your quality of life. Worst scenario, if it doens’t work… There is always a plan B, to start fresh in a different home!
Another solution would be, if your a homeowner to lease a smaller house for a moment and see if you love it before putting money onto a mortgage.
Your Life
At the end, it is about your life and the well beeing of your family. As a household, decide what you feel is best for everybody even if it’s seem difficult to do. To be happy should be our main concern, not to be stress over a excessive mortgage. Crazy lease because we leave in the expensive side of the city.
We all have choices to make, will make good and bad ones but the important thing to remember, is not to stop at one thing but to… Continue going forward no matter what, you have one life to live and make the most out of it.
Enjoy your day,
Stanley
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