"house poor" | Imamother

amother

Sun, Aug 18 2024, 9:22 pm

if you were relatively comfortable and then bought a house and had to live tighter and more calculated, can you share what you shifted and how this was for you? was it worth it? anyone who anticipated this shift and didn't experience it?

amother

Tealblue

Sun, Aug 18 2024, 9:23 pm

What changed was that I can’t put money into savings currently. Of course worth it. But importantly, we did not deplete all our savings when we bought our house (last year).

amother

Moccasin

Sun, Aug 18 2024, 9:32 pm

amother Red wrote:

Hashem will help that's all I can say

This. If you're not being irresponsible, and are willing to live a little tighter, you never know if that actually will be the case, you might be just the same. We bought 18 yrs ago, it was a leap and we were prepared to live tighter. bH things were fine. At some point things were tight but nothing to do with our mortgage. I don't regret it at all.

amother

Mintcream

Sun, Aug 18 2024, 9:50 pm

I think it depends.

There is a normal trajectory of home ownership - at least in my experience and what I see around me.

Most people have to really stretch for the first home - it is a bit more expensive than renting especially when one favors in property tax, more expensive utilities and home maintenance. And then of course it is really expensive to move into a home because even the basics like window coverings or basic furniture adds up.

But the payoff is that if one doesn't use the home as an ATM and doesn't feel the need to buy a bigger home, one's income rises and so what was "tight" is now very affordable and then becomes inexpensive when compared to the what it would cost to rent or purchase an equivalent home.

People get in trouble if they purchase more house than they really can afford especially if they have no emergency funds. A little stretch where one tightens one belt for a year or so is one thing but not the same as purchasing a home that costs too high a percentage of one's income.

amother

Dandelion

Mon, Aug 19 2024, 12:30 am

Yes I’ve been through it twice it was way worse with our first home because we were young and not established financially or responsible enough
This time around it’s we’ve doubled our expenses with a larger house and mortgage and we’re definitely feeling the pinch. There are things my friends and family can do that we can’t afford to right now because we are stretched tighter.

amother

Lightgreen

Mon, Aug 19 2024, 1:44 am

It was definitely a stretch for the first few years but I think it's totally normal. We had to get used to being homeowners and all the extra expenses that come with that. Plus some renovations we had to do and extra furniture because we now had more rooms.
BH we evened out and now we are doing fine. Also our income went up and the home expenses decreased. We are at the stage of just normal maintenance and minor repairs, which we budget for. And we have a savings account for anything major that would come up.

amother

Electricblue

Mon, Aug 19 2024, 2:21 am

amother Red wrote:

Hashem will help that's all I can say

What does this mean?

Are there not poverty stricken people? Did I not read a post yesterday that con ed is threatening to cut off electricity? Were some of the responses "been there"?

Why do you assume hashem will resolve everyones financial problems?

Does he resolve everyones health problems? Shidduch problems? Abuse problems?