Budget Snob

What I Should Have Considered Before Buying

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I’m a big advocate of home ownership. Not because I think it’s a right but because I think it makes people appreciate where they live and the structure they live in. Homeowners are the anchors for a strong community. But home ownership does have its trade-offs. The following are four examples of things I should have considered before I bought my last home.

1. More Space = More Maintenance. My home isn’t huge by any stretch of the imagination. But it did come with 3 acres and an extra room over a very large garage. It’s amazing how dirty a space can get even though I only passed through it for about 30 seconds each day.… Read the rest

Smaller Home Happier Life

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The first house my wife and I lived in was 900 square feet. It was a two bedroom rancher with a beautiful backyard. The living room ran the length of the house so it seemed a lot bigger that it was.

Fast forward 13 years. We’re still living in a rancher. Only now it’s a whopping 2,400 square feet. Even though it was built in 1973, the landlord gutted and updated everything. Once we’re able to buy another home (we’re renting out our current home), I would like to downsize. Seems odd given that we’ve nearly tripled our living space.

Here’s my reasoning.… Read the rest