My name is Money Hacking Mama and I want a bigger house. It’s been one week since I last looked at houses on realtor.com. I think I have a problem, but this is how I’m going to deal with it.
My husband and I bought a great house in 2012 when we were in our early 20s and were making considerably less than we make now. But it’s not our dream home. The kitchen is small and we love to cook. The dining room is small and I’d like to entertain more. The floor plan isn’t as open and modern as I would like.
I want a bigger house. I’m ready for an upgrade.
But rather than jump into a major life decision like buying a bigger house at what I believe to be the height of the housing market, I’m trying to think differently and ask questions about my new desire.
Questions like: why do I want a bigger house and where is this desire coming from?
And some interesting things are coming up…
First of all, I realized that I’ve been following an Instagram blogger that is renovating a beautiful mansion in Florida. She is creating my dream home. I’m jealous. I want her life.
But do I really?
I have to remind myself that looks are deceiving and remind myself to keep asking questions.
Questions like:
- Who is going to clean that giant house, and if it’s not her, how much is that cleaning person going to charge?
- How much is it going to cost to cool and heat that home?
- Will she ever be able to retire?
I also have a friend of mine who is looking for a house. She’ll get really excited, as she should, about putting offers in on beautiful homes that are twice as big as mine. It makes me want what she’s looking at too.
But then I have to remind myself that I don’t want to work until I die, and I already spend very little time at home. Again, I have to remind myself to keep asking questions.
Questions like:
- How much longer would it take me to retire if my mortgage cost $600,000-$700,000?
- How much more interest would I pay with that big of a loan?
- Do I need a big house when I’m rarely home to enjoy it?
- More importantly, what would I have to give up to be able to afford that? Vacations? Time with my son?
These questions help me keep my jealous consumerist competitive driven ego in check.
Because I’m sure I’ll need this in the future, here’s why I love my current home (please remind me of this if I try to buy a giant house in this inflated market):
- It’s cozy and the perfect size for us
- It is fully furnished and decorated the way I like
- It functions well
- The efficient size keeps our utilities low and helps us save for our big goal of early retirement
- Small closets remind me to Kon Marie my house and get rid of things that don’t bring me joy
- We have a low monthly payment and a low-interest rate
- Those factors allow us to save a lot for my big goals like early retirement
- A humble home will help us raise our son to not be an entitled brat
- A humble home will keep our egos in check
I’m happy for the blogger building her (my) dream home and I’m happy for my friend who is buying her first home that will be much more beautiful and larger than mine. Our goals and dreams are different so I’m going to support them on their journey to achieve their goals and I’m going to gratefully continue down the path that I’m on as well.
What about you? Are you struggling with wanting a bigger house as well?
