Reply to Downsize to townhouse?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP here, and I am genuinely confused.  I posted on a shutdown thread last week, and not only was I castigated for not having 6 months in emergency savings (I agree), I was scolded for not living in a townhouse or condo and told we needed to find a cheaper place to live.  So how do we build an emergency fund if we have already cut expenses and our incomes are not rising (assuming no pay increase after this shutdown mess is over)?? [/quote]

If you had not already bought in this area, and not already locked in a good interest rate, the advice to buy a cheaper place is good. But you have, I assume it's in an area you like.

But right now it sounds like you have a decent house that's not overly expensive. By the time you pay Realtor fees, pay moving costs, and then pay HOA dues every month, you may save very little on the monthly payments and have a less desirable house to sell when you are ready.

Sure, it's better to have a larger emergency fund. Can you rent the basement of your current house, for example? Can you develop a hobby that makes a bit of money to save?

Moving to a townhouse is fine, but I do think you are underestimating monthly expenses in a townhouse.

HOA, plus the cheap townhouse windows and insulation, was actually more expensive monthly in our townhouse than the payment plus bills on our 1970s sfh split level we now own. If you go through with this, make sure you know about all expenses and get current bill information on the house.

Our plan is to use savings and credit to get through this furlough crisis and then start job searching to find positions in a cheaper area and/or positions we can telecommute from and move to a cheaper area. [/quote]

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