Reply to What is it like to be “house poor”?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]About 50% of our take home is mortgage. I have a secure job and healthy retirement match but our kids are still in daycare so we definitely feel the squeeze. I think I’m okay with it because we are home bodies and love hanging at home and going in the yard. Vacationing w kids is miserable for us so we aren’t going to do that until kids are out of daycare/preschool. Hopefully by then we won’t be feeling so strapped for cash. I hate moving and wanted our first home to be our forever home. I do wish I could save more for college and put away for savings but hoping that will change once kids are in public school. [/quote]

What do you all consider "house poor"?

I understand that it varies person to person/budget to budget, but whats a good ballpark on your definition?  PITI more than 30% of gross? more than 40%?

[/quote]

I think there isn't a universal rule because it depends on income and other expenses. For instance, I have day care aged kids so 30-40% of gross is WAY too high, but that's because each kid's care is the equivalent of another mortgage payment. On the other hand, we have a low six figure HHI and we already don't have the disposable income for big vacations, eating out frequently, etc, or maxing out 401ks, so our current budget might look "house poor" to someone who makes a lot more. (Except it's not the house. We can't lower our housing payment by renting and downsizing, the mortgage is that low. It's the childcare.)[/quote]

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