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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It is a change of generation. The younger generations don't believe in saving as much as their parents, grandparents, etc. They also haven't lived long enough to see the bottom fall out so they have never been scared senseless. Personally, I think society has gone sideways with the constant upselling on bigger, badder, better houses. It's not sustainable. I have no idea how these 6,000 sq ft homes are going to be maintained over the next 10-20 years. What will we do with them when our young kids and their kids want to bash and build?

Personally, I think we need to stop the perpetually supersizing mentality. But, alas, that is very un-American. [/quote]

Yes. And I think being conservative with housing is a wise choice. We make $375K and purchased a $750K house with a 25% down payment. The idea of buying anything much more than that was not palatable to us. Here is why it is smart:

1. Home upkeep is expensive. Each year, even outside of major systems (roof, HVAC), you can easily spend thousands on repairs and updates. In the past month, I spent $500 to fix a toilet and $2500 to cut down and trim trees.
2. Bad things can and do happen to people in life, including job loss. The number of people I know in their 50s that lost jobs paying $150K+/year and could never find a similar one and work as "independent consults" or in jobs that pay a fraction of that is scary.
3. The most important reason to us is that more money spent on a house = less money saved = more time stuck working and less time enjoying freedom, which is what is most important.

Everyone is different. Having a mortgage payment we can afford, a big fat taxable account, and knowing the loan will be paid off sooner rather than later helps us sleep at night.[/quote]

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