I like your post. Well said.
I agree. My wife and I just bought a home a year after our son was born.
I bought a humble 3 bed 1 bath cottage. I put down 23%. My total monthly payments including mortgage, taxes, and insurance is less than 1,600 bucks, and that is in NJ.
I make a good living. I technically could afford a much bigger house with a much bigger mortgage payment. When my parents and friends ask why I didn’t do that I tell them that I could afford this house even if I was unemployed without going into debt, simply on unemployment benefits while I looked for new work. They get it, but they still think I’m crazy, especially since I’ve been at this gig for almost 9 years (Stable).
In the end, the 3 of us didn’t need something bigger and the house in on a lake in a great neighborhood! When no.2 comes, I’ll have to move, but we like living within our means, to be honest. It is comfortable and enables us to not have to watch every single purchasing decision like a damn hawk. If we want to do something special, or buy someone something nice, or go away for the weekend, we can, etc.
I’m right there with you. I live in NYC right now (renting). I’m single, and I also am making a good living at the moment (i.e a lot more than this woman’s babydaddy).
Finally — after years of building up my income — I feel secure enough to buy a home and a car. I just bought a Honda Civic. Yes, I splurged on new, but I figure this car will now be with me for a decade.
I’m looking at condos/co-ops on Long Island (because I won’t pay NYC prices), and people are treating me like I’m insane, because on my current salary I could probably afford to buy something $50,000 - $75,000 more than the price cap I set for myself. But why would I do that? If I’m going to be happy enough in more modest place, and saving money, why would I stretch my budget to buy big? And why would I take the risk that my current income will ALWAYS be my income when that could change in an instant?
People just don’t have any financial sense anymore.