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KUDOS!!! Living within (or, e-gads... even BELOW) your means is a wonderful way to set yourself up for long-term success. You are definitely in a minority mindset.
I agree 100%. We started out in a brand new house when we got married. BUT we made sacrifices to do such. Our wedding was nice but lowkey and we put ourselves on a tight budget (our parents sure as heck could not afford to pay for a huge elaborate wedding) and stuck to it. We looked at apartments but we both already lived in one and knew the costs there. We looked at older existing homes then I started looking at new homes. We went with the new home - all 1616 sq ft. Sold it 5 years later and moved "up" and in that house my fil thought we were living like "the Hunts". LMAO!!! They were poor so you know........ it WAS a mansion to him. We drove our older paid for cars and made wise money decisions. I'm able to stay home w/ my kids because of the sacrifices we made along the way and that included putting them in childcare at age 2 so that I could work full time in OUR OWN BUSINESS! I did not get a paycheck of much, a small meager amount but it was to keep the business going and getting off so that it could support us forever. Now I'm w/ them in school and they love it. We moved again but that was a wise decision and we have no regrets about that at all. But if my kids expect to go out and buy a house like this one they are growing up in right off the bat.............. NOT ON MY DIME! That is the problem right there. These kids have been made to think that one has to live in the so-called BEST area and buy the "BEST" house and must have all the fancy stuff for their FIRST HOUSE! And you know darn well their parents did not start out in that house but they also started out small and built up. I've told my kids that the minute they start acting too good I'll rip us out of here so fast and plop us down in the "bad" part of Garland and we WILL live there in a house like their dad and I grew up in and be just fine, in all 1200 sq ft, 1 bath, 1 car garage .
The article WAS about the entire Dallas metroplex and not just the city limits of Dallas. I have not seen todays article???
A guy I work with calls it "delayed gratification". Patience. Not things kids these days seem to understand (IMO). For those of us that allow compound interest to work FOR us instead of AGAINST us - we'll be living large later in life (or already are due to living this philosophy for years).
Momof2 - I like your point about your own business. Technically, as long as we rely on a paycheck from some company that isn't in our control, we are at the mercy of someone else. Independant wealth doesn't mean we have to be rich, it means we are sulf sustaining.
Your comments on paid-for cars is well placed also. My wife and I drive paid-for cars. 2000 and 2002 model years - NOT Mercedes, BMW's or Lexus either. We figure we'll replace them in the next few years, but we've been putting money every month into an ING Direct savings account so we can pay cash for the next vehicles. Why not have a "car payment", but earn interest off of it and be able to use it as an "oh crap" fund if something should happen?! We do the same thing (monthly payments) into the same account for property taxes so we earn interest on it instead of paying into escrow. Heck, it may only make us an extra $115/year in doing this with taxes, but we do several things like this - adding up to money in the pocket each and every year. It's like giving yourself a raise. We've done a lot of things to "trim the fat" including converting to Vonage (saves $23/month), found out my company allows me to expense my gym membership ($30/month), found a company sponsored discount on our cell phone package ($6/month), removed extended nights/weekends from said cell phone package ($30/month)... I could go on, but I think you get the point. I keep a spreadsheet with our budget and check it agains expenses each month to help identify potential savings. Just the ones listed saved us $89/month, or $1068 per year. The little things all add up - one that's painless: look at your electric bill, see what you're paying poer KwH. Go to Texas Electric Choice | Home, see if you can get a lower rate. If you haven't done this before, you might be able to save $50-100 per year.
Regardless of housing size or exact location there have been changes in DFW that make living less easy than it was.
In the last ten years I lived in Dallas my property taxes more than doubled (some of it valuation, some of it rates, but all of it out of my pocket), My HO insurance went up 40%, and my electricity bills tripled. Granted 20% of that was inflation but the bottom line was it cost far more to live than it did.
At the same time traffic congestion and trip times increased and state and local politicians became even more intent on luring business and growth (with tax payer money).
The area is different than it was in the past and it will continue to change. Some will benefit from the changes, other will not, but IMO the area is not as attractive.
The article WAS about the entire Dallas metroplex and not just the city limits of Dallas. I have not seen todays article???
The problems surrounding "affordable" housing were specific to certain areas of Dallas city that are undergoing demolition and replacement of obsolete housing from the 1970s, usually apartment buildings and 1200 square foot 2 bedroom cottages. Mass razing of decayed apartment buildings and teardowns followed by McMansions are the typical pattern.
The older "inner ring" suburbs such as Mesquite, Garland, Duncanville, etc., are not undergoing the same problem, and the newer suburbs such as Plano, Frisco, Southlake, etc., are definitely not losing "affordable" housing... they never had very much of it, if any.
Schoolteachers in the DISD, or Dallas Police officers find it increasingly difficult to live in the jurisdictions they serve. They live in older areas of Mesquite or Irving, and commute to their jobs. People higher up on the pay grade have the luxury of shorter commutes.
The term "affordable" is a misnomer. If a $500,000 house were absolutely unaffordable, the bank would not finance it and no one would buy it. It is obviously affordable to somebody.
OTOH, why shouldn't location factor into the social system of reward for performance? Why shouldn't an Uptown townhouse be sold to the highest bidder, rather than distributed at random like a lottery? Even in the old Soviet Union, rank had its privileges.
If the people on the DISD feel that schoolteachers should be rewarded with expensive intown housing, they can vote for board members who will raise teacher salaries. Alternately, the DISD could always build townhouses near the schools and offer then to their schoolteachers at cost. Or something else...
As for my house in Aubrey, its low price is a function of its distance from the bright lights of big-city Dallas. Every economic exchange is a tradeoff between price and benefit, and housing is no exception.
Regardless of housing size or exact location there have been changes in DFW that make living less easy than it was.
In the last ten years I lived in Dallas my property taxes more than doubled (some of it valuation, some of it rates, but all of it out of my pocket), My HO insurance went up 40%, and my electricity bills tripled. Granted 20% of that was inflation but the bottom line was it cost far more to live than it did.
At the same time traffic congestion and trip times increased and state and local politicians became even more intent on luring business and growth (with tax payer money).
The area is different than it was in the past and it will continue to change. Some will benefit from the changes, other will not, but IMO the area is not as attractive.
Would you want to return to a world without cell phones, ordering books and CDs on line, and a Dallas without rail transit and without neighborhoods like Uptown? How about dying from lung cancer from secondhand smoke? Would you want to drive up and down North Central Expressway before it was rebuilt?
How long have people been looking back with nostalgia for the "good old days'? I remember the famous quote from an ancient Greek philosopher about how the young people these days are rotten, have no respect for their elders... and this was in 1500BC.
And what are people doing with all this space? Just filling it with junk? I see a lot of larger (2500-4000 sq ft) houses, where they're either half empty or they're full of lots of cheap furniture and stuff. Then there's the added hassle of spending more on electricity and maintenance, and paying someone to clean it (I can't imagine someone trying to clean a 4000 sq ft house regularly on their own!).
One other note... since 1950, the average home was increased by 1247 square feet. However, the average size of a household has decreased.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Synopsis
Bingo! Let me say it again; BINGO! Everybody has to have the 2500 square foot home to start out in. We're a family of three, living on one, (yes ONE) income, in an 1800 square foot house that is 35 years old and we seem to get by just fine. And I'm not making 6 figures, not even close to it.
And what are people doing with all this space? Just filling it with junk? I see a lot of larger (2500-4000 sq ft) houses, where they're either half empty or they're full of lots of cheap furniture and stuff. Then there's the added hassle of spending more on electricity and maintenance, and paying someone to clean it (I can't imagine someone trying to clean a 4000 sq ft house regularly on their own!).
One other note... since 1950, the average home was increased by 1247 square feet. However, the average size of a household has decreased.
That's an interesting stat. Also think about how older homes often came with 1 car garages, a single bathroom, etc. One thing I always wondered about was the advent of a 'formal' living room. A leftover from the 90s, those seem to be such a waste of space. I'm all for bigger/nicer kitchens as I believe a kitchen functions as the soul of a home and gets used more than just about any other room, but formal living areas and the newest trend "sitting rooms" in the Master seem to be a bit overkill in actual application. Another trend I see more of in new construction is walk in closets in ALL bedrooms. I think this is a smart use of space as well. Seems that in time these trends will flesh themselves out and the sensible ones will become classic and the trendy ones will dissapear.
I'm all for bigger/nicer kitchens as I believe a kitchen functions as the soul of a home and gets used more than just about any other room, but formal living areas and the newest trend "sitting rooms" in the Master seem to be a bit overkill in actual application. Another trend I see more of in new construction is walk in closets in ALL bedrooms. I think this is a smart use of space as well. Seems that in time these trends will flesh themselves out and the sensible ones will become classic and the trendy ones will dissapear.
Yes! The kitchens are so small. And I see even much larger houses that have small kitchens. I know many of us are eating out more, but these kitchens seem to provide very little room for anything. My 3 pet peeves: lack of cabinet space for dishes/etc., lack of pantry space for storing goods, and lack of countertop.
Now the cost of a funeral goes for anywhere between $15,000 and $20,000 per funeral/grave site. A darn newspaper obituary cost $400 just for a small bit to honor your love one. Ridiculous! I hope this man and his family come up with another plan for the sake of their family.
But there is no law that says that you have to have those luxuries.
The crematorium at NW Hwy and Ferndale advertises a $900 special. Choose a tasteful urn and you can honor your loved one in a special corner of your backyard without breaking the bank. Also, why have an expensive service like everybody else. Think different.
This is not meant as a joke but I am serious. Why blow tens of thousands of dollars on something that unnecessary.
But there is no law that says that you have to have those luxuries.
The crematorium at NW Hwy and Ferndale advertises a $900 special. Choose a tasteful urn and you can honor your loved one in a special corner of your backyard without breaking the bank. Also, why have an expensive service like everybody else. Think different.
This is not meant as a joke but I am serious. Why blow tens of thousands of dollars on something that unnecessary.
I thought that was what the old family farm was for.
I know that I can ship my whole family including myself and kids to Wise County to a couple of the family plots up there and be buried for free Oh, and having a relative that is a mortician can come in handy every now and then.
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Sold it 5 years later and moved "up" and in that house my fil thought we were living like "the Hunts". LMAO!!! They were poor so you know........ it WAS a mansion to him. We drove our older paid for cars and made wise money decisions. I'm able to stay home w/ my kids because of the sacrifices we made along the way and that included putting them in childcare at age 2 so that I could work full time in OUR OWN BUSINESS! I did not get a paycheck of much, a small meager amount but it was to keep the business going and getting off so that it could support us forever. Now I'm w/ them in school and they love it. We moved again but that was a wise decision and we have no regrets about that at all. But if my kids expect to go out and buy a house like this one they are growing up in right off the bat.............. NOT ON MY DIME! That is the problem right there. These kids have been made to think that one has to live in the so-called BEST area and buy the "BEST" house and must have all the fancy stuff for their FIRST HOUSE! And you know darn well their parents did not start out in that house but they also started out small and built up. I've told my kids that the minute they start acting too good I'll rip us out of here so fast and plop us down in the "bad" part of Garland and we WILL live there in a house like their dad and I grew up in and be just fine, in all 1200 sq ft, 1 bath, 1 car garage 
. 
