Small House, No Worries

Hi Scott,
 
Coming on the back of the abusive emails you’ve been copping lately, I just wanted to say thanks! Following your advice led us to save for over 10 years for a deposit to purchase our modest two-bedroom house, in which our family of four lives, sleeps, studies and works. Since purchasing it five years ago we have been paying it off at a rate of 8% regardless of interest rates (currently the majority of our loan is locked in at 1.99%). This has set us up to either pay it off early or have a nice buffer in times of uncertainty, like now.
 
One day we dream of putting in a new kitchen to replace the $100 Gumtree kitchen we installed ourselves. However, what our daughters need more than extra space is certainty, security and chilled parents who don’t have to pay off a massive mortgage. So for now we are happy to wait and make do while we enjoy our children and our little home. Thank you!
 
Sarah

Hi Sarah
 
Amen to that, Sarah.
 
And let me confess: you guys are smarter than me.  
 
When we rebuilt our home after the fires, we built it too big.
 
If I had my time over, I’d have preferred to build a smaller home. And not just because it would have been cheaper to build. A smaller house requires less stuff to fill it, and saves time, money and stress in terms of cleaning, maintenance, heating and cooling. And, importantly, there are fewer rooms for our kids to hide away from us in!
 
Television shows like The Block (and all the home builder ads that run through it) have convinced us that even first homes need a media room, an alfresco dining area and a butler’s pantry.
 
That stuff doesn’t make you happy.  
 
However, that being said, when your daughters get to ‘slamming door’ age, they’ll probably want their own space, so a renovation will be needed. Yet something tells me you’ll do it with cash, and a lot less stress than they do on The Block.
 
You Got This!

Scott.