When Can I Buy a Bigger House?

When Can I Buy a Bigger House?

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[ayela]

I’ll never forget talking to my 85 year old grandmother before she died. She was talking about how she and grandpa stayed in their first home. 60 years. They could have afforded much more, they could have moved to bigger and better but they didn’t see the need. They raised their three kids in 1250 square feet and were every day millionaires when they died. They had a great life. Paid for everything in cash, no credit cards, no debts, owned a vacation home for many years that they bought with cash. We don’t need more . We need to be better stewards of what we have. It’s only at this phase of my life that I realize it was modelled for me all along. I miss them so much.

[moneybee]

Bigger houses come with many more expenses too. More rooms to fill, more appliances that will break, more pipes to leak, more lightbulbs to replace, etc. There certainly are many enjoyable plusses that come with "up-sizing" but you can't gloss over the hidden (and often expensive) expenses that come beside the sticker price.

[amom]

We paid off our “bigger house” today!!!! Just over 30 and completely debt free! The grass is greener, Dave! Thank you Dave Ramsey for inspiring us to have financial freedom!

[BrendanEvan]

We followed Dave’s advice on how much house to buy: we live in the cheapest house compared to any of our friends. But we are also only 10 years MAX from having it paid off.

[JoshAQ]

As soon as you pay for the house you are currently living in. Then save up and pay cash for the bigger one if you still want to. Then rent the previous house out and use that income to offset taxes and increased expenses on the new house. Just my two cents and my plan currently. Current house is paid for and Lord willing we will have enough in 6 or 7 years for a slightly larger country home with more than my current 0.16 acres.

[jcrowley]

Never in my case . I got a 3 bedroom for 75k. Once it's paid off I'm never borrowing again .. I have enough rooms for just me

[Cravz]

I am in a similar situation from a time frame standpoint. Looking around at spending 350K on the next house and selling my current one for about 180K.
Thankfully this, and our rental house are both paid for, so trying to save up the difference in cash, and keep the rental for a few more years.
It’s been hard though to stay patient lately, but I know I would kick myself if we took out any type of mortgage after working so hard to knock these two houses out.
Thank you Dave for your guidance!

[jvolstad]

Don't buy a house if you are in the military. You have to PCS every three or four years. Not good.

[DanielGarcia-zzeg]

This guy is gonna sell his home, buy a 400k home on a 30 year mortgage.

( im guessing on what he might do)

Stay where you are
Stay in TX
5 years later buy a bigger home in Tx.
( why do ppl always have to buy a bigger home, then they wonder why they broke. Home is a home. Keep the rest of the money for :
Retirement
Vacation
Vehicles
Outdoor activities

Dont go broke on a home .
( unless you have the money for it and won't hurt your wallet)

You get more home in TX then any where else.

[riceball]

The question is not when can he buy a bigger house. The question is when can he take on more debt in the form Of a bigger mortgage in order to live in a house that’s more expensive than his current house. The correct Dave Ramsey answer would be he can do this any time as long as the new bigger mortgage is on a 15 year fix rate mortgage and the interest and principle and insurance and property tax and hoa is less than 1/4 of you after tax/take home pay. Which in my opinion is way way to conservative.

[liamsol-mitchell]

Big houses are pain in the ass. Way more to clean, more things that can break / go wrong, expensive to heat, distance between occupants in the house. They are great at first when you buy one but the novelty soon wears off and you will probably think about downsizing eventually.

[ItsJust_Havii]

Why not keep the house. Rent it when you move and then buy another house? Pay off that mortgage in that year then start making money from that rental home

[DandyFinance]

Don't if you can. Would rather have the extra cash.

[livefreewithcalebd]

Whenever you want! But what are you willing to sacrifice?

[Nedercrafter]

The caller: Can i buy a larger house?
Dave: Rice and beans, sell the cars, cut your creditcard

[ThinkMoneyBenny]

You can buy a house when you feel like you actually own the house, not the other way around 👍

[LGABC]

What I'm curious about is whether it would be better to plow extra money into the current mortgage to build up as much equity as possible for when he sells it or to make the minimum payment on the mortgage and throw every extra dollar into savings so he'll have as much liquidity as possible when he's ready to move. I wish the caller had asked Dave that question.

[MASKOAA]

Hey Dave if I get a vasectomy can I buy a new truck? I figure 1 vasectomy gives me the budget for a new truck and a house.

[mhjtoken]

Dear Dave
I am watching your shows in Pakistan and have really benefited from your views. Can you answer a question if I ask?

[brandonwilson]

When you can pay cash for it. Until then, beans & rice, rice and.. well you get it.