I grew up in large homes. As a result of that I thought that the bigger the home, the better life would be. It took until my mid 30’s to understand what a fallacy that is and to learn that actually the reverse is true.
We tend to love our homes. They shelter us from the elements and provide a haven from the world at large. It’s considered a status symbol to have a large home; proof that you are successful in your career.
Unfortunately what few people consider from the beginning is that the larger the house the more expensive it is to own. Not just to purchase, but overall. It costs more to heat and cool a large home. It cost more to insure it. It often costs more to repair it. We work longer hours to pay for it, its contents and it’s upkeep than we would for a smaller home.
Several years ago I decided to move and left my large 3,000 square foot home home in search of another large home in a new place. Until I found one I was renting a small 800 square foot house and had put much of my stuff into storage. I prefer the small house.
If a large house doesn’t have a lot of furniture, decorations and assorted “stuff” it looks bare and empty. A small house needs far fewer things in it to look comfortable. As a result I was able to get rid of many things that I didn’t want or need but kept because the house needed them to look furnished.
As time has gone on, I have eliminated excess furniture, books, clothing and bric-a-brac that, to be honest, I never really liked anyway. I made money on the stuff I sold and my small house is clean and comfortable. More importantly, I now own my life.
In my large house my electric bill alone was usually around $800 a month. I now pay less for rent, electricity, water and internet service than what I used to pay for electricity alone. My average electric bill now is around $130 a month. It takes much less energy to run this house than my old one. This means that I don’t have to work nearly as much as I used to just to be able to maintain my life. I have more money to travel, to spend on movies and ebooks and to save for a rainy day. Plus it’s nice not to have to worry so much about money and the economy. The next house I buy, if I ever again buy a house, will be a small house. The house is a container for my life, not my life itself. By downsizing my home I’ve saved over $500 a month on utilities, $500 a month on my house payment (my rent is less than half of what my mortgage was), $3000 a year in property taxes. That’s $15,000 a year.
Consider downsizing your life. You’ll save more than just money in the long run.