Nart Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 My husband and I rent a 2 bedroom townhouse in an area that we really like. We have two boys (ages 2 and 4). We would like a place with a third bedroom and a yard and could afford to pay over 1,000 dollars more a month in rent or we could afford to buy a place. We both work in the public schools only 180 days a year, so we have a lot of vacation time. We are also considering staying put and using the money to travel extensively over vacations. Anyone regret not living in a bigger place when you could afford to do so? I just spent half the day looking at houses on-line and the other half planning a 3 week trip to Hawaii over winter break. Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PentecostalMom Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Well, my answer is twofold. I would buy something, you can possibly get a three bedroom anyway for the same or not much more than you are paying to rent AND go on vacation. Do you boys fight? Do they mind or even enjoy sharing a room? If you want a straight one-over-the-other, I say go for the vacations. I have lived in small places with kids (as small as a pop-up camper) and in a huge (to us, over 3K square feet) house, I wish we had less house, less expenses and more time and money to travel. We take trips, vacations, etc., but are working diligently on the Dave Ramsey plan to be debt free. I do have to say, when we lived in the camper on a river and were able to walk in the woods on a daily basis, go sihing, take boat rides, etc., it was much more relaxing than taking care of this monstronsity of a house. So much so that we are renting our house, moving into a two-bedroom apartment that is less than 1/2 this size, and I am so excited I can hardly stand myself! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulieH Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 My husband and I rent a 2 bedroom townhouse in an area that we really like. We have two boys (ages 2 and 4). We would like a place with a third bedroom and a yard and could afford to pay over 1,000 dollars more a month in rent or we could afford to buy a place. We both work in the public schools only 180 days a year, so we have a lot of vacation time. We are also considering staying put and using the money to travel extensively over vacations. Anyone regret not living in a bigger place when you could afford to do so? I just spent half the day looking at houses on-line and the other half planning a 3 week trip to Hawaii over winter break. Any thoughts? I would MUCH rather take more vacations! We could afford to live in a much much bigger home than we do, but we value travel much more. Because we've chosen to live in a small Cape style house that is perfectly fine for us, we've been able to travel to Italy twice, Spain, Paris a couple of times, Alaska, yearly trips to Disney etc. I would way rather spend money on life experiences than a huge mortgage. I have friends that work to pay the mortgage. It's just not worth it to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 I need a certain amount of space to be happy and comfortable. But that said, our house is pretty modest compared to a lot of these huge suburban homes these days. Once that's met, I'd rather take more vacations. Right now, we had the choice between home repairs (stuff that probably needs to be done but isn't urgent) and a big vacation next year. We picked the vacation, which is why I'm keeping my mouth shut about the porch. Here's hoping it doesn't fall off the house. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotSoObvious Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 We just moved from our 4 bedroom 3.5 bath house with the yard across the country and we are (temporarily!) renting a 2 bedroom 1 bath farm house. We have two kids and we love to travel. For us, there has to be a balance. I've found that we really don't need a lot of room, as long as we are comfortable. I need clean and fairly new. I need a nice kitchen. I've quickly realized what I miss about our house and, honestly, it isn't the square footage. BUT, I need to be comfortable. What about a compromise? Buy or rent a 3 bedroom and take more reasonable or infrequent trips. We did a week in Hawaii with two kids when I was teaching and I think it came to $4,000 total. It was totally doable to save that money over the course of the year. BTW, if you love to travel, you love to travel. I'm shocked at how many people I meet who have never left their state or don't understand why we would spend so much money to travel. But, they are living in fancy houses or buying boats and going boating every weekend. So, it's all about what you value and enjoy doing with your family. Just some thoughts! Be comfortable, love your home, but don't become too house poor because you will feel trapped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaffodilDreams Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 I'd opt for the vacations. Our goal now is to downsize as soon as we can so we have more freedom to follow other dreams. We've decided a smaller, lesser expensive house would suit us just fine. I'm also dreaming of less to clean and less upkeep. I'd like a tiny cottage and a huge wooded lot with just enough of a sunny patch for a small garden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eewaggie99 Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Vacations! More space means more cleaning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 It depends. There is smaller than you'd like, and there's so small that living there makes you feel suffocated and permanently tetchy. If I were you, with two kids of the same gender, I'd be looking for a two bedroom place with large bedrooms and two living areas. Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forty-two Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Having lived in an 800sf house with no garage, no attic, and no basement, I would trade many vacations to keep our 1500sf house with all three. However, I don't feel any need to go bigger than we have now - it's what I grew up with, and it's a good size for our family. And I do want to travel (we just haven't had the money yet to do more than visit family cross-country), but not enough to drastically downsize from what we have now. I spend way more time in our house than I would on vacation - I need it to be comfortable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Neither. I'd save it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sputterduck Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 I don't think my opinion counts because I'd rather buy a plot of land and save money building my own house myself and then save most of it and also take vacations. I'm assuming you don't want to build your own house though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 We were sort of faced with this last year. We were thinking about moving to a larger house in a fancier neighborhood. But along with that would come with a bigger house payment. We'd have a bigger, nicer house, but less money to do fun things. We decided to stay put, make some improvements in our own home, and be able to have more "free" money to "play" with. I'm really glad that we did it this way. I'm happier in our home now that we've made these improvements and now we can still visit our 2nd home (Disney!) as much as we'd like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kebo Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Of the 2, I'd rather live in a better house (not necessarily bigger, but better suited to us). But, we tend to get cranky when we travel..... And, I agree that financial security would trump either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 We prefer to spend less on house than we could afford, so that we have money left over to travel in the summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternalknot Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 We're a vacation-loving family, so that gets my choice. I've never had to choose between housing and vacations, but I've made other decisions in favor of being able to take vacations ... homeschooling is one of them :) I've also kept my job outside the home because it affords me access to travel industry discounts. An earlier poster mentioned life experiences, and I think that was spot on. I love to travel, though. My husband is a homebody and would get more out of a bigger house, though. I guess it depends on your family culture and priorities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awoogala Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 I would rather do the vacations, since I'd live an rv if given the chance! But, I'd say buying over renting! I'd try and find a compromise- buy a fixer-upper, or slightly bigger but not too much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 More vacations, hands down. We live in a small house and I love it. Don't forget it is not just the difference in the price of the housing, bigger spaces cost more money to heat/cool, more bathrooms means higher water bills and you spend more on repairs and yard stuff. Plus they take more time to clean. I am sticking to the small townhouse we live in. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Wow, how do you home educate your younger children while both of you work in the public school system? You must get a lot of flack for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Alfred Academy Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Vacations!! I am trying to talk my dh into selling everything and hitting the road. Not having any luck yet. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DusksAngel Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 I love the home we have now and if we really ever NEEDED more space, we COULD add on. So I'd go with more vacations, especially as I never got to go on them as a child and want to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarymelon Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 I would definitely go with travel, too. Including my parents, who live in a small MIL, there are 8 of us living in 1600 sq. ft..but I would gladly give up almost all extras to continue taking the three or so trips we take a year. The flexibility is also one of the main reasons we starting homeschooling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellydon Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 I would do whatever it would take for me to stay home with my kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpiritCatcher Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 We plan on staying put for as long as we can see. Our house is about 3,000 sq ft, we do like our space, but also like our vacations. We normally take two vacations but this year it will probably only be one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BamaTanya Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 so I guess you know what our answer would be. :) We have 5 dc, though, and 2 have autism, so being comfortable at home is our focus. Only you can decide what is a priority for you. If I had 2 dc and loved vacations, I'd still try to find a way to have both: a modest home and modest vacations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 We actually made the decision recently to stay in our 1000 sq ft home so we could travel more. There are many times we wish we had more room but we know that extra money would mean we travel less and we enjoy the traveling a bit more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nart Posted August 17, 2011 Author Share Posted August 17, 2011 I think we have decided on smaller house / more vacations, but we just came back from a big birthday party at a friend's big house, so I thought I would ask the hive. It would be nice to be able to have a big party at home with space for a big jumpy house for the boys' next birthday, but I like the financial security of not having a big mortgage payment. I like the feeling that if we need to one of us can take a leave of absence, quit, or work part-time if need be. We plan on homeschooling middle school and perhaps upper elementary school, so we don't want to have a big mortgage when I work part-time or not at all. In the meantime I will start planning our trip for winter break. Our ultimate dream is to take a year off and travel around the world or live in Latin America so our kids will speak Spanish really well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 the time spent on vacations is SO small. I'd definitely vote for the bigger house. Hands down. Maybe money will allow for both down the road. I know when we first got our (large) home we were broke. I'm thankful things have changed. I don't mind cleaning a house this big. I make sure everyone keeps after themselves and I try not to let things go. The kids are all responsible for their own rooms. It works.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serenade Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 My husband and I rent a 2 bedroom townhouse in an area that we really like. We have two boys (ages 2 and 4). We would like a place with a third bedroom and a yard and could afford to pay over 1,000 dollars more a month in rent or we could afford to buy a place. We both work in the public schools only 180 days a year, so we have a lot of vacation time. We are also considering staying put and using the money to travel extensively over vacations. Anyone regret not living in a bigger place when you could afford to do so? I just spent half the day looking at houses on-line and the other half planning a 3 week trip to Hawaii over winter break. Any thoughts? It's a hard choice -- and a very personal one. As someone who just built a large home, I won't be taking fancy vacations for a while. Sometimes I wonder if perhaps we did our kids a disservice by doing this. However, I love my new home. It is beautiful -- on a partially wooded large lot in a very spacious neighborhood, and I sorta feel like I'm on vacation every day. We have gobs of deer and wildlife strolling about (and eating my garden veggies...grrr), and lots of big picture windows to view them through. My life is more peaceful in the new house - lots of personal space, no barky neighborhood dogs, or rambunctious neighbors, so I feel my quality of life has improved. The only drawback to me is that there is a chance we might not be able to do some other things with our kids that we would have wanted to, and I hope they don't end up feeling cheated some day. But, kids are generally just as happy camping as staying in a fancy hotel, so hopefully it will all work out well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aggie Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Vacations! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BabyBre Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Vacations! Who on earth wants more to clean? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 I vote for more vacations. I'm kind of a gypsy at heart, and I get to feeling very stifled being in the same place all the time. "Settling down" is something I've done for my family, but it is a bit of a sacrifice. Going places makes me happy. I'd be thrilled if someone offered me the option to live in a small place if it meant I had more freedom to travel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ondreeuh Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Definitely a smaller house. Keeping the house modest keeps me focused on prioritizing what I need and what I want. Also, in a financial crunch you can skip a vacation but you can't skip a mortgage payment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlktwins Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 I need to be happy where I am going to be most of the time. That is home. We just moved from a 2300 sq ft home to a rather large home and we are so happy. I will say we had saved a lot of money to put down so we are not house poor. We like to travel, but are fine with 1 short (3-4 days) and 1 week long trip a year. Neither of us have any desire to travel overseas. We are going to Disney for 2 weeks in Dec, but that is long for us. The cleaning isn't bad if I stay on top of it -- I do a little bit each day. I don't spend every day all day cleaning. I love having a dedicated school room. The twins are happy having their own rooms for the first time (they've had to share since they were conceived :-). I have a craft room that makes me happy. If mom is happy, then my family is generally happy. We live in Northern VA and have so much around us to do -- we get out a lot. I would go for the house -- I may feel differently if we had the travel bug... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in Neverland Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 More vacations for sure!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 definitely smaller home, more vacations!:D (plus it's easier to be debt free - at least for us it will be). we are planning to build our next house & want to go small. a smaller home for us simply means less square footage, but optimal use of space - nothing wasted. my favorite blog is tinyhouseblog though - so i love small.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwjx2khsmj Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 It totally depends on your values and the lifestyle you want. My answer to your question would be neither. We just bought a farm. The house is smaller but the responsibilities are greater. We have limited our vacation opportunities not by the size of our mortgage but by the level of our commitment to this land. We knew going in that this choice would, by necessity, create a new life for us. Our children are learning things that weren't even on the radar six months ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 I'd buy now that prices and interest rates are quite low. But, I'd buy as small as I was comfortable with in order to take more vacations. ;) The older I get, the smaller I want. But, (yes, another but) we chose to raise our kids on 46 acres with a small family farm and it's been nigh onto perfect for us. I don't think I'd have been happy in a 2 bedroom townhouse, but (third but!) I'm not a city person. When we sell this place (soon as the boys are growing up and leaving home) hubby and I want to move into a Class B motorhome. That will be my ideal size for the two of us (as little cleaning as possible) and it will be mobile to allow for my travel bug. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Negin Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Vacations, always vacations. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAutumnOak Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 My answer would be neither for myself because I am not a big vacation person and I don't want a big house...My answer for you is stay in a smaller house and use the money for vacations since that is what is important to you...I agree with a pp that said in a crunch time you could always skip a vacation but you can't skip a mortage...I wouldn't advise anyone to buy or rent a bigger house than they need...We use to live in a small two bedroom with three boys, and it was too small for us (no dining room either)...We live in a small cape cod home now and although people still think it is small, it is perfect for us... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer in MI Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Definitely more vacations!!!! But, I'd make sure that my house was in a nice, safe neighborhood first and foremost. We moved from a 1300 sq ft to a 2400 sq ft house. Our current house is really nice - but really big! I don't need this much space. But, we love our neighborhood and yard. So, we did sacrifice a little vacation money, but it is the smallest house in our neighborhood! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 I would way rather spend money on life experiences than a huge mortgage. I have friends that work to pay the mortgage. It's just not worth it to me. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 It's called house poor. You live in the giant house but are too poor to do anything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 (edited) I would find a happy medium. Right now you have $1,000/mo extra? I would see if there is a house you can get for your current rent plus half of that. You can still travel but it may mean less expensive vacations or backpacking rather than luxury. We bought too much house.....our own fault. DH would rather put it towards mortgage and I would rather travel. We are finally almost to 25% of our income towards mortgage on a 15 year loan. We were up a bit above 35% which was just too tight. As for larger houses being more cleaning, I have never understood that. When I had a small house it was much harder to keep up with the clutter. Now that I have a much larger house there is more space to put stuff. Dawn Edited August 17, 2011 by DawnM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeekingHim77 Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 I would rather have my everyday life situation improved than my once in a while vacations. Honestly, I am not a big vacation person anyhow. I like my routine. Short vacations are the best to me. However, I have no desire for a huge house. My home is small-1,075 sq. ft.-and I would like a little more space but definitely not a large house. Considering we spend most of our time at home, more space to relax, read and (most importantly) put bookshelves would definitely be a higher priority for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalicoKat Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 My answer has changed, vacations (hands down!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 More vacations. Life experiences are important to us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 More vacations, easily. Unless you need to move to get the kids a big backyard. A big backyard would trump vacations when kids are small. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbkaren Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Personally I'd rather live in a smaller house in an area that I love so that I don't feel the need to take a bunch of vacations. Either that, or a smaller house closer to hubby's work so we could spend more time together and make life easier. But "a big house" and "lots of vacations" mean nothing to me if you're a slave to pay for them. I live in NJ, and believe me, lots of folks here are slaves to their lifestyles and "looking affluent". It's very important to them. Or something...I just don't get it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nart Posted August 17, 2011 Author Share Posted August 17, 2011 I am glad so many people voted for vacation since that is the way we are leaning. I just wanted to make sure we weren't missing anything. Maybe I should have added more details. We live in a few blocks from the beach in California, so we love where we live even though property is expensive and the lots tend to be small. It is so nice to be able to walk to the beach and see the waves, even in the winter. It partly makes up for not having a yard. We could buy a house but then we would not be able to walk to the beach or have a view of the ocean, so then in my mind what's the point of living in a beach city. So we will probably stay put, travel, and have the opportunity to home school in a few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RahRah Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 DH and I found and bought a house we feel living in feels like we're on vacation - we're on acreage, lakeside (without visible neighbors) and out in the country, close enough to town, but away from it all. We love where we live and opted for this, a bigger house, because of its location and the property it sits on. DH's work means we don't have much time for going away on vacation, so this is perfect for us - when he gets home, we have relaxing things we can do right here, anytime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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