Life is expensive.
Yah, like noooooobody already knows that, right? ;-)
Everyone has to live somewhere and it's not free.
Whether you rent or own, there are expenses associated with housing.
Are you in a housing situation that you can afford?
The cost of where you hang your hat is more than just a rent check or a mortgage payment.
Do you know how much your home is really costing you?
Sharon over at Midlife Mom Musings and Morrison over at My Life In Focus asked that question a month or two ago in regard to home ownership--What is it costing you?
They figured out their expenses for the year that were directly affected or a result of their home.....things like the obvious mortgage, but also taxes, services like water, garbage disposal and sewage, as well as electricity(and propane or gas for cooking/heating) and insurance. Money spent on home maintenance and repairs should also be included in your total.
We own a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath, 2 story home with a 2 car garage, on a 1/4 acre lot in a small town outside of a metropolitan city area. The development the home sits in dates from the 1980's. The house is just over 2,100 sq. ft.(not including the basement).
For 2012, my list of expenses included.....
Insurance-$596.00
Sewage---$407.40
Taxes----$3116.33
Garbage--$336.00
Electric-$2432.28
Water-----$743.31
Repairs---$265.00
What I didn't include was money spent on the lawn/landscaping/gas for the mower/plants/etc. as I don't have figures for those expenses handy. Most of that was paid for in cash and I didn't keep the receipts.
My Housing costs for 2012 were $7,896.32 for the whole year, or $658.03 per month, which comes to $21.63 a day.
And if I take that figure of $658.03 and compare it to renting a comparable house here, it is at least $350ish less than it would cost me to rent one. And that rent wouldn't include the utilities or renter's insurance.
So we are doing well staying put here for now.
The water is higher because we have a pool so we use more than someone without a pool.
The electric is higher because the home is all electric-heating and cooking. We do not have central A/C....yet! ;-)
The main reason my home costs us so little is because we paid it off in 2007 so there is NO mortgage.
Compared to our net take home pay, we are spending well under the recommended 30% of our after tax income on housing.
So what's your house costing you every year?
Are you afraid to figure it out because you might not like what you see?
The first step to budgeting and figuring out what it cost you to live the life you are leading is to get a handle on what you spend.
Run the numbers.....it might surprise you to see what it costs you daily to stay in your current home.
You might find that your house is unsustainable for your income and you might be better off not owning it.
Sluggy
