BunsGettingFirm
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2004
- Messages
- 1,502
I personally opted for the smaller house / earlier retirement option. In part, that was a matter of luck. We got out bid on a bigger place a couple of years ago and I'm pretty happy we did. It's really easy to upgrade your lifestyle, it's very hard to go the other way. The bigger house would have meant several more years before we reached the level of financial independence we want and, in the end, FI is our goal . . . not more, or even nicer, stuff.
I've heard it said that the things you own end up owning you. It seems that is never more true then with real estate. Most of my friends have houses that cost 4x-5x what we paid for ours. They're very nice places, and I'm very happy for them. But after I visit I can't help but think how glad I am not to be shackled to their lifestyle.
Frankly, I don't know how you and Brew do it. Working on Wall Street, you guys must be constantly exposed to the high life.