Come answer a question, share a laugh, encourage one another, and bring me a TimTam! |
Like Jayne That said, the one thing I often think back on is what would have happened if I had bought a house earlier. Especially with California real estate the way it is, home prices are literally almost double what they were when I was getting out of college and in the early years of marriage. We've been renters our whole lives because housing was expensive even back then, but I do wonder what would have happened if we had - for example - asked my parents for a little help with a downpayment 20 years ago and had the last two decades of owning an asset that has so significantly appreciated in value since. Then again, we didn't know they would appreciate in value quite so much at the time, so this all goes back to what I said in the opening paragraph. Is buying a house something I regret not doing? I suppose so... but I'm also not sure I'd do things any differently if given the opportunity. I know a lot of people for whom buying a house was the single most financially devastating decision they ever could have made; you just never know what life's going to throw at you, and I think we've managed our pretty well so far, even if there isn't a property deed to my name. |