Fiscal fitness -- August's theme ...

... was prompted by the following articles:

"Buying the Wrong House" (ScienceBlogs, July 17, 08)

"Given a Shovel, Americans Dig Deeper into Debt" (NYT, July 20, 08)

"Housing Crisis Hits Exurbs Hard" (CSM, July 25, 08)

"High Heating Oil Prices Loom Over U.S." (Marketplace, July 31, 08)

"After the Bubble, Ghost Towns Across America" (WSJ, Aug 2, 08)

"Gas Prices Apply Brake to Suburban Migration" (WaPo, Aug 5, 08)

This month's focus: housing and residential costs.

Well, it's on my mind anyway. Three years ago this month, we bought our house.

Although there are tons of calculators out there telling you how big your monthly mortgage will be, I have yet to find a calculator that will tell you what you'll be spending on contractors, plumbers, building supplies, live plants, paint or the myriad home-maintenance tools you won't know you need until the very moment you need them. I recently tallied up how much we've spent -- in cash -- on the house in the past three years, and realized that the dollar amount exceeds the salary from my first post-college job. The gross salary.

Anyway, I thought this month we could focus on housing costs -- everything from utilities to Home Depot runs -- and examine how and where we spend. We can examine the rules about what percentage of your salary you should be spending on monthly housing costs and when the exceptions apply. And sharing any tips that can reduce housing costs somewhat.

Comments

[amanda]

I think the comments on that first article are actually really inciteful -- so rare! It's easy to blame the "mortgage crisis" entirely on a blend of hubris and stupidity but I think there are more varied stories there.*

*This comment brought to you from a person who wonders near-daily if she bought the wrong house.

[Kerry]

Yeah, that 1% of purchase price per year figure that they recommend you spend on maintenance does not remotely cover it in my experience. Much less "improvement" cost. That added sum is why I don't think renting longterm is a bad idea.