Comments on: “Play House” – Pretending You Have A Mortgage http://www.bargaineering.com/articles/play-house-pretending-you-have-a-mortgage.html personal finance blog with anecdotes, advice and commentary. Sun, 08 Nov 2009 13:29:19 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: Johnny http://www.bargaineering.com/articles/play-house-pretending-you-have-a-mortgage.html/comment-page-1#comment-93036 Johnny Sat, 12 May 2007 05:15:27 +0000 http://www.bargaineering.com/articles/play-house-pretending-you-have-a-mortgage.html#comment-93036 But what about the mortgage and tax deductions? Those are HUGE so I'm not so sure about using this method without accounting for those first. But what about the mortgage and tax deductions? Those are HUGE so I’m not so sure about using this method without accounting for those first.

]]> By: Nathan http://www.bargaineering.com/articles/play-house-pretending-you-have-a-mortgage.html/comment-page-1#comment-116 Nathan Thu, 24 Mar 2005 16:04:41 +0000 http://www.bargaineering.com/articles/play-house-pretending-you-have-a-mortgage.html#comment-116 Being a new homeowner myself, I can tell you that a step like this is very important. My wife and I were able to (but didn't) save about $2000 per month before we bought our house, and now we've taken a huge drop in standard of living to pay our $1500 mortgage. Of course, other things factored in, like me wising up and actually saving some for the future, but we did get hit with more than we anticipated. Adding 40% is a good idea in my opinion. Houses are always much more expensive than their mortgage, especially if it's your first house. You'll need to buy a lawnmower, washer/dryer, hoses, trash cans, etc. All of that can really add up. Speaking of Costco, if you buy a house get a membership at Costco or SAMS, a lot of the stuff you need for your house can be purchased there at a discount. It saved me a lot of money. Being a new homeowner myself, I can tell you that a step like this is very important. My wife and I were able to (but didn’t) save about $2000 per month before we bought our house, and now we’ve taken a huge drop in standard of living to pay our $1500 mortgage. Of course, other things factored in, like me wising up and actually saving some for the future, but we did get hit with more than we anticipated.

Adding 40% is a good idea in my opinion. Houses are always much more expensive than their mortgage, especially if it’s your first house. You’ll need to buy a lawnmower, washer/dryer, hoses, trash cans, etc. All of that can really add up.

Speaking of Costco, if you buy a house get a membership at Costco or SAMS, a lot of the stuff you need for your house can be purchased there at a discount. It saved me a lot of money.

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