$1,000 Rent

Honestly, why on earth is rent so high? It has finally sunk in that I need to buy a house. I am old and grown. For health reasons, I need better control over my environment. Paying a ton in rent is aggravating since I already know I won't be there forever. However, I do hate houses. All they do is fall apart and then I have to be the one to fix it! Maintenance doesn't just appear to magically make it better while I am at work. Now I have to find and call and schedule some company to come fix it- and all that costs EXTRA! I don't even like going and looking at houses. It just aggravates me as it is a crazy hodgepodge of compromise I don't want to make.  Listening to NPR, I heard that Millennials are beginning to take over the housing market. So that's me... and NPR says I need to suck it up and buy a house. So I got online and found some housing calculators! Fun, fun, fun!

Buying a House Is Very Grown Lady

CHFA Housing Affordability Calculator

So from this, I noticed that the biggest difference in the amount of home I can afford is the amount of monthly debt I have. I thought it would be the down payment. So according to this, on my current income, a 30 year mortgage at 5% with just a $1000 downpayment and $500 monthly debt = $185,000 house. A thousand dollars worth of monthly debt translates to just a $92,000 house! And in my current state - just a $54,000 house.

According to this one, a $200 monthly debt decrease translates into almost doubling the amount of house I could buy.

And according to NerdWallet, I can buy a house in Louisville, KY but recommends that I not buy a home at this time in my hometown. Zillow says I can get a $26,000 house. And Lending Tree says I can get a $112,000 house in Charlotte or $117,000 in Boston...when I can get my debt to $500. And a mortgage should be less than 28% of your monthly income...

Yikes!

This made me wonder how I am doing just renting. So I found this rental calculator. And my rent is currently $93 over budget.  Or $300, depending. Well fluff! I guess I know someone who will be looking for a new apartment soon...

On the upside, I now have a much more realistic picture of how debt destroys your dreams. And now I get to revise my goals- get all my monthly debt down to just $500 per month. 

Thank goodness for internet calculators!

Well this was boring and depressing.

Shoes!

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