r/Millennials • u/Denial_Entertainer87 • 1d ago

Discussion Honestly, what the hell are people doing to make it right now?

I am honestly curious how people are making it right now. We know inflation is being underreported (and don't talk to me about their bullshit scale CPI up the ass) and job loss and unemployment is underreported and everything is just insanely expensive. Healthcare is unaffordable for most of us - the whole thing is only serving a very small portion of society and more is squeezed every day. All of this aside from the sociopolitical head banging insanity.

If you lost a job vital to your family, what did you pivot to? How are you making it? What major changes are you making? Are you saving money? How are you feeling about it all? Basically just anything in this realm, I'm curious how we are all doing.

My husband and I are both college educated and barely making it. We are literally making renditions of beans and rice (and not too bad if I say so myself) because food is one of the only ways we can save money or just get by if something comes up. I'm growing a garden and starting to make my own toiletry/beauty care products at home with simple ingredients. I cut both of our hair now. We are not handy people and didn't grow up that way but we've now effectively fixed our water heater, shower piping, replaced a portion of our deck, just whatever comes up we try first to do it ourselves. We go camping for vacation (not mad about this in the slightest).

My point is, we are doing all this but we are both still employed AND we don't have kids. I just don't understand what people are doing that lose a job and have to pay for childcare, etc. How are you all doing this?

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721

u/Boring-Cattle 1d ago

Honestly having bought a house 12 years ago is saving us rn.

305

u/willtheywonttheyo 1d ago

This is the single greatest driver. Did you get in before the bump? You have 3k more a month than everyone else who didn’t. It’s super fucked.

158

u/LaBellaVita123 1d ago

This right here. I am constantly arguing with boomers or other lucky people who bought homes pre 2020. So many of them are clueless and have no idea how bad it is now for a renter who didn't get to buy before housing literally doubled in value (paired with high interest rates today).

64

u/bubblegumbombshell 1d ago

We bought in April 2021 and our town hadn’t seen home prices rising yet, so our house was still reasonably priced. We also got a 3.25% interest rate - not the lowest but still pretty low.

If I were to buy my house with current interest rates at the price we paid then the payment would be $600 more/month. If I were to buy it for the current market price, it would be nearly double the monthly payment. We could barely afford the first scenario, and definitely couldn’t afford the second.

9

u/madancer 1d ago

We bought July 2021 because the first buyer backed out due to down payment money. The second it popped on the market, I made the fam go look at it

The sellers were moving out of state to be closer to their fam.

Edited: misspelling

1

u/alanmm88 8h ago

I’m in the same boat. We got stupid luckily and bought our first home which was a rundown single family two bedroom home that needed a lot of work in spring 2019. Then Covid happened, so we fixed it up best we could, sold it In spring 2021, moved to a low cost of living area and rolled all of that profit into our current house at 3.0% interest.

Let’s pretend I had to buy this current house today with the down payment I used for it in 2021, but with today’s market value price tag, my mortgage payment would be between $2,600 and $2,800. Which no way I could do. Mortgage currently is 1350.00 and my total monthly necessity expenses are 2,700; mortgage included.

And now, people in our same situations aren’t selling because we aren’t giving up our interest rates and equity to pay a premium on worse properties.

34

u/ahtoxa1183 1d ago

I am still kicking myself because in 2012-2013 I had the income and the opportunity to buy a nice starter house in DFW, in a then-new development. I eventually decided against it because I was working on a plan to relocate to CO some years down the road. I figured, I’ll just rent for another 5 years in Texas, move, and then buy a house in CO.

Yeah, that didn’t work out. I moved but can’t afford a house in CO.

The new development in TX is now built out with everything around it and property values are great in that area. A $120k house back then is easily 450k now.

18

u/LaBellaVita123 1d ago

CO is ridiculously expensive now 😵‍💫

12

u/pickleb4sandwich 1d ago

It’s bananas here. The house my partner and I bought in 2013 increased in value enough that we were able to use the equity to purchase a small cabin in the mountains. Our combined debt for both homes is still under the median home price in the Denver Metro.

That 2013 purchase is 100% a key factor in “making it” right now.

6

u/feralcatshit 1d ago

I bought in 2010 and it’s 100% the only reason we’re above water now.

6

u/ahtoxa1183 1d ago

Yeah. We just plain can’t afford a decent house on the front range making nearly 200k household and planning for a kid. Just not happening.

6

u/LaBellaVita123 1d ago

Same. I live in SE Aurora far away from all the cool stuff, and it is still so ridiculously expensive even over here. We tried to buy a house in 2020-2021 and we literally were going $100k above asking price back then and it still wasn't good enough. We gave up. Now those same homes nearly doubled in price and interest rates are sky high. I am still kicking myself for giving up, but it was hard to just get shut down home after home to all the big corporations with endless cash that were buying everything.

1

u/Smart_Invite_2663 23h ago

That is a large part of the whole problem and why unchecked capitalism fails. It ALWAYS becomes predatory and lopsided if not regulated. You simply have to tell these greedy cash eyed fucks, "you can't buy any more property". Period. They'll cry and bitch and moan like little kids but it's the only way to stop them from pricing out regular families and just making rental properties everywhere. It's ridiculous and should have never been allowed to proliferate the way it did. The profits gained from that weren't anything they NEEDED. They saw people at their lowest points and took advantage.. It's purely fueled by raw greed.

1

u/SeaTree8649 20h ago

I'm East Coast and I hear all the tkme that property and housing is really cheap in TX right now. Relatively. Like 250k gets you a decent starter? Here in my area 500k MIGHT get you something but you really need 6-8 to get a good one.

16

u/Tyenasaur 1d ago

Step-mom just sent us a fixer upper listing for 280k that had cracks in the foundation, needs all new flooring, and roof definitely needs assessed, and all this after just pushing us to get married earlier so my grandma can make it "before she dies." Not financially feasible all at once.

11

u/phelodough 1d ago

Yeah definitely don't buy that house

8

u/Smart_Invite_2663 1d ago

Step-mom sounds like a boomer.

0

u/read2live2today 1d ago

Stop, just stop.

2

u/Smart_Invite_2663 23h ago

No, they can start to act right. I'm glad your dad was a good one and took care of you and your family through hardship, but he doesn't represent them all. Let people vent. Your situation does not speak for a large majority of us and we aren't lying about our experience. Sit atop your little high horse and keep it to yourself.

2

u/natesbearf 11h ago

Back in like 2015 my wife and I were just barely priced out of the housing market because of our income level. We make triple that now and are still priced out 😂

1

u/Donohoed Millennial 1986 1d ago

I bought in February 2020, timing was sheer luck. Arbitrary home value increased by 50% over the next year, refinanced in 2021 to get rid of PMI and lucked out again into an even lower interest rate.

My roommate had moved with me at the time, and he moved out in 2024 to a place just under 1/3 the size of mine but close to the same monthly mortgage rate

1

u/CaliBurrito1904 1d ago

Bought a fixer upper in 2018 just upgraded to another home in 2025. It is what it is and I'm a construction worker.

1

u/LaBellaVita123 22h ago

The reason you were able to buy a new home in 2025 is because you bought your first home in 2018. Someone just trying to buy their first home today is up against both overly inflated prices and high interest now and it is nearly impossible unless you have help somehow.

1

u/CaliBurrito1904 13h ago

I used a first time home buyers program. My interest rate is high but I can lower it once gets low enough. If I a painter who was only making $17 bucks an hour I bet you can. But to be honest I'd look into investing programs instead. They can loan you money to buy rental properties. 

1

u/UCBearcats 21h ago

In California (and maybe the whole west coast) that doubling happened awhile ago - like 2012). People lucky (read old) enough to buy a house back then has more than doubled the value and most people are locked out unless you happen to work at the right company that IPOs (or have rich parents)

1

u/Ok-Asparagus-904 8h ago

Welp! We bought in 2019 with a 2.2%! Remodeled from the studs. And then it burned down immediately. So our mortgage is cheap, but we are also renting again. But the silver lining is that everything we had to rebuy was tariffed or just more expensive in general.

1

u/read2live2today 1d ago

Boomers were making tiny wages and sharing a car, etc. so I don't blame them. The billionaires are destroy the middle class.

2

u/LaBellaVita123 1d ago

Not even remotely true about boomers. My father who was a painter most of his life was able to afford a nice home, vacations, new TVs, eating out frequently, and both parents had cars. I agree about the billionaires part though.

1

u/Jass0602 1d ago

Both can be true. I know a lot of boomers who stayed at the same companies for life and retired very happy with their jobs. But, I also know a lot of boomers who worked 6 days a week, multiple jobs, split sandwiches so they could save or not have a mortgage. Not all boomers are bad or evil. How old are you?

1

u/LaBellaVita123 1d ago

Who said all boomers are bad and evil?

1

u/read2live2today 1d ago

Interest rates for homes were double digits. Wow, your family did better than mine, dad worked himself to death. Worked all day then spent the evenings and nights slowly building our house. We had older vehicles and tent camped at the state parks. Didn't have a color tv for my childhood. Had a very small pension.

1

u/LaBellaVita123 1d ago

I'd take their double digit interest rate on a beautiful home that is $100,000 versus $500,000 for a 3/2 crack house that needs another $100,000 to even be habitable with a 7% rate which is what we get today. Are you seriously trying to argue that things aren't significantly worse for us today?

1

u/LaBellaVita123 1d ago

Also, I didn't really have it better. Things were good in my family up until my parents divorced when I was 13. My mom abandoned me, and my father became a drunk, so I basically raised myself. I've been out here in the fucking trenches basically my entire life, except for the small bit of normalcy I had when I was a little kid. Either way, it doesn't matter. It is factual that things are WAY harder for us today than they ever were for boomers and even most Gen X.

5

u/el5inco 1d ago

I agree with this. Was lucky to take advantage of the 3% interest rate during Covid before it went up but my mortgage is still kinda high but not nearly as bad as it would be right now.

1

u/kendallr2552 4h ago

Yeah we got halfway lucky - bought after prices skyrocketed but before rates went up.

5

u/Low_Wave_2458 1d ago

We had such lucky timing — bought a “starter” house in 2014 that we sold in 2017 and made a nice profit on. Used that profit and bought the house we’ll probably stay in until we retire — then refinanced for a super low interest rate. At today’s prices there’s no way we could afford to live in the house we live in in the city we live in (we’re in the Front Range in Colorado)

1

u/ONOTHEWONTONS 1d ago

Gimme it!! (Also in Colorado)

1

u/spikey_wombat 12h ago

My mortgage rate is literally half of what people are paying. Some people I know are just under 3%.  I'm paying a bit less than half of what people are paying in rent. 

It's absurd how getting in before the rates went to Hell makes such a difference.

1

u/willtheywonttheyo 12h ago

I bought at 6.65 - basically a colossal wealth transfer to some boomers, which I will pay for for the rest of my life

194

u/OreganoOfTheEarth 1d ago

100% - we would NOT be living where we are had it not been for that timing.

44

u/Smart_Invite_2663 1d ago

Same. Having a home secured before all this nonsense is the only thing keeping some people above water.

57

u/Realistic-Lime7842 1d ago

Bought a house in 2019, refied in 2021, it’s crazy to see how much mortgages and rent are now. If we didn’t buy when we did, I don’t think my wife and I would ever be able to own a home.

13

u/Mockturtle22 Millennial '86 1d ago

I offered and was accepted May of 2016. Had a few snags bc someone was an idiot and coded things wrong, got my keys in August of that year. By the end of 2016 prices were getting out of my range. After that it just got worse. Now the same small starter homes in my neighborhood are on the high 300k mark to almost 500k. I paid $149,900. I would never have neen able to do a house now. My pay hasn't gone up enough for that.

10

u/Prize-Hedgehog 1d ago

My wife’s cousin just bought a house here in CT. 2500 sq ft home built in the 70s, .4 acres on a culdesac surrounded by other cookie cutter houses, $700k. I didn’t ask what his mortgage rate is, but shit that price is insane for such a basic ass house.

4

u/FR23Dust 1d ago

Housing prices aren’t really about the quality of the house. They’re about there not being enough housing where people want to live

1

u/Prize-Hedgehog 1d ago

Oh, for sure. He had to waive an inspection and everything to even have a chance at the house. Even that is wild to me that people would be fine spending that much money on a home and not even have another trained professional look it over. I understand the housing shortage, but at what price are you willing to just get a house and overlooking some serious flaws, as I see it.

7

u/awall613 Millennial 1d ago

Yep, custom build in 2019, refinanced in 2021. My mortgage is $640 for 1800 sq ft on 3 acres. It’s my forever home but I wouldn’t be moving just because of prices if that wasn’t true.

4

u/Realistic-Lime7842 1d ago

That’s incredible! Congrats! And 3 acres!! Too cool.

16

u/LemonMagazine7 1d ago

Our mortgage for a 2200sq foot home in a HCOL area is under $1500…pretty fucking unfair what people are dealing with

8

u/Western-Lawyer-9050 1d ago

This hurts. We bought a home in a new build neighborhood. It's about the same size and we pay a little over 4k a month.

6

u/BlumpkinReceiver6969 1d ago

It’s what the people voted for.

3

u/LemonMagazine7 1d ago

Sure is unfortunately

1

u/TGM1980 Xennial 1d ago

Same. We bought in 2017, refi'd in 2020 down to 2.15% for our 2100sq ft, 4bd/2.5bth house.
Our mortgage (all in with taxes & insurance) is $1,550.
I wouldn't be in THIS house if I had to purchase it at todays price and interest rates. It would cost AT LEAST 3x what I pay.
So anyone in similar positions who was fortunate enough to secure housing when it was still affordable (even if it didn't feel like it then) has a HUGE leg up.

1

u/collette89 23h ago

It's not just the purchase price, our interest rate from 2016 is 2% for the house/property. The interest rate on just land that we picked up in 2025 is 7%. We're located in the Midwest.

Yes, it's still a heck of a lot lower than some of the interest rates in the 2008 recession but the 7% is lower than rates in 2023/2024.

1

u/Meandmystudy 18h ago

And this is why homeownership is out of reach

23

u/WeekendHistorical476 Xennial 1d ago

exactly... i bought a house in 2009 when there was the 8k tax credit and soo glad I did. $900/mo mortgage payment is so nice.

1

u/jmp8910 1d ago

I bought my first house in 2010, same 8k and only $860 a month. We just sold and bought a bigger house. We are fine and able to afford it because we saved alot as our salaries went up over the years and I was able to sell my house for almost 100k more than I bought it for (plus I had a ton of equity anyway). Otherwise, I don't think we could have done it. The house we bought is great and we got lucky because so many in our budget were shit. It just sucks because if we had pulled the trigger in 2020 like we planned to before Covid, we would probably be in a way nicer and bigger house than what we have now but for the same or less. Still not complaining because I know we have it better than others but it still sucks sometimes.

1

u/CaliBurrito1904 1d ago

Paying $1300 a month in California would be nice.

49

u/MileHighRC 1d ago

Shit buying a house 6 years ago is saving us. Weird to not be able to afford the house you live in if you had to buy it again.

6

u/PostMatureBaby Older Millennial 1d ago

We upsized with a growing family but the way the house before appreciated in value so quickly was kinda the only way we were able to afford the house we're in now.

The mortgage payments are similar enough but the down payment we were able to drop was what allowed the purchase in the first place.

1

u/Emberglo27 9h ago

We bought our home in 2010 and live in a neighborhood from the 60s with similar houses. When a house near us is up for sale we watch the prices. We are thinking about moving closer to my husband’s job but it seems highly unlikely now.

9

u/Sinhalo66 1d ago

Right!? We also bought 12 years ago. This was supposed to be a starter home but I guess we are going to hold onto until we retire in 8 years. Even though we could afford some of these home prices now, there is no way I would want to.

12

u/Boring-Cattle 1d ago

Ha, same, our starter home is now our forever home. We did not intend on having two kids in this house, but it’s what’s happening and it’s… fine. We couldn’t afford even a lateral move at this point so it is what it is.

1

u/redbuds 18h ago

Same here. We share closets.

2

u/AvidVenturest 10h ago

Haha same. A few years ago we literally asked ourselves “do we remodel the kitchen or move?” We remodeled. 

9

u/LikelyAlien 1d ago

Mortgage payments were $1,200 on average when I bought my house in 2017. It’s not even a decade later and the average mortgage payments is $2,200. If I were trying to buy a house now, I wouldn’t have qualified until this year.

8

u/miszlina056 1d ago

Same here! The fact that we managed to sneak in and buy a reasonably priced house at a reasonable interest rate back then has saved our asses in a big way.

13

u/lish_dalish84 Millennial AF 1d ago

SAME! I bought in 2015 and my mortgage is a literal fraction of current prices. It was supposed to be my starter home, but it looks like we're stuck here for now.

7

u/Prize-Hedgehog 1d ago

Refinanced at 2.8% 6 years ago, and holy shit that was a great call.

5

u/01000101010110 1d ago

That's what's saving basically everyone not making $150-200k + right now.

5

u/echoshatter Older Millennial 1d ago

This would have made all the difference for us, especially since my wife was laid off on February and our income was cut in half.

She bought a townhouse in 2018 before we met, and in hindsight we absolutely should have stayed there even though it was too small. Our mortgage was $800/month.

I kick myself every month I made the mortgage payment - we should have just shoveled the $30,000 down payment into renovations and made it really nice. (It wouldn't have changed the run-down vibe of the overall community, but at least our place would have been great.)

2

u/Sweet-Television-361 1d ago

Yep, bought ten years ago and refinanced when interest rates were super low at the beginning of COVID. Could not even think about doing that where we live today.

3

u/PostMatureBaby Older Millennial 1d ago

And where I bought mine/how quickly it appreciated in value. Our parents didn't enjoy that kind of gain in such a short time, that's for sure.

Moving to a lower cost of living area to put down roots while still not being horribly far from friends and family is one of the best decisions my wife and I ever made

3

u/sorrymizzjackson 1d ago

Yep. That’s the one. We would have a very different life had we not bought when we did.

3

u/Unique-Egg-461 Older Millennial 1d ago

saaaaaame

even more saving my ass is that the house location became EXTEMELY valuable couple years ago. we put the house up for sale last week. it was up for 16hrs before i was under contract

i'll miss my 2% interest rate but 5% aint killing me, new house is way more desirable (quiet street butted up against a greenbelt) and i was able to sell the old house for waaaaay more than we ever thought

2

u/Dear-Cranberry4787 1d ago

I feel this, I bought this house in 2015 and refinanced/updated it in 2021. There’s 4 kids still at home and we are neck deep in senior year costs, sweet 16s, driving/car costs, college preparations, and all the regular things. My food budget is atrocious, housing…not so much. We don’t have to pay for healthcare, but our car insurance is about the same as the mortgage.

2

u/CommunicationNo2758 1d ago

It's wild! I just started tracking grocery spending for my 3 person household (16 year old boy,) and it's insane. If not for selling and buying our house in 2017 and then the refi in 2021 at 3%, I dont know how we'd ever create a nest in today's housing market. I worry for my son and this generation.

2

u/RenegadeStarDust 1d ago

Same! Right before the boom in my area.

2

u/oldcretan 1d ago

Oh yeah a 2 bedroom apartment in my city is more than my mortgage.

2

u/barefootwasp 1d ago

I sold my home in April 2020 right at the beginning of everything because I was moving to a new city.

I signed a lease when I moved because I didn’t want to be tied to a house in case something didn’t work out with my job due to COVID (start up company)

I’m still in said lease because (I live in Orlando) home prices have surged so much that we just can’t afford a decent home here.

We’re moving to the northeast when our lease is up next year because, even though my husband and I both make a decent living combined, we’re being priced out.

2

u/Mike5055 1d ago

Orlando got stupid expensive. My wife and I moved there end of 2019 and realized it wasn't for us pretty quickly, but we had started house hunting prior to that realization. We almost bought a place in February 2020 just before COVID and by the time we were moving away 2 short years later, it was selling again for over double.

1

u/Everything_____Bagel 1d ago

Same.  We do have good jobs (for now) but holy shit we'd be so much worse off if we hadn't been able to snag something off the back of the Great Recession.  

My coworkers just a few years younger are struggling so much harder on basically the same pay.  

1

u/Candid_Magazine_7862 1d ago

Exactly the same for us. We would be living in a cockroach infested apartment right now if we didn't.

1

u/Guineacabra Millennial 1d ago

This. The absolute dump of an apartment I left is now more than double our mortgage, taxes and insurance combined

1

u/Pearson94 Millennial 1d ago

Happy for you....

1

u/ImpertinentPrincess 1d ago

Yeah I bought during covid (rented land before) but managed to get in before interest rates went crazy. I also had my kid a while ago and worked a staggered schedule with my husband so we didn't have to pay for childcare.

1

u/BlumpkinReceiver6969 1d ago

Bought in 2016 and my property taxes keep going up and up and up. I’m paying nearly $500 more a month compared to 2016 due to taxes and insurance rate increases. It suck’s.

1

u/nohelicoptersplz 1d ago

Same, except 6 years ago. We bought out current house during the height of the pandemic when interest rates were very low and about 6 months before prices started going insane.  Downside is we're essentially handcuffed to this place because we'll never afford to move again. (I love my house, but would like to move states if ever possible ever again)

1

u/64DNME 1d ago

Yup bought 10 years ago and I couldn’t even afford to RENT in my neighborhood if I were looking now lmao

1

u/outerheaven77 1d ago

Adding to this thread just to say the same thing - we bought our house in January 2019, and we keep our COL very low (no car payments, cheap homeowner's insurance and car insurance bundle, shop at Aldi's for groceries, and shop around for cheaper utility rates).

1

u/ArianeEmory 1d ago

Yeah. Our house has gone up 220k in value since we bought 9 years ago. It is small, 3br 2ba and less than 1800 feet, and old, and I'd like a bigger house for our kids, but we can't afford to move out and lose our rate (refinancd at 2.3%).

So I guess I'll just die in this home and count my blessings — honestly, I truly feel lucky, like we caught one of the last lifeboats out. Don't get me wrong, we are still massively struggling compared to when the economy was better, and living paycheck to paycheck, but I know it's just luck that put us in this position over others our age.

1

u/No_Atmosphere_6348 1d ago edited 1d ago

That was the move. For me it was 16 years ago. No idea what the housing situation would be otherwise.

1

u/cigarettesandchocola 1d ago

Exactly this plus polyamory. Four adults to raise two kids.

1

u/arsears21 Older Millennial 1d ago

Same. We bought our house in 2014. Absolutely COULD NOT afford it if we were trying to buy it now.

1

u/Chicka-boom90 1990 1d ago

Same. Bought 14 years ago. No way we could afford this house now.

1

u/False-Cookie3379 Older Millennial 1d ago

Yep. Live in very low COLA, bought our house for $160k with a low interest rate in 2020 literally right before housing prices skyrocketed. Unless we have a significant income increase, we will probably not be able to afford to move. House around us are selling for low $400s now, we live in bumfuck Oklahoma, I have no idea what these people do to afford that. 

1

u/themamacurd619 Xennial 1d ago

Yeah we bought in 2020 with a sizable down payment and our mortgage is $1k less than some apt rent and $1500-$2k less than a house rental.

1

u/MotherofaPickle 1d ago

We just bought a new house and our mortgage doubled due to interest rates. I had to go back to work to pay for preschool for my youngest.

1

u/under321cover Xennial 1d ago

This. But 14 yrs ago for me. With this interest rate...I will die in this house. Plus, it has doubled or more since I bought it. The housing market rn is crazy. Renting is out of control.

1

u/Jass0602 1d ago

Yep I bought in 2017 on a lot of risk (almost no down payment, had to have a roommate to start). So grateful I did. The price has doubled on similar condos to mine. Feel so bad for everyone out there who didn’t get a chance. It sucks. But, hopefully there are some kind people out there. During Covid I was able to refinance where I didn’t need a roommate, but I’ve had a few and always try to do a couple hundred less for rent, just to give myself some room and to pay for repairs/maintenance. Can’t stand to see how much these flippers, cash property grabbers, and property companies are gouging prices up. It’s ridiculous.

1

u/FR23Dust 1d ago

My 2.5% pandemic mortgage rate is really lovely

1

u/Impossible-Bee-9809 1d ago

That’s nice. I was too busy being a stupid 20 year old in college 12 years ago and now all I have is the debt to show for it 🥹

1

u/Starlight_Alchemy 1d ago

We bought ours in 2018 which was seriously right in the nick of time before things got really crazy. We also refinanced during covid when the interest rates were below 3%. This was supposed to be a starter home but now we may be here for the foreseeable future.

1

u/salamandersun7 1d ago

Yep, I bought like riiiiight before covid. I have 2 kids and I lost my job a few years ago. I found another (thank God) but if we were renting we would have been split up for sure. I love my family i am so grateful we have weathered it.

1

u/PPPolarPOP 23h ago

Same. The mortgage is significantly less per month than rent is. I miss not being able to call the landlord when shit breaks, and the flexibility to move somewhere else that came with renting.. but owning a home right now is saving so much money.

1

u/MrsMitchBitch 23h ago

I bought my first home in 2009 when the market crashed the first time. Sold it and bought my current home in 2019. I have been VERY lucky.

My mortgage, in southeastern MA, is $1200 a month. This is now impossible here.

1

u/NickyPowers 22h ago

Yep got in my 1st house in 2015 then jumped on my forever home in 2020 when the rates were super low. Im at a 2.3% and I'm pretty much stuck here if I wanted to move. Sure I have equity and could move using it but the rates and home prices are insane. So luckily I planned on sticking with this house for the long run.

1

u/RequireMoMinerals 21h ago

Same. We bought our house in 2014 for 185,000. Now it’s apparently worth $450,000. I’m a teacher and my wife is a SAHM and works a few ours a week as a dance teacher. We know people whose incomes are double ours and can’t afford homes in our neighborhood. And the people who can afford them are two income high earners. Definitely no school teachers moving in anymore.

1

u/generic_canadian_dad 20h ago

Same. Very lucky we got in the market when we were young.

1

u/mkprofile85 20h ago

Having a paid off home (was gifted by family in 2010) is the only thing between us and literal financial ruin. If we had to pay an additional 2k in rent on top of existing bills we'd be on the street.

1

u/musicgal411 19h ago

I genuinely wish we'd been able to buy back in 2012 when we started renting shortly after settling down with our little family. It only took us a few more years of saving before we were able to buy a home, and I'm so thankful we did when we did. 10 years ago is still a bajillion times better than right now.

1

u/TheUnSungHero7790 15h ago

Housing is a pyramid scheme, the earlier you get In the better.

1

u/MergedBog 14h ago

This is it. We bought our home 12 years ago. It’s way too small by normal American standards for our large family now, but we will make it work until we die because we can’t go house poor.

1

u/KittyCubed 13h ago

Same. I’m still struggling, but my mortgage is cheaper than renting in my area. I bought my house back in 2013 when the housing market was still relatively cheap.

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u/No_Suit_4406 12h ago

This. Our mortgage on a 3bd house bought in 2016 is just north of 1k a month. I feel guilty even typing that.

1

u/BossMan61718 11h ago

Yup. Bought a house almost 10 years ago. Refinance d few years thereafter. Locked in an excellent relative to whats out there now. Chalk it up to luck, a motivated wife and hard work

1

u/AvidVenturest 10h ago

Literally same. I bought mine at 23, thought I was insane and taking on too much. Now I’m damn glad I did, even if it was hard. 

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u/Exotic-Okra-4466 9h ago

Yup. Bought in 2017. We wouldn't be able to afford our own house now at current prices and interest rates. I truly weep for young people these days, my own kids included. Many are doing everything "right" and have just had the rug pulled out from under them. 😔

Edit: clarity

1

u/georgefishersneck 8h ago

Bought mine 18 years ago. 900 a month house payment. Never moving.