How minimalism can help you afford a house

The key word here?

DOWNSIZE.

It is far easier to get rid of your huge couch, your armoire, your furniture and all your knick-knacks than it is to have to save up more money for a bigger house (assuming you are going to put at least 20% down as a down payment of course).

Downsizing is something people always seem to miss when they look at homes, at least from what I see on TV.

They say things like:

I need a bigger bedroom, this is NOT going to fit my bed, my armoire, my 2 side tables, and that armchair I bought.

What’s the real cost of all of the above?

Unless you bought really expensive, fancy designer items in the thousands-of-dollars-per-item range like an Eames chair or a Philippe Starck whatchamacallit, it is only a thousand or two (if that), versus having to pony up another $50,000 to be able to afford a house with the space that you think you need to hold all your stuff.

To put it another way, are you buying a house for your furniture, or for yourself?

Being stuck in the mindset that you absolutely must have this and that in your house can cost you a lot more than you think.

Also, I find that even if you have the space, you don’t tend to use it.

Ask yourself: How much space do you REALLY need?