are you house poor?

if spending more than half of my monthly income to pay for the housing loan, does that make me house poor? i am currently spending about that amount on my housing loan. thankfully it's only for the next 24 years. after that, i'll have fully paid up my home. however, i won't pay that amount for rental as i don't think i can sustain the payment when i retire. cheers ;p

No, I am not house poor. I learned many years ago the importance of living beneath my means. That way, I could save money and have a "padding" of funds in the event an emergency arose. Yes, I agree, it is surprising how some of the smartest people I know do not know how to properly manage their money to live a good and financially stress-free life. Good question, cher913.

We are very fortunate that we are not. We've owned our home for 35 years and are in good shape financially. Our homeowners insurance is very costly since we also carry the cars and my husband's business insurance on the policy. I only work 2 days a week away from the house so my little income is primarily used for spending money. I would like to work more hours but my job is seasonal and the season is about to end.

Yes I think people wanting a nice place to live get into this situation far too often. In way over their heads. I believe that is why we have so many forclosures now. Some bought when the interest rates was down and now that they have gone up the payment on their house has gone up too and they can't make it or are barely making it.

Look around the world and you will see that 99% of the world population is going through this situaition. it is terrible but there is nothing we can do about it. expenses grows on a daily basis and income remain constant.

Hi,I am not a house poor. I think there are many more ways to spend money and my house, where i do stay, must be good, specious, healthy, neat & clean and simple. But, it need not to be too expensive. Look its totally my point of view, anyone else can think different.

Yes, as a matter of fact. Hubby and I have only been married for 3 1/2 years. About a year before that, he refinanced his house and stupidly got one of those mortgages with fluctuating rates. The first 3 years, it was at a low rate, then fluctuating. For the first 3 years (2 years of our marriage), we were properly paying about 1/4 of our income for housing. Then it changed. Our payments went up over $500 a month!!! And when we looked into refinancing, we discovered that he now owed about $20,000 more than the house is worth. So that's out of the question. Hubby gets paid twice a month (and I can't work) and the mortgage payment takes up almost one entire check. Add water and electric, and that check is gone.

I don't think I would call myself house poor but it is a struggle everyday to make ends meet. We have just moved south recently and it can be a challenge because there are more bills than money. My husband is working and he is trying to help us and I think that he is doing a pretty good job. It isn't always easy but you have to be patient.