• Home
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Policy
  • Guest Post
  • Archive

One Cent At A Time

A Personal finance blog to get rich

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Beautiful Life
  • Becoming Rich
  • Beginners Guide
  • Extra Income
  • Productivity
  • Saving Money

Advantages of Living in a Small Home

January 13, 2014 9 Comments

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Email

Here I am again with another personal story. This is about our small 2 BHK apartment. Over the last couple of months an urge to buy our first home started to develop in me. All my friends, even the ones who came to this country from India are now home owners. Even my sister-in-law is a home owner too, in Houston. Lately were questioned by many about it. They even started making guesses about our financial situation, or the lack of money.

Cramped Room

This is a strange situation to be in. It becomes very difficult to explain people who ask the same question multiple times. They simply think paying rent is waste of money. Some even calculated the amount of rent we paid in last 8 years and thus the money we wasted. Yes, we paid rent without building equity on a property of our own. but we did save on things we would otherwise would have spent money on.

I had written about my calculation before and recently came across a very good video tutorial on Buy vs rent, which solidified my way of thinking this whole buy vs. rent stuff. In the morning, while doing regular check on our credit card bills. I was pleasantly surprised with the way we spent in last few months. I attribute to the small apartment we live in.

As per our last 6 months of credit card statements, we almost spent nothing on durable goods, barring the new car we got in September. We spent most on rent and followed by travel, food and Gas.

We didn’t buy a single piece of furniture in last 6 months. We didn’t buy any new gadget either. No, there was no addition to bed sheets or pillows even. And we did it unknowingly/unintentionally!

Do you know what’s the biggest reason of this?

We have a small place to live and the place is so full with things, we just don’t think of buying something new that can occupy space. There’s no room for a furniture (the tine plastic Christmas tree I bought was somehow accommodated in between our dining table and sofa).

The walls in our rooms are full with memorabilia we keep on buying from the places we visit (last year we had 5 travels) and the pictures we keep on taking. SMB, my wife, loves to take pictures and she takes pictures by thousands each day, when she’s out-door. Some of those do occupy spaces on our walls.

In fact, I had to do a little DIY in our bed room to make room for the books I get to read and review every now and then. All out walk in closets, chest of drawers and night stands are full. In fact I had to take few hours to clean up the night stands during holidays. I got rid of almost 5 lbs of paper from them.

Walls full

To make the matter worse, our freezer is also full and can’t accommodate any more magnets on the outer door wall. Kitchen shelves are full with sauces, powders, packets, bottles and spices.The granite is full with mixer, grinder, magic bullet, toaster, utensil stand, spices, sauces, fruit baskets, dough maker, rice cooker etc, etc.

We freak out if any one of us talks about buying something new which would occupy space. The only possibility of buying things new is to replace. But coming from a background in India, where we never throw goods in working condition, out, it’s unlikely that we will replace anything in near-future.

Yes, its high time that we replace our mattress, but apart from that, everything is functional, working. Naturally there was no durable item in our buying list since Last August (2013). We will try not to buy new gadgest. We will only upgrade SMB’s cell phone in April, when it’s due. She has an iPhone 3, the phone lost all its smartness long back and now functions as a basic phone with only voice and text capabilities.

Apart from this automatic control over impulses, there are other undeniable benefits of staying in a smaller place.

  • We use less energy to heat up/cool down our apartment
  • We don’t pay property taxes or other housing related expenses. The ones my friends pay and complain about
  • We don’t have to worry about replacing appliances, let owner worry about that
  • We don’t have to hire cleaners to clean our home
  • No lawn/garden care expenses (although I love gardening)
  • No other maintenance cost

While saying that I am happy with my status as a renter, I do miss that extra room we can make in to a study come hobby room, that lovely garden that only exists in my dream, or, the two car garage where our two cars can take refuge in when it’s raining outside.

Buying a new home may also elevate our status, to at least a few friends. So, it’ll be a constant tussle in our mind, to buy or not to buy. Till we buy, at least there’s one good thing – No buying unnecessary stuff!

LIKE THIS POST?
I agree to have my personal information transfered to MailChimp ( more information )
Join our community of 8000+ subscribers to increase your net worth and build wealth
We hate spam. Your email address will not be sold or shared with anyone else.

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Email
The tool that changed the way I manage my personal finance - Personal Capital, The Best Free Personal Finance Tool

Want to start a WordPress blog now? The onecentatatime.com blog is hosted by Siteground Web Hosting. For only $3.95 a month, Siteground can help you set up and host your website/blog quickly and easily.

About the Blogger Hi I am SB, a personal finance enthusiast with a career in software development. I am an immigrant to the USA since 2005, after being born and brought up in India. This 40 something technocrat lives and breathes personal finance whenever he gets time from the day job, job as a husband and a dad

Some links on this page may be affiliate links, if you make a purchase following the links, I may earn a commission. Read affiliate disclosure here
« “Tax” – Helps us Relax
Best Places to Invest Your Money in 2014 »

Comments

  1. kathryn says

    January 13, 2014 at 12:40 AM

    There is a compromise here. After our 4 children moved from home, we all decided to buy a 5 unit apt building. Each of us took a unit. We share ownership of the property and all expenses that go along with it.They weren’t ready to own a house, and we didn’t need to live in such a large house anymore.We rent out our family home.
    As the kids outgrow their apt, they will rent it out.
    You could buy a multi-family property, and rent out the other units. You will be basically living rent free. In the future you may want a house, and then you can use the equilty built up in this property, and the rent from your apt, to finance it.
    We own lots of other rental properties too. We have always told our kids, paying rent is dead money.

    Reply
  2. Justin @ Decisive Dollar says

    January 13, 2014 at 9:39 AM

    This is a very insightful post. I think that you touch on a key point and that buying vs. renting all depends on the individual/family. In your example, buying a home would likely mean that you’d end up fill up every nook and cranny with more stuff (not necessarily a bad thing) though it would be more money out of your pocket (potentially more than the money you’d save from not having rent). It should always be a personal decision and never about status though that’s much easier said than done! I applaud you for sticking to your own strategy despite what others say about it.

    Reply
  3. Michelle @fitisthenewpoor says

    January 13, 2014 at 12:07 PM

    We’re childless and in an apartment. We just see no need to buy at the moment, especially since rent vs. own are at the same rate in our city.

    When we’re ready to buy, we’ll buy. But I see no rush to do it!

    Reply
    • SB says

      January 14, 2014 at 5:15 PM

      I do see it the same way. We are not losing money by renting. If property prices not going up drastically then actually I am earning more by having the down payment invested.

      My portfolio (non retirement) earned at 10% in last 3 years. So I actually made more money by renting.

      Reply
  4. Snarkfinance says

    January 15, 2014 at 7:32 AM

    I have always been a large proponent of rent vs. buy specifically for young professionals. Largely due to the mobility flexibility one has when renting. Of course, in many cities the math is neutral to negative for buying. I am looking to buy, however, in the next two years. One thing that is important to acknowledge is that owning a home in full is always cheaper than renting, even if there are additional or increased expenses. We plan on reaching that point within 6-8 years of buying in an area where the equation is neutral, and so in the long term buying is superior financially for this particular plan.

    Reply
  5. Bryce @ Save and Conquer says

    January 16, 2014 at 1:15 AM

    Our house is only 1370 sq. ft. Like your apartment, our house is fairly packed. We cannot buy anything new unless we get rid of something else, first. Like you, that means we don’t need to buy much. Even when we got married 14 years ago, we told our guests not to give us anything because we already had too much stuff in our house. Which reminds me, I gotta clean out the garage. We park my wife’s Prius in there, but even without the car in the garage, I cannot get to one of the work benches. Too much stuff! I see a garage sale in my future.

    Reply
  6. Alex says

    January 24, 2014 at 3:11 PM

    I rent a small house and there are advantages, like you say. I would one day like the status and ‘pride’ that goes with owning my own house, but for now my living space is ideal and doesn’t cost a fortune to run.
    The landlord recently provided a new freezer too, which is more efficient. I’m certainly glad that I didn’t have to find a way of paying for one when my old freezer broke.

    Reply
  7. Fig @ Figuring Money Out says

    January 26, 2014 at 8:22 PM

    I totally love smaller spaces! I live in a small house and never really want to change to anything bigger. I like having less space to clean and less space to heat and otherwise take care of. I also like that it makes it easier to not feel like I need to buy stuff to fill it up!

    Reply
  8. Hannah says

    September 24, 2015 at 5:34 AM

    That’s what’s fun about small spaces. You’ve got to be smart and control everything that gets in and you have to choose what stays inside the house and what goes out. And it’s really hard to lose something in a very small space. When I started living in my condo, I was much more responsible with where I put my clothes and essential things because if I didn’t it will get stuffed with me noticing it. So I became more mature and more responsible, which is one good benefit for anyone who has just started living away from their parents.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.



Create your own blog in 20 minutes and $20

Personal Capital, a free tool to change your financial health today

I use and suggest Upstart, for your personal loan need

CreditKarma, a free tool to check your credit scorey

I use Coinbase, for my crypto investments

101 Cents at a Time

101 Ways to Earn Extra Money on the Side
201 Frugal and Perfect Birthday Gifts
101 Ways to Save Money Everyday
101 Ways to be Better and Successful at Work
101 Ways to Save Environment and Energy
101 Frugal and Romantic Anniversary Ideas
101 Low-Cost Men's Fashion Ideas
101 Personal Finance Tips
101 Ways to Reuse Household Stuff
101 Things to Do, When Nothing to Do
101 College Graduation Gift Ideas
100 Tips for Ecommerce Startup
101 Ways to Enjoy Indoor During Winter
101 Ways to Beat Procrastination

Popular Posts

Quick Cash - How to make $100 legally, in a day
Living well on less than $15,000 a Year
Top survey sites for side income
What to do when auto repair goes wrong
Where should I invest my money now?
20 Ways to be productive and happy at work
51 Ways to get out of debt
Be a better person in 15 days, 15 ways
Income ideas for retirees and senior citizens
51 side jobs for college students
Urgently need a large amount of money?
Should I buy or should I rent?
Best Personal loan providers
25 Ways to save environment
25 DIY car repairs to save money
How to decorate office cubicle
How to show your wife you care
50 Financial Rules for Success
51 Frugal weekend family activity ideas
Become Rich By Saving 1 Hour Of Daily Wage
How much do I need to save for retirement?
How to negotiate your salary

Follow us on FaceBook

About Author

SB

Blogger by choice and IT manager by profession. Finance is my passion and gardening is my greatest satisfaction. Born in India, settled in US, Husband and a father. I created this blog in 2011 with a vision to help others. Thanks for your patronage. More info on my "about" page.

View all posts


Subscribe

Join our community of 5000+ subscribers to increase net worth and build wealth

Advertisements

Personal Stories

How I got a new HP computer replaced
Was COVID circulating in USA in fall of 2019?
How my credit score went up 800+
Why I didn’t invest in Bitcoins
How I controlled impulses to buy things
Why this blog is named One Cent at a Time

Subscribe via Email

Site Disclaimer

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in this web site are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Read full Affiliate disclosure


One Cent at a Time is published by SB. The opinions expressed herein by him are his own and not those of his employer or anyone else. All content on One Cent at a Time is for entertainment purposes only. By reading this blog, you agree that SB and/or One Cent at a Time is not responsible for any actions taken after reading this blog. For the full disclaimer, click here .

Major Media Mention

One Cent at a Time Media Appearances

Copyright © 2023 One Cent At A Time · Designed by Nuts and Bolts Media