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When starting this process it can be overwhelming. However, the benefits outweighs the stress!
If you are thinking of downsizing it can be an emotional roller-coaster. According to Ramseysolutions.com sentimental reasons should not stop you from achieving your goal and potentially have more financial freedom.
Here are some of the reasons that will tug at your heartstrings and make you vacillate in making decisions.
You have lived in your long term home for years with fear of leaving behind all of those memories.
Adult children guilt, reminding you of all the memories the current home has over the years. But do not let your family dictate your path to more financial freedom.
Change is tough! No one, I mean no one likes change. This brings you outside of your comfort zone and so many of us are not fans of this...producing anxiety and giving you that funny feeling. However, it is when we live outside of our comfort zone when we grow and learn more.
Keeping up with the Jones' When you get into this rut it can be hard to see your way out of it. But living within a lesser value means can provide so much extra cash flow for those bucket list trips, paying off debt and so on!
On the flip side here are some of the benefits that keep tugging at your shoulder. This provides so much more financial freedom.
Building your emergency fund with the equity from your current house. Many houses in SWFL have increased 250% or move with this current market increase.
Rightsizing your home does more than just lower the overall home cost. The utilities also drop, saving your monthly expenses budget.
Purchasing a new home with no mortgage!
Paying off debt, car loans, etc...leaving your income all yours!!!!
Taking those bucket list trip you always dreamed of taking.
Purchase that vacation house you always dreamed about.
What Does Downsizing Your Home Actually Look Like?*
*Source Ramseysolutions.com
Let’s see what the impact of downsizing could look like. Pretend you and your spouse own a four-bedroom home you bought 10 years ago when your two kids were young. At 3,000 square feet, you’ve got plenty of room for your family and friends to hang out.
Unfortunately, everything else in your life feels cramped.
Even though you and your spouse work hard to provide for the family, you never seem to have the money to do fun things outside of the house. With a $60,000 household income, your $1,375 mortgage payment takes up nearly a third of your paycheck each month. You have enough to cover the bills each month, but that’s it.
You’re making slow progress on your car loan—the last remaining bill in your debt snowball. Once it’s paid off, you’re looking at an additional two years to build your emergency fund before you’re ready to invest for retirement. You’ll turn 43 this year too, so you don’t want to delay saving for retirement much longer.
Also, it won’t be long before your two kids—ages 12 and 14—leave the nest. You and your spouse want to make the most of the time you have left together under the same roof, so you decide it’s time to trade all your space for the life you really want.
From Barely Paying Bills to Baby Step 4
After you declutter your home, you work with a real estate agent to get it sold. After a month on the market, you accept an offer for $300,000. With just $165,000 left on your mortgage, you bank $135,000 off the sale.
That chunk of cash catapults you forward to Baby Step 4, eliminating debt and setting you up with a solid emergency fund. To celebrate this major money milestone, you use some of the proceeds from your home sale to go on a much-needed family vacation. You also have plenty of cash left to put a sizeable down payment on a smaller home and cover any closing costs.
Thinking of downsizing? Minimizing bills? Lets connect today and create a plan!
~ Felicia, xoxo
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