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View Poll Results: Should or Shouldn't?
Should - Go for it! 7 29.17%
Shouldn't - idiot! 17 70.83%
Voters: 24. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 09-02-2018, 07:21 PM
 
35 posts, read 33,254 times
Reputation: 60

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If you have no other means of income (a second job, side job, etc.) I think it's way too close to manage. As others have said, you can account for much of a budget but there's always things that will pop up or you didn't account for.
Electric for a small home (roughly 1000 sq ft) will be approximately $65-$75 a month if your conservative (LED bulbs, no TV's left running all the time, etc.). This is based on spring/fall when no air conditioning is required. Now you're down to $225.


You say "internet". I hope that excludes cable TV which is commonly bundled with internet. Internet alone will be about $65 a month. Cha-ching - now you're down to $160. If you didn't include cable, even the most basic cable will run you another $65 a month.



What about fertilizer for the lawn? ($40 a bag, 3 times per year, plus a few bags of mulch every spring. (unless you're one of those that won't maintain your lawn). Hope you have a lawnmower and basic garden tools, shovels, etc. You'll have a landscaper? Hope you figured on that $45 a week.



What about an occasional gallon of paint? ($26 + rollers, paint trays, etc.). You'll want to replace light fixtures here and there, as well. You'll be running down to Lowe's regularly. Even if you hopefully do most things yourself, materials still add up.



Does the house use oil? There will sure to be huge spikes which you can't account for (you'll nearly cry when you see the oil truck pull up every 2 months from November to March).


What if you get a ticket? $150 with surcharges and then your insurance may rise a bit. Unexpected car repairs, brakes, tires?


What about Christmas/Holiday gifts?



Granted, the sky will not fall and many of these things will not happen at once, but the point is there's always things that will require a few bucks outside of even the tightest-planned budgets.



I'm a big believer in home ownership - but make sure you can run the ship....The last thing you want to do is rely on credit cards - surely racking up those bills will be a hole you'll never dig out of (which many people are in but won't admit).



As you see you were given many opinions. There's no wrong or right...just right for you. Good luck with your decision.
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