benefits of owning a smaller home by inspiredbudget.com

When my husband and I were buying our first house, I thought that the bigger the house, the better the house!  We didn’t have a ton of money, so we bought a smaller home in our neighborhood, but that didn’t keep me from longing after floor plans of homes that were 2,500+ square feet.  I wanted that extra bonus room. I would have loved the extra office space. I was dying for a third bathroom. But then we moved in and I realized that I loved our “smaller home.”  (Of course, I still think our home is plenty big enough!)  As I grew to love our home, I realized that at times it seemed almost too big.  Especially on the weekend when it had to be cleaned!  

To be perfectly honest, I’d love to buy an even smaller home.  However, my husband also lives here and he absolutely does not want less space.  And they say that in marriage you have to compromise, so we are compromising by keeping the perfect-for-us amount of space that we have.  Regardless of my living situation, I fully believe that there are amazing benefits to owning a smaller home.  I know it might not be for everyone, but I bet you can’t argue that some of these benefits are worth losing the bonus room or office that you rarely use.

You have less to clean.

As someone who mostly cleans on the weekends, I love the idea of having fewer chores to deal with on my time off!  Sweeping and mopping are my nemeses, so less is more in my book!  Imagine if you could clean your house from top to bottom in 30 minutes.  Not to mention that you’d be saving money on cleaning products! When you have less to clean, you don’t buy products as often!

Smaller mortgage anyone?

Typically, the smaller home you buy, the smaller your mortgage will be.  This is the main reason why people all over the world are ditching the traditional home mortgage and building tiny houses!  Now I’m not recommending that you live in a 200 square feet tiny house, but wouldn’t it be nice to owe less to your mortgage company?  That means you have the potential to pay off your home sooner by having a 15-year mortgage instead of a 30-year mortgage!

Less house equals less furniture.

To be perfectly honest, for a person who is terribly indecisive when it comes to home decor and furniture, the thought of furnishing a massive home gives me anxiety!  So many lamps to choose from! So many sofas to buy! What if I buy something and hate it 3 months later? If you have a smaller home, these purchases are still very important, but you make fewer purchases altogether. I love that you can make quality purchases that will last longer.  Instead of feeling like you need to run to Ikea and buy the cheapest furniture to fill every room, you can spend money on what you want most.

benefits of owning a smaller home by inspiredbudget.com

And don’t forget about spending less on utilities!

When you have a smaller home, your electricity bill is going to be a lot less.  Period. You have fewer lights.  Less air conditioning. Less gas to heat your home.  This was a huge factor when it came to us buying a large home.  I knew that the electricity bill in the heat of summer would be outrageous if we owned a larger home!

Remodeling and decorating your home costs less.

Imagine you want to rip out that builder grade carpet and put in nice hardwood floors in your living area.  It’s going to cost less if your living area is larger. That’s just math! The larger your home, the more remodeling it and decorating it will cost.  If you have space on your walls and you want to fill it with frames, it’s going to cost more if your wall is larger. Plus, if you have a smaller home, you can focus on decorating it with pieces that you love and gather over time!

You get more time to do what you love.

I know that so many people just want more time in their life.  Time to spend with family. Time to work on their goals. Time to enjoy their life.  A smaller home means more time to do what you want to do with your life instead of dealing with your home.  So what is it that you would want to do if you had an extra 1 or 2 hours in each day?  Would you spend it with nature?  Reading a book?  Imagine the possibilities!

benefits of owning a smaller home by inspiredbudget.com

Financial freedom is a perk!

You can’t deny that buying a smaller home will help you reach financial freedom sooner!  With all your bills, expenses, and mortgage being less than if you had a large house, you cannot deny that you’d have more money to do what you want!  Of course, I would say to save the money or put it towards retirement.  But you could always use the savings to travel somewhere new each year!

Your family might just grow closer.

The smaller home you have, the more likely you are to grow closer with those that live under your roof.  Some people have two living rooms.  In that case, there is always the option to “escape” to another living space or your bedroom.  If you don’t have that escape option, you are forced to grow with your family and learn to live with each other.  There are more possibilities for conversations and time spent together.  And as your kids grow older, you might just appreciate that time together a little bit more.

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