Bigger house or enjoying life?

[Poisongirl81]

I was always in rented large rented houses. last year I managed to buy but all I could afford with my wage at the time is a 3 bed small house...one bathroom. It's a squeeze with 4 of us. I am pleased I own and my mortgage is low so we can afford holidays...days out etc.

I miss the larger house. If I saved I would be able to buy a bit bigger but it would mean no holidays... not being able to just buy the kids things etc

What would you do ?

A 3 bed house is ample for a family of 4. The extra space would be nice of course but children will remember the holidays and fun times when they grow up, not the colour of their wallpaper etc.

I just keep telling myself 'think of the extra cleaning!'

Having bigger family houses seems to be a new thing?! Families of 5 used to manage just fine in a standard 3bed with 1 bathroom. Like pink said...I grew up remembering great family holidays...sharing a room with my sister never bothered me

Kids will absolutely not remember having smaller living room etc but they will remember family holidays and memories of good times. A 3 bed is plenty for a family of 4 - we are in the same situation.

If you have an increase in earnings forecast and the sacrifice would be for a limited period then I'd say go for it if you'd all enjoy living in the extra space much more. day to day happiness is important. However if that's not the case, I wouldn't sacrifice indefinitely no as you also need to enjoy life in other ways too.

I wouldn't completely sacrifice holidays for my DC for a bigger house, as the one you have is sufficient.
I would go on cheaper holidays and lots of days out/picnics instead if there was room for compromise. You only bought last year and you did well to go straight to a 3 bed. l would make a plan to find the finances to move up in a few years without missing out.

Having a spacious house is nic, but it's not the be and end all.

Thanks all....yes they will remember the holidays and days out etc which I couldn't do any of if I upped the mortgage. It's just a squeeze it's a small 3 bed and I was just used to having more space x

And no my wage won't go up.again so would have to live on what we have now.

I used to dream about getting a bigger place, but in the end I realised that the amount of stuff would just expand to fill it... Am now decluttering instead and making the most of what we've got!

I wouldn't go without holidays/experiences for a bigger house. Enjoy having the spare money now to enjoy life!

I agree that ruthless decluttering is the key to being happy in a smaller space. Our house is small but doesn't fell cluttered and never has as we keep 'stuff' to a minimum.

Feel obviously

Stay where you are. Declutter so you don' have lots of stuff to store.

Would there be scope to add a small downstairs extension to provide extra space and possibly a second toilet later on? Likely to be much cheaper than moving to a bigger property.

Stay in the 3 bed and de-clutter. I moved up to a 4 bed house, from a 3 bed, and we are a family of 4.
I regret it! It is a lot more cleaning and the 4th bedroom isn't used at all. I hate having 3 toilets in the house now too! It has also meant I had to work FT rather than stay PT.
We are planning on moving again in 2 years as my youngest will join her brother at the secondary school (across town and he has to get a bus). We are planning on a 3 bed (but bigger than what we had before) and clear the last bit on the mortgage (so I can do something else with my life).

Life over house without question. I have a small 3 bed, the moment the children have left home it's going on the market so I can get something smaller... My friend has an old 1 bedo crofters cottage in a very rural location, I'm insanely jealous of it. When the family are getting too much, I fantasise about swapping lives .

We up-sized to a big house and after 5 years of financial pressures, scrimping on holidays, endless cleaning, massive heating bills & so on we're selling up & downsizing to live life & make holiday memories with my family - so my advice would be to stay put!

We've chosen life over bigger house. We have a small 3 bed and there's 4 of us. Have very little mortgage left (it'll be gone in about 2 years), but even then I doubt we will move as where we are now works for us, specially the kids in terms of friends and schools.

Our neighbours are a family of 5 in a 3 bed. Their kids are all late teens and they manage fine.

I know what you mean tho, sometimes I think it'd be nice to have bigger bedrooms, a spare room, etc. But we've been smart about how we use the space we have, plus regular decluttering helps too.

nemoni that's an honest post. Hope the move goes well.

I had the same thoughts recently and had a thread about it. Dh said he wanted to stay in our 2 bed house as it was a good commute for him and we had a very cheap mortgage.

There are days I dream about a 3 bed but we've had ridiculously expensive month and it's made me realise that not having to worry about money like that is a pretty good position to be in.

A 3 bed in our part of London would be just too much for us!

Thanks all you've made me feel better. Think I will stay put as I like having money for holidays and extras.

Sort out your priorities and necessities. Owning a house is one of our basic needs. Having some holiday trips are leisures and it could not be our priority. Otherwise, we can enjoy life without spending too much.

Whicjh makes u happier
? Day to day ease of a big house ? If it indeed means ease ? Or wd it be a burden ?
Or holidays ? And daily life in a smaller home ..
I'm in a four storey but Narrow house - terraced 12 foot wide - but it has a lower ground floor kitchen 12 x22 - we have loads teens in the house , parties in that kitchen as we can spread between the floors - it makes me feel relaxed that we can spread out if we want to . We can't afford holidays much . It's old and expensive to heat . If we downsized we wd be mortgage free with cash in the bank but for now the space means more than holidays . The dc like it as they can have folk round , gatherings etc .
If I was the type of person who didn't need space then I'd go for a smaller house with holidays as that wd be winnwin .... I thknk depends on what type of person you are .. yes my dc will have missed hill days but they remember it being a place where pals more than weklcone - however you might be able to get that and holidays - do what good for you 😄

life over house every day of the week.

we are 4 in a 3 bedroom house and wouldn't move to a bigger one - i worked out it would cost us £12,000 in fees alone- with not alot more to show house wise. not sure why a family of 4 would need a bigger house but each to their own.

I would stay put and have more money to spend on holidays, etc.

I agree with everyone. Stay put.

To improve living space you could always add a garden room or something, if you could afford it/extend the mortgage. Or convert the shed into a chill-out room for the kids. I agree with the declutter advice too.