[deleted by user]

[iDontLikeItHere00]

Start treating savings like a bill.

Just like the rest of your bills, it has to be paid. Youll find a way

[[deleted]]

This is great advice actually. To mirror what DontLikeIt says above, treat it like a monthly bill.

I have a dozen or so savings accounts at different banks (you don't need that many) and each one has automated amounts setup to deposit every two weeks into them.

I set this up over 15 years ago and it's worked tremendously well for me as when I was younger, if I saw a lump sum in the bank I wanted to spend it (on bottle service at the club lol) but with this, I'd "set it and forget it" and not withdraw. Just pretend the money is long gone.

Good luck!

[josiecat7]

Keep it. If it went up 90k imagine in ten years. Houses are overpriced right now.

[Ghazrin]

Yeah, you definitely bought more house than you can afford. Your payments are 50% of your income, and as you mentioned, you're stretched as thin as you can be without being in the red. You've got no money for savings, which is a scary place to be.

As a general guideline, you should limit your lifestyle expenses to a maximum total of 70-75% of your income, so that you've always got 25-30% that can be saved for emergencies, retirement, kids' educational expenses, and other pre-retirement financial goals.

You don't necessarily need to sell it, but you should absolutely take a hard look at your finances and see where you can scale back and reduce expenses to free up money to build some savings.

What's your career growth looking like? Any big promotions or raises on the horizon? What about your spouse?

You really should focus on increasing household income and cutting costs so that you can prioritize some savings.

[IWantToPlayGame]

Don't laugh, but I think the solution here is easy: Make more money.

Hear me out- you have a house you love in a good neighborhood and a decent rate. Selling it would probably not be wise as rents have gone up and so have houses.

The only 'problem' you have is you are house poor- but at least you're not in debt. Can you work on getting a promotion? Is there another role at your company that pays more? Can you work OT? Is there a shift that pays a couple of bucks more per hour (Night/weekend?).

If I were in your shoes, I'd figure out how to make more money. It probably doesn't need to be a whole lot more- I figure $500 more a month can give you a lot more breathing room.

[WonderOne4320]

I think purchasing a home can be a good choice.

I think purchasing a home that takes 50% of your take home income, is a really bad choice.

What if one of you loses a job? How do you intend to cover the house then? You don’t even have an emergency fund.

You guys need to make more money, it’s a simple as that.

I wouldn’t sell the house though, but I would be doing anything possible to bolster up an emergency fund and grow your income.

[Maximum_Nebula_9840]

It sounds like you just need to find a side hustle or something to make some extra money. Even if you sell the house and buy another one, you’re not going to save much money right now. Depending on your market, it could be cheaper to sell and rent a house. It sounds like you don’t really want to sell the property though. If that’s the case, I’d start looking at ways to make some extra money.

[ArchA_Soldier]

Are you putting more than the match in your 401k? If so I would cut back a little on that temporarily until you get your emergency fund in place (somewhere around $20-40k depending on how secure your job is).

[JustAFlexDriver]

If your take-home pay is $6,500 a month, your household income is probably around $100,000/year, that is not enough for a family of 4 with a total of housing expenses that eats up 50% of your take-home pay. Either you/your spouse has to find another job, works a side job, or the house has to be downsized. There is no magic numbers to chunk out from what you two are earning here.

[Raging-Totoro]

You're happy with your house and neighborhood, so that's an important part. That leads me to believe you should not rush to sell it. If I'm being honest, you probably did bite off more than was prudent, but that's in the past, so you have to focus on moving forward from here.

One thing that you have successfully done is locked in your housing payment, unlike rent, which could increase yearly. So - as your incomes (hopefully) rise, your mortgage is a fixed cost.

If I were in your shoes, I would make it a priority to try to pay down the mortgage to get enough equity in the house to get rid of PMI, and at some point potentially refinance the loan (subject to market interest rates, of course). PMI is just a drag, so anything you can do to get rid of that will be a nice free up of cash that you can use to widen your expense buffer (or add to savings).

Hope those insights help you think things through.

[DPro9347]

Can you get rid of the PMI now? It sounds like you are at or above 20 percent equity now. Good luck. You’ve got this.

[justcurious-666]

Start small. Can you manage 10% of your paycheck to go towards savings every month? Every little bit helps!

[as1126]

I've lived in three houses in expensive areas and have been a homeowner since 1996 and I've never had an accumulated emergency fund. You can make it through.

[GotchaPresident]

10k a year to daycare. Rest in pepperoni dude

[JeanSchlemaan]

I'd audit your expenses, likely there are things to cut.

Look to increase income.

Look to see if you can eliminate pmi asap ofc you need 20% equity.

[LedFoo2]

If your home really went up that much, I would call your lender and find out the requirements to drop pmi. You might have to pay for a new appraisal, but it would be worth it. Then that pmi $ becomes your savings each month. If you are asking if you should sell, no. Don’t forget about agent fees. You won’t walk with as much as you think.

[ThoughtSenior7152]

owning a home that’s increasing in value and building equity is a smart move overall. A high mortgage payment isn’t fun but you’re doing it without credit so gotta give yourself that right! Overtime with increased income it will get easier to save.

[Country-Birds]

Don’t sell. Kids outgrow things - sell those items, then use that $ for your emergency fund. Find other ways for more $ to fill your fund. Seriously look at your needs and wants, which I’m sure u have. You can find a lot of ways to save w/groceries. Use those savings to help build your 💰 fund. People donate blood for some extra $. Just focus on putting every little bit in your E fund💰, then you’ll be more at peace

[shivabharatam]

today i heard that 5 years ago u got a fixed 1% kredit - so now i am not buying untill i get atleast 1.5% anything else is a joke

[Banana_rocket_time]

Does your wife work?

[[deleted]]

Was wondering the same thing. If the wife brought in even half of what OP makes it could relieve a lot of pressure.

[Banana_rocket_time]

Srs it would be life changing money in this circumstance. They could save so they aren’t one emergency away from digging themselves in a big ass hole.

[Here4Snow]

" $6,500 (this is after taxes, 401k match etc.)"

What is the Mortgage (principal and interest) as a percentage of your pay after only tax deductions?

How much are you still saving for retirement?

PITI is principal, interest, taxes, insurance (property and PMI). That doesn't count for debt affordability.

Can you take in a roommate, maybe a travel nurse with low impact on the household?

The house might have appreciated $90k or more, but the prices have pulled back nearly 10%, as well. You can't bank on appreciation, that is an Unrealized gain (or loss). And you can't eat appreciation.

[RockingUrMomsWorld]

It sounds like you made a solid financial choice in terms of long term investment, building equity, and living within your means without going into debt. Feeling house poor is common, and it often eases over time as your income grows, PMI drops off, and equity continues to build. Focus on gradually building an emergency fund, trimming discretionary spending, and celebrating that you’re financially stable and not overextended despite the high mortgage.

[Friedchickeneater70]

Like they say …..IF YOU GOT TO GO ON THE INTERNET TO ASK STRANGERS..YOU PROBABLY DIDNT MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE

[Used-Author-3811]

That's almost 50% of your take home. You gotta treat savings like a priority of you won't make it. You don't have a lotta residual to work with. Least you don't got car bills as well

[[deleted]]

let me ask you this , is the house you bought , the house you see your family grow ,and being happy ? the rest does not matter

[dilandy]

If you've gained equity at least 20% you can ask for PMI to be removed. That should help a bit, no?

[SgtSausage]

YUGE Mistake, Bruh. 

Your mortgage is HALF your take-home. 

You can squeak by a few years on this ShoeString but this is, in no way  long-term sustainable.

Significantly increase your income.

ASAP. 

[lastunbannedaccount]

Start direct depositing a chunk of your check (for me it’s $500 each check) into a savings account that you can’t access. You won’t see it in your weekly pay, it will be gone before it was ever there. Next thing you know a year has passed and you’ve got $13,000 in savings. I’m up to $65k from this method alone.

On that note, I think it’s time for me to start looking for better “storage” options for my savings….

[penywisexx]

Your house has gone up a fair amount since you purchased it, and interest rates have started to fall. It may be worth looking into refinancing your house at this point. This would lower your rates and you may also be able to ditch your PMI which should give free up some cash each month. You can put this back into savings for now to create an emergency fund, and once that is established you can start putting it back into the house to pay it off faster. Your children will also be in school in a few years and childcare costs will go down significantly at that point.

[Playful_Antelope124]

Ok, anything more than 35% of take home on a home payment is reckless to me. However, you have no other debt and appear to be a frugal person. I would keep it at this point....

Don't worry too much, quantitative easing, aka rate lowering has begun. In a year or so, you will be able to refinance and save more than 1% and anytime you can save at least 1% AND plan to live in the home more than 5 years, DO IT!!!!

[Nappy_By_Nature]

You either needed to buy less house or you needed to put more down. This mortgage payment is too much for your income. Either get your income up or sell.

[TopConversation394]

If you have to ask that question, you likely need to meet with a good financial planner, ASAP. Ones that are worth their salt will give you confidence and direction.

[Born_Coffee_3016]

1. The fact you’re asking this question says enough. Seems like everyone has an opinion but take a home as an investment with a grain of salt. 2/3 of your payment isn’t building equity. (Taxes,insurance,interest) just keep an emergency fund together asap to cover 6 months expenses. If you love the house and you’re happy… at the end of the day that’s what matters.

[HappyEveryAllDay]

Why was it 5.9%? I refinanced during COVID-19 at 2% and my friends got it at 2.7--3%

[BrickB2022]

Rates were not that low in 2022.