Let me explain...

At some point you have to decide when to get into a house. My guess is most couples at our stage in life (one steady salary, or two medium incomes ) can't afford a house unless they choose to. Looking at our income vs. debt and expenses we can't afford a home and wouldn't be able to for years. If we were to get into a house, we would have to abide by a strict budget (Scott has made on excel) which would mean cutting expenses! Less entertainment, less ice cream, less gifts, less of all the extras, even some of the necessities. Cheaper hair products, tampons, gear, food, clothes, etc. I don't think that most of our generation (living around here) know what it is like to be really frugal and go without. I can hear my grandma Walker telling me repeatedly how easy we have it in comparison to her upbringing. We run water, leave lights on, toss out food, don't patch clothes, recycle little, etc. Anyways, there are a lot of areas I could be more frugal in.

What will increase our quality of life more? Having money to do the extra things, or taking those steps of progression to have a place of our own and start a family?

Rent vs. Buy? Well, rent is $700 on up in Davis County and you are usually in a year contract. To buy a home would be a few hundred more, but you wouldn't be tossing money to someone else. It's a huge decision. It's a great time to buy a house because interest rates are down, but it's a bad time to buy a house because people are loosing their jobs.


Debt Free? Do you rent so you can pay off all those darn student loans a lot faster, or do you take the risk and dive in a little deeper for a home?

The Unexpected... Seems to be something Scott and I can't ignore. Our first year of marriage we almost totaled my new car, and his car broke down. That same year I had an unexpected appendicitis, and I am still dealing with our crappy high deductible insurance -that is (a year and a half later) trying to find a way out of paying for my surgery. Now I find out I have complications to having children and only one of our cars is reliable. These are things you don't plan on, that just happen.

In conclusion:
I thought marriage would be the hardest decision I would have to make in life, but it turned out that marriage was the easiest, I didn't really have to decide, I knew so soundly Scott was the one for me. Buying a house and having children seem to be a more confusing road. Do other couples struggle with this decision as we are? Living at my in-laws has been really great, Brent and Sandra are very generous- we have been super lucky to save rent money and Sandra whips up the best meals ever! But, there is an end to all things and we think it is time to leave the nest and create our own. I am really looking forward to decorating my own little house/apartment, experimenting on cooking, teaching violin at my own place, and being able to run around in my garments;) As a child I used to "play house" with my sisters and I am ready to "play house" with Scott. I think it'll be fun!