As I commented on 444Express’s blog, I wonder how first-time homebuyers stomach the necessity of putting most or all of their hard-earned money toward a down payment.
Although in the end we didn’t get the house we first put an offer on, we were pretty scared out of our gourds about emptying out our savings accounts in the event we did “win.” There were visions of months of eating ramen noodles, scrounging around in the cushions for spare change, walking around with our pockets pulled out … you get the idea.
In our own ways, we were trying to wrap our heads around the idea that we’d be “poor” for a while. Once we do actually get our own home, we know we’ll be on a much stricter budget than we are now. There will be money left over at the end of the month, but it will need to go into our savings and, eventually, investments.
What I keep trying to explain to Mr. Saver (and convince myself of) is that the money isn’t “gone,” it’s just turned into equity in the new house. It’s just not there in cash form — sort of like the home and property is one big stock.
No matter the explanation, parting with a down payment is scary shit.
