👉 Okay, let’s tackle that wonderfully dreadful saying! "'
My mortgage is half my income!' shouting that out loud is basically a financial middle finger to yourself and the homeowner who probably still has equity somewhere.
."
Let's unpack what this actually means, because honestly, we rarely stop to think about the sheer ridiculousness of it. Essentially, you’re telling me your monthly housing payment – principal, interest, escrow for stuff like property taxes and homeowner's insurance (ugh, gotta love those levies!) - is exactly 50% of every single dollar that actually lands in your bank account each month. Now, this isn’t necessarily a hugely bad thing... right out there immediately. Somewhere between "Okay, it's tight, but doable with careful budgeting and maybe selling your matching armchair." and “I just sold my vintage Star Trek Borg communicator to make the car payment! (…and I really needed that Borg communicator!).." Here’s what makes it so alarming: you have almost no wiggle room. That means a late bill, an unexpected vet visit for Mr. Snuggles the goldfish, even a slightly overripe avocado in your fridge... BAM – immediate financial stress, and you're probably staring at that little prepayment notice on your mortgage with a slow-lorry kind of dread. It basically guarantees you are living paycheck to paycheck, just with an added, very pointy, housing-related consequence.
