400k house estimated - became a 470k house / an experience report

Ultimately, it is also a question of what one values in terms of living comfort. I simply find it really wonderful to work in the garden on the weekend, to be close to nature and yet be quickly in the city, the neighborhood is great and after work we like to sit on the terrace and in winter in front of the fireplace. All of this is definitely worth it to me. I see cases in my circle of acquaintances where much more value is placed on an expensive car or other status symbols have a high priority. A distant acquaintance with a €12,000 watch on his wrist is absolutely stunned when he hears how someone can spend €500 in the garden center.

You are right about your statements on luxury - but not about "it used to be expensive as well."

I think today people have a completely different standard than in the past. When I think of my parents' house (built in 1989): no electric shutters, underfloor heating only in the living room, otherwise wall radiators, toilets with flush tanks in the bathrooms, shower doors made of plastic, windows that can be broken open within seconds, and an electrical installation that was limited to "three sockets and one light switch per room." There was no internet back then, no real ventilation systems either, and the attic was not insulated. The heating costs today are still three times what we pay.

The definition of what is considered luxury today has become quite different. Similar to the time when power steering, electric windows, and central locking were still optional extras in cars and therefore something special.

Some of the 1989 standard, and the debt would be more bearable. An FHZ is not an advantage per se. In the living room, yes, in the rest of the house it is not necessary or is even worse than wall radiators, which are much more directly controllable. The bedroom, for example, is better served with it. The burglar windows, so what, if they want to get in they will get in. Roller shutters are completely dispensable. Why insulate the floor if the top ceiling is insulated? The flush tank is much more maintenance-friendly. etc. If we had had to calculate even more sharply than we already did, we could definitely have lived with 1989 era features. Some of that is indeed the case with us. Shower curtain from Dän. Bettenlager, no roller shutters, simple windows without locks or anything, no controlled residential ventilation,

The burglary windows, so what, if they want to get in they will get in

sure, but burglars look for the easiest target .......

Some of that is actually true for us. Shower curtain Danish. Bettenlager, no shutters, simple windows without locks or so, no controlled residential ventilation,

You are a bit older and live in a small bungalow, it would be different in a large house with children, and the fact is that most people who have built with controlled residential ventilation do not want to miss it anymore.......

Is a car without power steering imaginable today?

Well, the other way around is also difficult, to retrofit some things if you don't plan for them from the beginning. But I agree with you: Especially with new construction, you discover things almost daily that you would also find really great. You really have to be quite disciplined.

The break-in windows, so what, if they want to get in, they will get in. Roller shutters are totally dispensable. Why insulate the floor if the top ceiling is insulated? The flush tank is much more maintenance-friendly. etc.
If we had had to calculate even more precisely than we already did, we could definitely have lived with 1989 features.
Some of that is actually like that with us. Shower curtain Danish. Bettenlager, no roller shutters, simple windows without locks or anything, no controlled residential ventilation,

But it really depends a lot. We have a plot that is oriented toward the south and has a lot of glass. Without roller shutters in summer, you would need ski goggles, not to mention the heat.

At the in-laws’ place, there have already been four break-ins (spread over 25 years). Of course, in the end it’s always a question of effort; if someone really wants to get in, they will, but the windows, video surveillance, and the alarm system (which reacts to glass breakage, opening, and motion in certain rooms) simply give us security.

Of course, many things can be done without. In our circle of acquaintances, many people don’t have a basement. We are very glad to have this storage space. We also lived for years without a garage. Here in the region, you maybe have to scrape ice off ten times a year in the morning. That’s not a big deal.
In the end, you can also choose a very cheap option in all things in life (clothing, vacation, leisure activities, food, car) and ultimately it’s a question of how you set your priorities.
Before I would have no house at all, I would definitely have a small, sparsely furnished house.
However, the decision of how to build and design a house is very long-term and cannot be undone. Many retrofits are complex or only feasible with difficulty and expense.
Unlike vacations, where I can travel cheaply for years and then simply book something exclusive when I feel like it. You have a house for much longer than a car or a pair of shoes.