Build a house? Financial advisor says the land and financing are okay

On the first day alone, when the excavator rolled in, we spent 7,000 euros more than planned, because right in the middle of the planned house foundation it suddenly went "blubb" and was excavated up to 2.20 m deep and filled with a total of 500 tons of filler gravel. No, it was not a classic moor lens that the soil expert should have found. It was an approximately 40-50 year old square shaft made of wooden planks, which presumably once served as a well for watering livestock; when the land became arable, the shaft was probably closed off, but the existing drainage pipe was still actively drawing water into the filled topsoil, which then became a really nasty slurry...

In the end, we went from the calculated 245,000 to 260,000 with everything included, but we also did a lot of the interior work ourselves, which dampened costs significantly. But for example, heating/plumbing became more expensive, electrical work became much more expensive than planned, etc...

In hindsight, we would have preferred to build smaller, but you just lack the feeling for how big the rooms really are that you have on the floor plan paper.

But you also have to always keep in mind that later you have something for the children that you can inherit/give away/sell. If you live your whole life renting, the money is gone in the end...

...... Seven years ago my wife finished her studies, I changed my employer and we moved in together. Since that time we have saved about €90,000 together. Despite parental leave, despite the wedding, despite BAföG repayment, despite two vacations per year, despite two cars, etc. .....

Rent + additional costs, child + parental leave (significantly less income or additional costs), wedding, BAföG repayment, two vacations p.a., 2 cars + living – and still saving €90,000 in seven years? €1,000/month? Respect... – also considering how high the amount would have been without BAföG repayment, only one vacation p.a., only one car and no wedding...

It was very similar for us as well. We lived frugally otherwise (often bought things on sale and stocked up) in a smaller apartment. In return, the loan was cheap, and you still have some cash reserves. From my point of view, it was worth it, but I "always" knew that I wanted to build at some point.

Rent + additional costs, child + parental leave (significantly less income or additional expenses), wedding, BAföG repayment, two vacations per year, 2 cars + living expenses - and still saving €90,000 in seven years? €1000/month? Respect... - also considering how high the amount would have been without BAföG repayment, only one vacation per year, just one car, and no wedding...

I believe we are not stingy, but we do look at prices. When making purchases, we just think twice about whether we really need it, etc.

Vacation was usually a two-week holiday in the south and a week (mostly in a holiday apartment) in Germany. But even there, you can look for times to travel/fly cheaply without a child and without having to give up comfort.

In addition, we lived quite remotely for those 7 years. Going to the cinema or nightlife in the city was therefore rather rare. Only occasionally going out to eat nicely.

I didn’t find the loss of income due to parental leave that extreme for us because of a clever choice of tax classes.

The occasional bigger gift did come from my parents or grandparents. To be fair, that has to be said.