How does everyone afford a house?

Exactly, I agree too. We have been vacationing with our friends together in various holiday homes for many years, even before building was ever a consideration and before there was a child in the circle of friends. The reason: we live so scattered across the country that this is the only way for all of us to be together for a while. Of course, this is much cheaper than flights to the sun, but that is more important to us. Technology is just as unimportant to us, just as we hardly watch TV and therefore don't need to invest much in it. On the other hand, I spent thousands of euros on football travel across Europe over the years. Priorities...

Good morning,

some of you are describing exactly what I advise my clients not to do right now. Namely subordinating home ownership to the rest of life!

€ 100.00/month for a cell phone was not uncommon until recently; only with increasing competition/jurisprudence has the provider market noticeably changed for everyone. That’s why I still don’t want an Aldi plan; I need my phone for work, need strong reception, and don’t want to have to wait for my plan to be “reactivated.” But I am also not one of those who pay for their phone through the monthly plan, nor am I under the compulsion to always have the newest phone. My phone belongs to me, it must reliably do its job, and operating costs must be economically proportionate to usage; a new purchase is needed on average every 3-4 years.

I also don’t have an employer who finances my phone or its usage costs, nor a company car that only costs me the 1% rule and occasional private trips. Nor do I have access to a company cafeteria; instead, I know the cafés, pubs, and restaurants in my area very well. I often have to bridge time, either because I arrived too early or an appointment was canceled. I use this time – depending on the time of day – to have a coffee or to eat. Because it doesn’t help me much that I can apparently cook well (at least I think so) if it doesn’t fit into the daytime schedule or if it gets so late in the evening that I simply don’t feel like it anymore. Besides: free time during the day “is” often a little vacation from everyday life.

I still clearly remember what our two babies cost us; but I won’t go into that further because those were simply different times. However, I see today with my granddaughter what a child costs; € 100.00 is not enough and we have already been to the playground well over 100 times. Now one might argue that grandpas and grandmas were more generous at all times; subtracting this bonus, it still isn’t done with the mentioned amount.

At the moment, we have a “run” – first the washing machine, then the dishwasher on the fritz. Since last week, a major repair on the car; the replacement provided by my son is a tiny car, so it also has to go to the workshop. I hope that’s it now!

What I want to say is – not every life situation can be transferred or the attitude of the individual judged. Even if you all write that no one is being judged, the perceptible pressure remains: “What am I doing wrong? – Do I have to live quasi-ascetically in order to be able to build a house?” And what you apparently all don’t have on the clock are reserves for necessary new purchases.

Building a single-family home must allow life – life as each individual imagines it!

Rhenish regards

There are certainly years in which we also spend (or spent) 6000€ on vacations, leisure, etc. But if your focus is on building a new house or buying a property and you don't have huge amounts of money available, then that's the first thing you can save on. Since there are so many other options, it doesn't necessarily have to mean sacrificing. If you don't want to restrict yourself, you should consider whether the house-building project makes sense for you at all. You don't have to do everything just because so many people are doing it right now.

Exactly, building expert. We would definitely not subordinate our lives to the house. We are building also because our financial situation allows it without us having to make any restrictions. We already had a cheap mobile phone contract before, and our telephone and internet bills were already paid by my wife's employer before the building idea, etc. Only in this way (see further points above) did we achieve a savings rate of almost 2,000 euros per month, which is why 1,500 euros for interest and repayment are possible and something can still be saved. Otherwise, we wouldn't do it—as I said, the house is for us, we don't work for the house.

Building a single-family house must make life possible, and indeed life as each individual envisions it!

That is correct!!!!!
But if that is not possible, one should also accept it and let it be. If one nonetheless insists on owning a home, then this thread emerges in which it is asked how others manage it.
Never going on vacation again would not be an option for me! But you quickly notice in such discussions and also among friends that other people spend a lot of money on things that you yourself do not need at all. Of course, everyone is free to do so, but it only shows that different attitudes toward life also lead to different financial situations.

Exactly, I agree. We've been vacationing with our friends together in various holiday homes for many years, even before the construction was ever an issue and before there were any children in our circle of friends. The reason: we live so spread out across the country that this is the only way for everyone to be together for a while. Of course, this is much cheaper than flights to the sun, but that's more important to us. Technology is just as unimportant to us as, for example, we hardly watch TV and therefore don't have to invest much in it. On the other hand, I used to spend thousands of euros over the years on football trips across Europe. Priorities ...

But a well-maintained away game trip is still possible now and then, right?