Special repayment, saving or consumption?

No, I am not a civil servant. As a retiree, I am also committed to eternal poverty. Regarding consumption, it sounds like I spend a lot, but unfortunately, I don't. Consumption means clothing or concert visits and vacation apartment holidays. We, as two people, do not come close to the income of some here. It is enough for us. If everything goes well, the house will be paid off in just under 8 years, and then we'll see.

So paying off your own house and eternal poverty somehow don't quite fit together. Also, concerts and vacations have little to do with poverty. Apparently, you also make special repayments. Sounds like complaining on a very high level or maybe I totally fell into the sarcasm trap.

I'll put it this way. The income is enough for us. For what one might earn in the private sector with the same career path, it is too little. We have been paying off our house since 2006 and will be finished in 8 years. We have a small 120 sqm house on a 362 sqm plot. Our smart home is Philips Hue. Due to lack of funds in 2006, we only have the sockets specified in the contract. The terrace roof was added in 2018, before that it was a sun umbrella or awning. There is no garage or carport. The special repayments have only been running for about 3 years now. Vacation once a year in the holiday apartment/mobile home either in Zealand or the Baltic Sea. Of course, concerts/musicals also add up, about 3 or 4 per year. I came here because of the garden thread. Now I admire your beautiful houses. But of course, it’s complaining at a high level, because there is always someone who has less. Actually, the eternal poverty was meant more jokingly.

shenja, it is not luxury but yours and you can afford it. So what, don’t admire the big flashy mansions, be proud of your socket domicile.

You have a whole lot and can be proud of that. Here in the forum, you sometimes lose touch with reality. But that's the case in every forum. In the HiFi forum, nothing goes for less than a system worth 10,000 euros with gold-plated contacts; in the mountain bike forum, you're a social case with a 3,000 euro bike.

You always have to keep in mind the normality in the new construction segment. I saw it again when we looked at the current and past projects of our construction company. With our house, we'll be playing in the upper third.
Here in the forum, with less than 2,000 euros/sqm (+additional construction costs) due to very low extra features, it's more like social housing.

After completion, we won't initially factor in any special repayments in the first years. After that, it would make sense. With 5% special repayment/year, we have a pretty good margin.

That’s me too. I don’t look at the other houses with envy, but with admiration for how beautiful some houses are. Our starting conditions back then were not good, and for that, we made the best out of it. With my knowledge today, I would build differently or make more forward-looking decisions. But that’s no longer possible.

The house is enough for me/us, and if everything goes as planned, we will be debt-free, and that is worth a lot to me.