Bingo! You know what is important to you (plural), and that is key. You value a nice home, and are working toward that in a focused and frugal manner. Good for you.

It sounds like you are realistic and very much goal oriented, and that is very important for your success. You have the right idea – focus on what is important to you.

Good for you,

Clair

We’re both car people too. We bought 2 BMWs used for less than what most people buy for what we consider to be “average” American cars new. One of them is paid off and one is on the way. They’re a 2000 and 2001. And we LOVE them. It’s not about status, but it is very much about the driving experience. With gas prices, we anticipate that we might need to get rid of one of them in a few years if the prices keep going up. But we’ll keep the convertible forever if we can. (We also carpool every day to work now too.)

To us, it’s about balance. If we wanted to live in a less expensive home, maybe we’d have more money to spend on fun stuff. But since living in our dream home was more important to us, we are conserving on the cars, the gas, the groceries, clothes, and we don’t go out and spend a lot on entertainment any more. You just have to pick what’s most important to you.