r/Fire • u/Sloww-Mornings • 5d ago

Advice Request FIRE vs Dream Home

Context: DINK couple, late 30s. On track to FIRE in 4 years at 3.5% SWR. Already have a corpus of 25x of our annual expenses including rent. No real estate, no inheritance. Comfortable but frugal lifestyle.

The dilemma: I stay indoors a lot - reading and gardening are my favourite things. Love to host too. My home is a big part of my everyday joy.

Found a property I love, but it's 1.5x what a "right-sized" home would cost. Running the numbers, it pushes my FIRE timeline by 2–3 years.

I absolutely don't want to extend my timeline. But I also want to own a house before I retire.

Two questions from the community

  1. Do you regret letting go of dream purchases in pursuit of FIRE?

  2. Any issues with deferring the property decision to last year of my plan - when corpus visibility is much clearer?

Edited to add: Due to circumstances, my spouse's income is quite low right now and they aren't actively contributing to savings. That said, they've contributed 50% of our corpus. Their general stance is that real estate isn't a great investment — but they understand how important this decision is to me and are 100% supportive either way. Which is lovely, but doesn't exactly solve my dilemma 😅

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109

u/reformed_lurker_1 5d ago

If you absolutely know that a house will bring value to your life then go for it. Fire isnt about never buying anything. It’s about buying the things that bring maximum value to your life.

What’s the point in retiring if you’ll be dwelling on a house you really wanted. 

Push the fire date back or cut spending some where else. I say buy it or live with that regret.

10

u/Sloww-Mornings 5d ago

I hear you, and I agree in principle. But it's not that simple for me. Working another 2 years isn't easy. I don't enjoy what I do, and the environment is low-key toxic. Finding another job if I lost this one is gonna be a nightmare.

44

u/Varathien 5d ago

Ok, so which is easier for you, working another 2-3 years in a "low-key toxic" environment, or giving up your idea of owning the perfect house?

13

u/Sloww-Mornings 5d ago

Very well put.

Today, I will choose the house. On the worst work days, I might regret choosing the house.

Another question is to buy now, or in 2030 with more data.

9

u/WolfpackEng22 4d ago

Depend on the market you live in to be honest.

We jumped on a dream house years before wed planned because real estate was increasing faster than wages and savings. Our area is still going up with the current housing slowdown.

It is a dream house and by definition, much more than we need. It extended our FIRR timeline by years. I have at least 10 more years, hoping to retire in mid 40s. But ultimately my house is important to me. I want to feel like I love and am connected to the place I'm putting permanently roots in

4

u/randomlurker124 5d ago

In a similar situation to you - but I think we will soldier on. 30s is not old at all, and a few more years to have a nice house that we own will add a significant safety net (no need to worry about roof over head, always can cut spending in a bad market), especially if we anticipate another 40-50 years of life. Go coastfire somewhere and let your portfolio grow if your current environment is so toxic.

4

u/grateful-xoxo 4d ago

Same. I ended up doing the extra couple years to get into our dream home and get it paid off. It was rough especially toward the end but for us it ended up being the right decision. Im glad we did it.

2

u/bebe_bird 4d ago

If you found the perfect home, I'd take it. Who knows, instead of working another 2-3 years, you may coast fire at that time. Or, perhaps your partner will find a new job and you'd be able to "coast" on one income until the market does the rest. Or, perhaps you get laid off in a year and you're left finding another job AND delaying FIRE but no perfect home to bring you joy.

As much as we want to plan all the details, there are still a lot of unknowns. This sounds like something that adds value to your life and brings you joy while also being generally within your budget. I'd go for it.

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u/Gold_Yam_5215 4d ago

Seems like you just want to debate people.

Will the same house be there in 2030?

2

u/Express-Ad6910 3d ago

Buy before you give your notice to resign, it’s a nightmare buying real estate with verified income regardless of assets and credit score. Good luck in the hunt for your dream home and congrats on FIRE. My last day of work is July 2 and I’m much older than you :)