FIFTEEN

AS SIMPLE AS 1, 2, 3, ... 15

One
DO NOT GAMBLE YOUR PRIMARY RESIDENCE
Two
BUY ONLY WHAT YOU CAN AFFORD, WHICH FOR HOUSES, MEANS WHAT YOU CAN FINANCE IN 15 YEARS AT A KNOWN FIXED INTEREST RATE
Three
MAKE A 15 YEAR PLAN ON A 30 YEAR TERM

Owning your own home is a good financial goal. Owning a home can be a key to retirement, since having a place called home that is paid for; a place where you can never be evicted; a place where you can physically center your being; a place that can ground your years; a place to share with grand-children, or the comfortable solitude of yourself; this becomes more than a place.

But it makes no sense to own a home "at all costs," because there may be no sweet retirement if one has fallen into bankruptcy, or slaved through one's children's most innocent years, or run oneself into medical abyss.

And owning a home isn't all about retirement. It is not all about getting there. It is also about being here; in the now; in your home.

So there needs to be a balance. Homes are good, but the price—the long term price—must be right.

We have a lot of control over that.