[C2YT]

It is crazy to even fathom having a mortgage that large. Here where I live in Michigan, average home prices are fairly cheap. Granted, I don't live in a fancy neighborhood or have anything out of the ordinary.

I paid $70,000 for my house - purchased last year. Put 20% down, so you can imagine that my mortgage/expenses are not much. The average house around me is $100-$115k.

At that price point I have also done all new flooring, paint, trim, electrical work, etc. Now that the house is up to code it should be an easy sell when i'm ready to transition to the next place.

I just decide to live below my means to put me further ahead for the next phase of life. Right or wrong, I don't need everything at once. The next jump will be a $200-250k house with some property and ideally a 40x60 barn to work in. That is if I decide to stay in Michigan.