The time has come to downsize your space. Maybe you are retiring. Maybe your kids have grown up and gone off to college. Or maybe you’re just tired of having so much space that you, well, don’t really need. It’s time to downsize! But the question is – how can you downsize but still be profitable?
Read on to learn more about the upside of downsizing!
Have you realized that you spend most of your time in ONE area of the house? Maybe you are constantly in the kitchen or constantly in your den. This could be a sign that it’s time for you to consider a downsize! This is the best time to think about an area that you may have always wanted to live in. Would it be fun to be closer to downtown? Maybe you want to live near the beach. Start thinking about it in your plans to downsize!
Your move to a smaller home doesn’t mean that you are downsizing your life! Downsizing should not cramp your style as bigger is not always better. One of your biggest hesitations may be figuring out how and where to store your belongings. For example, if you are moving from a two-story, four-bedroom home to a two-bedroom ranch, you will absolutely not be able to take everything with you. Storage is an option, BUT, (and this is where ‘making a profit’ comes in), you may wish to sell it! Try a yard sale, eBay, CraigsList, and sites for selling clothing and other items like Poshmark and ThredUp.
Your house could very well be worth a small fortune. If the time is right, there’s nothing wrong with tapping into that wealth by moving to a smaller, more affordable place.
Downsizing ideas
- Save money on STUFF for your house. One of the beauties of downsizing your home is the ability to stop wasting money on furniture, electronics, appliances, and home items used to fill space rather than fulfill a function.
- Less stress. Because there is less cleaning, less maintenance, less furniture, less upkeep, less yard, etc., to deal with!
- Saving on energy, heating, cooling, and water costs.
- More travel! Big houses make for a lot of work – even when you aren’t there! Leaving town means you have to worry about security systems, alarms, doors, windows, etc. With a downsize, traveling can be less of a hassle when you need to leave your home for extended amounts of time.
- Cash flow. When downsizing, you need to realize that you are downsizing more than just your house. Think about your house items that you may not have even given a second glance at in YEARS. While people understand they can make money by selling excess items, they may underestimate the potential value of what’s in their house. “We don’t realize the pieces of art we were given for our wedding now have a $5,000 to $10,000 price tag,” says Jacquie Denny, founder, and chief development officer for Everything But The House.
If you still aren’t convinced that downsizing is a good idea and can absolutely be profitable, maybe you should look at your current mortgage. Downsizing can help you reduce your monthly payment by anywhere from, say, $500/month to much more! According to Boston College’s Center for Retirement’s Research, “downsizing from a $250,000 house to one that costs $150,000 could on average increase yearly income by $3,000 and reduce annual expenses by $3,250, saving the homeowner $6,250 a year.” What would you do with all of those monthly savings?
Downsizing can help you become more profitable simply by taking the savings each month and putting them toward other financial goals. Car payments? Student loans? Retirement funds? Wedding funds? You name it!
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