Yesterday was International Beer Day, let’s get into the saying “champagne taste on a beer budget”, and how it relates to real estate.
That saying gives beer a bad rap. It suggests that beer is bad, or not as good as champagne. It paints a picture of beer being “cheap” or lower quality.
Truth is, there’s some pretty bad champagne out there, even if it’s more expensive than beer.
But there’s also some pretty “cheap” champagne. And nowadays, there’s some pretty pricey beer.
I know, I know. It’s just a saying used to make the point — I like and want things I can’t afford.
To some degree, everyone has champagne taste on a beer budget. It’s all relative. No matter how much money you have, or what you can afford, it’s easy to want something more expensive than your budget allows.
As human as that is, it can hurt you when you’re buying a house.
It’s super common for people to want houses that are over their budget. And it isn’t uncommon for people to say that they have champagne taste on a beer budget.
But the biggest harm in doing that is that it’s giving all of the houses they can afford a bad rap.
It makes people feel like the homes they can afford are lesser in some way. Regardless of how much they can afford! People in the $900,000 range feel like, “If only I could spend $1,000,000.” And, people who can spend a million are just as likely to wish they could just get those houses in the $1,250,000 range. Nobody is immune.
Yet, someone who can afford much less than that wishes they could afford $900,000 and would be quite happy with any houses in that range.
The solution:
Regardless of whether you have a taste for beer or champagne, buy the best quality you can for the amount you can spend, and enjoy it.
Same goes with a house. Focus on what you can afford, find the best one, buy it, and enjoy it.
It’s that simple…otherwise, you’ll never truly be content. And that could drive you to drink.
P.S. Thinking about buying a house soon? Let me know. The most important step is knowing how much you can afford. I’ll help you figure it out!