That is what I want to have. I plan on adding on about 250 sq feet in the form of a master bed and bath.

We bought ours at 87 K but it may cost close to that much to add on. I am waiting for most of the contractors to be really hurting iwth the slow down so I can get better prices.

buy a storage shed, put it next to your house and cut a door in your hose to the storage shed. Caulk the seal between the shed and the house. Put up a layer of thin insulation and then drywall that sucker. Run an extension cord for your light behind the dry wall. Cut yourself a window for the air condition unit. Done.

Much less than 87k.

In South County, much of the new construction for townhomes comes with these weird 2 car garages, known as "tandem" garages. Basically, instead of 2-wide, the garage is 2-deep. Stupid concept because if you need to get the front car out, you have to move the rear car out of the way.

What many folks are doing......using their tandem garage as a 1-car garage. They put up a drywall halfway through their garage, mud and tape it, and convert the back end of the garage into a regular room. It connect to the main house just as the old garage door would. I have seen them used mostly as play room for kids. This totally violates the CCRs as well as the local building codes, but it is much cheaper than paying for the extra bedroom.

"I built my house of sticks, I built my house of twigs. With a hey diddle diddle, I play my fiddle, and dance all kind of jigs."

For an emergency preparedness obsessive, you're sure satisfied with crappy houses that can't withstand a gnat's fart.

like I wouldn't use some ropes and stakes.

I would say I've probably been living beyond my means. I bought my home less than a year ago, so for me, it's a pretty big mortgage. My home isn't big, but it's sufficient for now. I have 2 car payments and am still going to school. 2nd baby comes in December.

That said, I'm cutting back on a lot of stuff and rearranging our spending. So we're starting to live within our means now.

My road bike is paid off. :)

I'm definitely living beyond my means. Like Fletch, I foolishly squander my paycheck on food and heat.

I posted on CB a while ago I was watching that show My Super Sweet 16 on MTV, the girls dad was a pastor he lived in about a 15000 sq ft house on the water in Baltimore. One of the biggest houses I ahve ever seen, and he spent close to 2 million on his daughters birthday.

Awesome.

I added up what we spent altogether on my 9-year-old's birthday this week and I was flabbergasted. My parents would be horrified.

I could take over a 50% cut in my earnings and I would be able to afford my house, my cars, and the likes. I am sure I would have to scale down donations, vacations and other frivolous activities when I have to make that adjustment. I think I live well within my means.