$1.4k is way too much for somewhere that you&#x27;re still driving to work from. I think a lot of people overestimate the value of a big house. You just end up filling it with junk.<p>If you get a smaller house - say $1k&#x2F;month - suddenly you can afford to live very comfortably, and save some as well. $52k is absolutely a lot of money; of course there&#x27;s always more things to spend it on, and I won&#x27;t pretend more money isn&#x27;t very nice, but $52k really should be plenty. Putting it another way: if $52k isn&#x27;t enough to make you happy, $100k probably won&#x27;t be either.