Frugal Living: Downsizing the dream house

Two years ago, Pastor Jeff Patterson and his wife, Kari, moved into their West Linn dream home with their two young children.  

It had an impressive kitchen with a stainless steel professional gas stove, oven and convection microwave. The master bedroom had a huge walk-in closet. Kari built a backyard deck and playhouse for their kids.

It’s where the family lived until mid-November.

“We thought we'd live here forever,” explains Kari Patterson. “A year later, everything changed.”

The couple read the book The Hole in our Gospel, written by Richard Stearns, the president of World Vision, a Northwest aid organization. It details the needs of people around the world and made the Pattersons reevaluate their own priorities.

They sold their house and moved to a much smaller, much older rental, where the kids now share a room. The living room is also the dining room, family room and play room. The kitchen has a smaller electric range.

“Even though we're losing money on rent each month,” explains Kari Patterson, “we're able to save enough that in the long run, it actually works itself out.”

In 9 years, the Pattersons will have saved enough money to buy a house outright with no mortgage.

In the meantime, they have more financial breathing room to give generously to others in need.

“The place that we've moved to rent fulfills all of those new goals that we have,” she says as the couple leaves their dream house for the last time.

“So even coming back here, it sort of represents a life that we don't live anymore, so it feels good to be in a new chapter,” says Patterson.

Renting instead of owning may not be the answer for everyone.  You really have to sit down and do the math.  But the idea of downsizing - living with less - is a legitimate money-saving strategy for most people.

For more stories in Shellie's "Frugal Living" series, visit the KATU Problem Solvers page