What are you, nuts?

That's the question that is asked of me as I embark on the final wrap-up of Phase I of my down-sizing plan. Who goes and sells a high-dollar house (bought very cheaply) and then turns around and buys a smaller, older home worth only a fraction of what the new one was?

Well, the question can just as easily be turned around, and I suggest we all should do it.

What are you, nuts? What the Hell are you doing pouring better than half of your take-home pay into a house? It's just a place to live, right? So why should it cost you so much?

What are you, nuts? Why in the world should you drive around in a car that costs up to half or better of your annual income? It's just a means to get from point A to point B, right? So why are you investing so much in an asset that depreciates so rapidly?

What are you, nuts? Why should you need two incomes just to live a lifestyle that's barely equal to what your parents and grandparents had on far less income? you work to pay your bills, right? So why make yourself work harder than you need to for such pitiful returns in terms of quality of life?