I do understand your point, but I think you may misunderstand my position. The way I really mitigate risk is by buying way less house than I can technically afford. I put down a big downpayment, but it is a small fraction of my overall assets. Using your Katrina example, I am the guy with the lower payment AND the cash. I could pay my mortgage off, but it wouldn’t make sense because I have a great rate from a refi several years ago. I sleep well because I don’t worry about the bills. Like Raptor, I am still a “slave” to a job that I really enjoy, but my goal is real financial independence. I haven’t really defined exactly what that means to me. I’m working on that.
Financially, I am probably way too conservative. But my career choices have been very risky. They have paid off for me, but the path I took is not for the faint of heart. Now that I have some financial success, I tend to play it pretty safe with my money. Right now I am accumulating cash because I plan to buy another property when I find what I want at a price I want to pay.
