Ouch. That’s 68k of house repairs in 3 years, or 1888/month for 3 years. For that i’m guessing you could come close to renting a 2BR… but then you’d lose the ubermortgage rate of 2021. 500k @ 7.5% here means i’m on the hook for 5kish per month before food/car/gas/internet/clothes expenses. (includes hoa/taxes/utilities/pmi and other escrow expenses.)

I throw away about 3300 on interest only per month because my wife forced us to buy and money is tighter than ever, but I still have an emergency fund.

I will say i’ve never put anything on credit unless cash is in the bank already. 20-30%+ interest is something you just can’t climb out from under easily. That being said I have no idea how i’m going to afford a ~15-20k replacement hvac system once my ~20 year old one dies, could be tomorrow, could be in 1-3 years - who is to say? Definitely on the hook for a water heater next year. Dishwasher is ready to go but i’d handwash.