Can I afford a bigger house?

Add the extra housing cost that will still be there in a normal year — payment, tax, insurance, utilities — to annual spending. Then read the FIRE number and years to FI again. A lender's approval is not that test. The mortgage-versus-invest tool answers a different question: extra principal versus investing, after you already own the loan.

Arc · Published September 18, 2026 · Updated September 18, 2026

Payment is not the full cost

A larger house can raise tax, insurance, maintenance, and commuting, and it can remove a roommate's rent or a planned move to a cheaper city. Use the net change in annual spending. If you will sell investments for the down payment, lower today's portfolio in the years-to-FI calculator by that amount too.

What this site will not give you

There is no universal housing-to-income rule on these pages. Rules of thumb ignore the rest of the plan: childcare, a thin cash reserve, or a retirement date that already required the old, lower spending.

Common questions

Does home equity count toward FI?

Only if you will spend it. Equity can lower future housing cost once the mortgage ends. It does not cover other spending unless you sell, borrow, or rent part of the house out.