What Would You Do Without A Mortgage?

Live mortgage free in a tiny house.
Source: Nicolas Boullosa

According to Zillow.com, the average home, currently on the market, in my city is $576,000.  That translates to a monthly mortgage of $3000 a month, at current interest rates.  The average mortgage alone, is more than double my monthly expenses. Although I could find no official data, the average home size in my neighborhood looks like it is about 2,500 square feet.

If you don't need the space, think about what you could do with an extra $3000 a month! Conversely, how much less would you have to work, if you didn't have a $3000 a month mortgage?  

If I did not have to pay rent or have a mortgage, I could live off of $540 a month.  Here is the breakdown:

Internet: $40 

Car Insurance/gas: $100 

Food: $200

Car/ house/ personal maintenance:  $100 

Travel: $100 

At a soon to be federal minimum wage of $10.10 an hour, I would only have to work 53 hours a month to pay my bills.  That comes out to be 13 hours of work a week.  

That $3000 a month mortgage could finance 3 separate week long trips to Hawaii (the way I travel).