[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by tripods68

Downsizing is very common; kids are all grown and hopefully moved out after college. So you decide to rent or buy a condo instead.

I know a number of people, including my mother, who have downsized in retirement, but none of them did it for financial reasons. They did it because they no longer needed the big house and multiple rooms, they weren't able to take care of the house anymore, they weren't physically able to get around as well with stairs and all, or they wanted to move to a warm climate to escape wintertime. In fact, a couple of people who moved to warmer climates actually spent more on their "downsized" homes than they got by selling their existing homes. They pulled money out of savings to make up the difference.

So downsizing isn't always a financial matter.