Steven

I mean, it's one of the biggest social problems, and it's so much bigger than housing and so much bigger than money. I think you can tie everything from homelessness to heroin to suicide to the fact that we in America and a lot of areas around the world have not built enough homes in the last 50 years.

That has pushed the price higher and higher and higher, and it's pushed out what was a small sliver and now a growing large chunk of society. who rightly feels like they cannot afford a basic middle-class home. And it's probably one of the biggest societal problems that we face right now is a housing shortage that has pushed housing out of affordability for tens of millions of people.

That has pushed the price higher and higher and higher, and it's pushed out what was a small sliver and now a growing large chunk of society. who rightly feels like they cannot afford a basic middle-class home. And it's probably one of the biggest societal problems that we face right now is a housing shortage that has pushed housing out of affordability for tens of millions of people.

So I've purchased three homes in my life.

So I've purchased three homes in my life.

Every one of those three homes, I don't feel like I got a good deal. It wasn't like, oh, this is a bargain. God, this is a great deal. None of the three were like that. I bought them. I could afford them. I was not doing something that I should not have been doing financially.

Every one of those three homes, I don't feel like I got a good deal. It wasn't like, oh, this is a bargain. God, this is a great deal. None of the three were like that. I bought them. I could afford them. I was not doing something that I should not have been doing financially.

But the reason I bought them is because they were a good, safe home for my family in a community that we wanted to live in. And I was not thinking about, is this going to be a house that I can make a fortune on? Is this going to go up in value? Is this going to go down in value? That was never part of the equation. It was, yes, I can afford this and it's not imperiling my finances at all.

But the reason I bought them is because they were a good, safe home for my family in a community that we wanted to live in. And I was not thinking about, is this going to be a house that I can make a fortune on? Is this going to go up in value? Is this going to go down in value? That was never part of the equation. It was, yes, I can afford this and it's not imperiling my finances at all.

But the reason I'm doing it is because it's a safe, good place for my family to live. And I think generally that's the way to do it. And once people start thinking through the lens of, is this a good investment? Is this going to go up? Are home prices going to fall? Maybe I should wait six months because they're going to fall. That's when you're just, you're shooting yourself.

But the reason I'm doing it is because it's a safe, good place for my family to live. And I think generally that's the way to do it. And once people start thinking through the lens of, is this a good investment? Is this going to go up? Are home prices going to fall? Maybe I should wait six months because they're going to fall. That's when you're just, you're shooting yourself.

You're just rolling the dice at that point. And people get into a lot of trouble doing that when they're like, oh, I know I'm going into a ton of debt, but I think home prices are going to double in the next three years, so it's okay. That should not ever be part of the equation. It should be, I can afford this, and this is where I want to raise my family for the next five or 10 years.

You're just rolling the dice at that point. And people get into a lot of trouble doing that when they're like, oh, I know I'm going into a ton of debt, but I think home prices are going to double in the next three years, so it's okay. That should not ever be part of the equation. It should be, I can afford this, and this is where I want to raise my family for the next five or 10 years.

I think that's the formula.

I think that's the formula.

Here's what's interesting, like the psychology of housing too. We bought a new house eight months ago and sold our previous house. And that house, the house that we just sold, we did end up making a little bit of money on because Seattle real estate has gone crazy in the last five years. And really interesting something that happens. This is just eight months ago when we sold the house.

Here's what's interesting, like the psychology of housing too. We bought a new house eight months ago and sold our previous house. And that house, the house that we just sold, we did end up making a little bit of money on because Seattle real estate has gone crazy in the last five years. And really interesting something that happens. This is just eight months ago when we sold the house.

The day that we closed on selling that house and I got the proceeds wired to me in my bank account, logged in my bank account. I see that number from selling the house. The numbers meant nothing to me, but the house that we sold meant everything to me. It was like my daughter took her first steps at the bottom of those stairs. My son had his first day of kindergarten, Christmases, Thanksgivings.

The day that we closed on selling that house and I got the proceeds wired to me in my bank account, logged in my bank account. I see that number from selling the house. The numbers meant nothing to me, but the house that we sold meant everything to me. It was like my daughter took her first steps at the bottom of those stairs. My son had his first day of kindergarten, Christmases, Thanksgivings.

And it was like these numbers don't mean anything to me. These numbers are just going into the new house. But that house that I left behind meant everything to me. So that gets back to like don't think of it as a financial transaction. It should be this is where you want to raise your family and build some memories.