One of the things you have to be wary of when shopping for a home is to avoid getting too much house. Indeed, one of the problems behind the mortgage market meltdown was that too many people were getting more house than they needed or could afford. Get Rich Slowly points out that our average family size has gone down in the past decade, but the sizes of our homes has increased dramatically. Do we really need that much space? And the mortgage to go with it?

As mortgage applications rise, and as families look to take advantage of a great deal, it is a good idea to stop and reflect. Think about whether or not you can really afford the mortgage you are getting (are the mortgage payments less than 30% of your income?), and then consider whether or not something a little smaller might be in order. Think about your future goals and needs. If you plan to have two or three more children, maybe you need a bigger house to grow into. But for many of us, a bigger house just means more room for stuff we don’t really need anyway.

In the end, you should be brutally honest with yourself. Getting a big house just because you can is not always the best reason. Instead, look at your finances and your lifestyle. Maybe that home is just too much house.