Do the old rules still apply?

[Aunt Bea]

This morning, I was going over my year to date expenses and started thinking about some of the old rules that I started out with and how they have changed in the years since I retired.

The big one was budgeting 25-28% of income for rent/housing expenses and limiting total housing/consumer debt to 33-36% of gross income.

Today, my rent/housing expense, without consumer debt, is approaching 50%.

Other outdated guidelines that I remember were limiting a house purchase to 2 1/2 times annual gross income and limiting automobiles to 6 months gross income.

Not complaining, just noticing the changes in my life and wondering what, if any, changes in the old guidelines others may have noticed.

 

[Tommy]

The big one was budgeting 25-28% of income for rent/housing expenses and limiting total housing/consumer debt to 33-36% of gross income.

If a person owns their home (i.e., no mortgage) then I was thinking that their only "housing expenses" would be taxes and insurance. But shouldn't that also include repair and upkeep? I guess when the roof needs to be replaced, the house exterior painted, or the heating system upgraded for instance, those costs should be included as part of "housing expenses" but I think they would be hard to estimate and prorate.