At the public library, I saw a book about small house living. It was full of very modern and expensive-looking new small houses with lofts, stone siding, high-end appliances and pricey floors. I felt like the author and publisher were missing the point.

One of the biggest benefits of small-house living is that it keeps your costs down, freeing up your money (so you can stay solvent) and time (so you can do other things instead of working like a dog to pay for an expensive house). Having a small house filled with expensive features requires a certain level of income that an increasing number of people don’t have anymore. So it seems silly to focus on so many showy small houses with inevitably large price tags.

Small houses were once very much in vogue, and can still be found all over the country. Now that small houses are making a comeback, people are realizing that an older, well-built small house in a good neighborhood makes more sense than anything else in the real estate market. Unlike condos, there are no HOA fees or rules. Unlike large homes, there are low utility bills and property taxes.

Some of the houses in that book I saw had fancy stairways with backless steps made of metal. Many existing small houses also have two stories, but I prefer a ranch. It’s a lot easier to move into a one-story house than a two-story house. Also, as I age, I can see that someday, steps will become my nemesis. Many other baby boomers are coming to the same conclusion, so I think ranches will be extremely desirable for the foreseeable future.

In any case, once you age out of the need or desire for a large house, small-house living becomes very attractive, whether you want a basic small house or one of the modern ones like I saw in the library book. It just makes so much sense in the times we live in now.