<prompt> Human: 35 yo, married, father of 1, planning on trying for 2 soon. 100kyear salary with pension 5 guaranteed raises each of the next 4 years - state employeeOnly debt I have is my mortgage, currently living in a 450k home, owe 150 on it. 100k total in 401k Roth IRA 275k in mutual funds, 20k checking, 55k savings 350k liquid cashMy wife and I are considering moving towards the end of the year and I am trying to determine how much house is too much house. Id like to keep my monthly mortgage payment low so Id be putting down a large on a new house. If I can manage to sell my current house, pay off the remaining mortage and walk away with 250k, would I be stupid to buy a 700k house with 250k sold house and 250k of my stock market money? Leaving myself about 125k in stockschecking, 100k in 401k.TL;DR: fairly well off financially, how stupid would it be to put most of my eggs in one basket a new big house rather than keeping it in the stock market.  <response>: The rule of thumb is that your mortgage amount shouldnt exceed 13 of your income. With a 250k down payment, that means a 550k house assuming the wife is stay at home since you didnt include her income.If the difference between a 550k home and a 750k home would make you 200k plus interest happier though, whos to argue? Its not a super smart move to overspend on a house, but you could blow your money in worse ways. In the end its a matter of tailoring the axioms to fit your wants and needs. 