I currently work 32 hours a week at a primary job, like you, I used to grab every hour of OT possible & the practice left me drained. I started working less a couple years ago & started blogging as an inexpensive hobby. My site has generated some excellent social media opportunities for me & I will be forming an LLC this year. I would never have been able to do this while working 100 hours a week at a primary job.
Free time allows for the exploration of things that interest us, some people crave new experiences & find that those energize them in all that they do. My professional life combines both security & novelty. Having my own thing on the side has benefits for my primary employer too, I go to work energized & am able to problem solve from the POV of a person who isn't burned out about the place. I am usually very positive & clearly happy to be at work when I am there which results in higher productivity & great customer service.
Also, I'm old I have noticed over the years that there is such a thing as putting in too much face time on the job. Many who voluntarily work long hours fall into the trap of becoming shrill & judgemental about those who don't, they also often take easier assignments or find ways to shift work onto their peers which creates conflict. Sometimes people's performance slips because they aren't getting adequate rest. Most serious work place conflicts ending in employee termination I've seen involve at least one worker who's been putting in massive hours of OT.
Yea makes me wonder how many people actually talk to their old college/highschool friends about this stuff. Its not gonna be on facebook, you can't really say anything with any substance to it on there since your next employer, co-workers, whatever might be watching.
And on the house issue, the reason the prices are so good right now is because cash among the middle class is hard to come by.
If you have enough cash to put alot down at low interest its not a bad idea but the robo-signing trials came to an end earlier this year. When the people who are staying in their foreclosed homes for 2-3years finally have their homes sold by the bank prices are going to drop more.
The economy might even get hit because whatever their income is, its like 80% disposable, which is crazy. Since they just stopped paying their mortgage.
But just saying, its obvious the banks are dragging their feet to sell all the foreclosed homes, yet they are still building more homes lol. It's a disaster. They also extended "operation twist" so mortgages % interest will still stay low. That was the point of operation twist. Extended to December of 2012 AFAIK.