A straight answer

Is renting throwing money away?

Have a guess first. It sticks better.

Pick one. No sign-up, no catch.

Rent is not thrown away any more than the interest, taxes, insurance and repairs an owner pays are thrown away. None of those build equity either, and in the early years of a mortgage they are most of the payment.

What owning gives you is forced saving and a hedge against rent rising. What it costs you is flexibility, a large sum on day one, and every repair.

At today's prices and rates, owning pulls ahead later than ten years. If you might move before then, renting is not a mistake. It is the cheaper answer.

Run it with your own numbers →

Free, no account. Change anything and watch the total move.

Session 7: Rent, own, and the gate in between

Debt-to-income is the test that stops most people, and it is not about your income. Plus what you actually need on day one.

  1. What does it really cost?
  2. Who gets paid if I say yes?
  3. What would this money do somewhere else?

Why these three questions

Other straight answers

  1. ·How much will my student loan actually cost me?
  2. ·How long does it take to pay off a credit card paying only the minimum?
  3. ·Is a 72-month car loan a bad idea?
  4. ·How much do I need to earn to move out?

Get the rest of the course

Session 1 is free in full. We’ll tell you when the others land.