[quote=Rustico]
I think you must be leaving equity and the beneficial proportionate cash flow shift of later years of owning out of the picture. The person who has not accomplished home ownership often uses up or uses a good portion, of their assets or retirement benefits or to provide shelter(to taste) in their later years.
Rent impedes one’s ability to invest the same as a mortgage does. Rent impedes it in perpetuity and gets worse with time as compared to a fixed mortgage. People are bothered by risk and poor returns now but they could be cutting into future costs of shelter with those poorly performing investment dollars instead.
I am assuming we are considering reasonable timing in the purchase of a house or condo and rent at or near their initital mortgage payment threshold.
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Good point, but then that takes into account how long you live, what you do after you retire, and how much you need.
The rent calculator is a tool, not a decision maker. $2000/mo saved today is worth a lot more than $3000 in 30 years, but that’s not to say I want to still be renting when I retire.
For me personally, my rent is less than a third of what I would spend on a house. With prices falling, I just save that 2/3s until the price is right.