We Should Have Rented Instead of Buying

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No one likes to waste money.

When Alan and I were newly married, we thought renting was a waste of our money. And we didn’t have that much money, so, of course, we wanted to stop throwing it away!

But our (misguided) beliefs on renting vs. buying led us to buy a house before we were ready. And before we could truly afford it.

We dove into homeownership far too soon in two instances. In the end, we spent thousands more than if we’d rented longer.

This article shares our story and why we should have continued to rent instead of buying a house.

The idea of “rent is a waste of money.”

We bought into the adage that renting is a waste of money. I can’t say precisely where it came from-family, friends, or society. No matter, it was there, and to us, buying a home felt like an urgent financial matter.

There is some rationale there. In certain circumstances, buying can make more sense than renting. Becoming a homeowner might make sense if:

• The mortgage payment costs much less than rent.