The first step towards smart financial decisions is being a home owner!
Decide on getting your own home.
Wait! Before you decide, I want you to put your thinking cap on. I want you to really think about your life, and whether you want to have 45 times more net worth in a few years, or whether you want to stay where you are now, financially speaking.
Do you hate asking permission from a landlord to do improvements to your home. Are you o.k. going to the store for food, and having to go through 3-4 credit cards at the checkout line, before you find the “good one”? Are you sick and tired of looking at opportunists who are: Starting a business, going on the trip of a lifetime, or getting a new car, but having to tell yourself… “I can’t afford this!”
[Note: In an earlier post we discussed the numerous benefits of homeownership and why the U.S. Federal Reserve says that people who own are 36 times richer than people who choose to rent. Please go here to read this important article]
It is smart to not overspend, but the bottom line is that there will be opportunities in life to make an investment in something that will make a difference. If you own your house, you may be able to borrow, or get a home equity line of credit, or HELOC. As a renter, this is not even an option. The key, of course, is home ownership. So, decide that you want to do it. That is the first step.
Still not sure if buying or renting is the best financial decision for you?
If your like me, a millennial living in the MD/VA/DC area, rent can feel like your wasting your money month after month. Because I am millennial, I have been on the renting side for 7 years now. Its no secret that if I had started paying on my first home when I moved from my parents home I would be paying much less monthly now because of having a mortgage.
If your not sure you can afford to buy you can use a calculator tool to check cost in the area you want to live in. I used the calculator from Nerdwallet its free and simple to use.