Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
the multi-family home will always cost you the rent you are giving up by consuming an apartment yourself.
no matter what we do we always need a place to live and it will cost us either in cash from our pocket or in opportunity costs elsewhere.
That's why my 401k retirement is my mortgage. I don't buy a home because I'm hoping to make big bucks out of it. I'm buying a home so I can have a place to stay. It does not matter if my home price is dropping or rising, I'm not selling it because I need a place to stay in. I remember 8 years ago when the home price in our neighborhood was $100k higher than today nobody in our neighborhood bother to sell their homes either; we all need a place to stay. On paper, my parents hardly have anything in their 401k, IRA etc but they're a few years away from paying off their home. With their debt free home and their social security benefits; they can live comfortably for the rest of their lives. Yet, according to statistics, my parents won't be able to retire because they only have a few bucks in their 401k.....
As for the 401k, I'm not joining due mainly to the # of years of service to get % of vesting. Right now, I have to work 3 years to get 100% vested, anything less than that is 0%. I doubt that I even last more than a year here. If that happens, I will get my money locked up in an IRA. I want total control of my money; not it being locked up somewhere. I used to be in a 401k plan but that plan was genuinely 100% FREE money. My employer contributed to that plan but I did not have to make any contribution...I have come across a few accountants such as myself and we simply hate the 401k unless they're giving us FREE money (can't believe I'm an accountant either)
And people really need to remember before they think that their house is a tangible thing that it will no longer belong to you if you miss a tax payment. So do you really own it?
they forget that 30 years from now that mortgage that was a big chunk of change back then really is a tiny part of ownership.
that 35k house may have cost under 225 bucks a month back then . that was a big expense . our rent was 209 at the time .
that isn't even utilities today so the fact it is paid off means little when all the other costs went up so much and the house costs you 16-18k in taxes and 3200 in insurance plus all the soft costs..
That's why my 401k retirement is my mortgage. I don't buy a home because I'm hoping to make big bucks out of it. I'm buying a home so I can have a place to stay. It does not matter if my home price is dropping or rising, I'm not selling it because I need a place to stay in. I remember 8 years ago when the home price in our neighborhood was $100k higher than today nobody in our neighborhood bother to sell their homes either; we all need a place to stay. On paper, my parents hardly have anything in their 401k, IRA etc but they're a few years away from paying off their home. With their debt free home and their social security benefits; they can live comfortably for the rest of their lives. Yet, according to statistics, my parents won't be able to retire because they only have a few bucks in their 401k.....
As for the 401k, I'm not joining due mainly to the # of years of service to get % of vesting. Right now, I have to work 3 years to get 100% vested, anything less than that is 0%. I doubt that I even last more than a year here. If that happens, I will get my money locked up in an IRA. I want total control of my money; not it being locked up somewhere. I used to be in a 401k plan but that plan was genuinely 100% FREE money. My employer contributed to that plan but I did not have to make any contribution...I have come across a few accountants such as myself and we simply hate the 401k unless they're giving us FREE money (can't believe I'm an accountant either)
Worst series of logic ever. It shouldn't be totally lost that you should payoff your mortgage and save for retirement
anything can be a replacement if you twist it in your mind just right and combine it with believing your own bull-sh*t to be true..
the fact is they are not the same anymore than dividends are a replacement for interest. they perform different functions and you want both not one or the other.
the multi-family home will always cost you the rent you are giving up by consuming an apartment yourself.
no matter what we do we always need a place to live and it will cost us either in cash from our pocket or in opportunity costs elsewhere.
Sure, but what the better alternative? At least you are saving money and building equity instead of paying someone else for renting. I have a significantly lower expense for owning compared to renting, especially when the cost of borrowing has been historically low recently. I consider home ownership as the building block to gaining personal wealth. I wouldn't recommend depending on it as the only means to gaining personal wealth, as people have pointed out there are several drawbacks to it.
We save for retirement because we dont want to live off SS. SS sucks.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
(can't believe I'm an accountant either
