Is It Okay to NEVER Own a Home?

All right, next up, we have a question from Herbert. I thought this one was interesting. Is it okay to never own a home? What if I plan to rent and move around every year? I plan on retiring at 42 with a nest egg, VA benefits, and a military pension. I feel like we get questions all the time about buying a house, so what do you think about this one, just never buying a house? I'm going to go out and say Herbert, is it okay? Absolutely, in my opinion, right, Brian? I'm curious if you agree with this. Your money is nothing more than a tool that allows you to do the things that you want to do. Well, for most folks, for a lot of folks, for a large percentage of the population, one of the goals that we have is to own a home. We want to own a home, start a family, and settle down. But just because that's quote-unquote the American dream doesn't mean that's your American dream. It doesn't mean that's the thing that you necessarily have to do. So if owning a home and taking care of it, paying the utilities, cutting the grass, and keeping it up is not something that you derive utility from and you want to stay flexible, move around, and be in different locations, and not be tethered to one spot, I am not of the opinion that you have to own a home to be financially independent or to build wealth. I think in the world in which we live, it is completely possible to do that without ever having to become a homeowner. Herbert, first of all, go to money.com/resources and download our free checklist on home purchasing because, and by the way, on the home purchasing checklist, it's going to ask you about your time horizon. We typically talk about leaning towards seven years, but in a period where interest rates are over 7% on housing, we still have record highs. I mean, yeah, I think the real estate market's probably down a little bit, but it's still pretty close to all-time highs. This decision probably has turned more, and could even nudge up closer to 10 years. So, you kind of answered your own question, Herbert, in the fact that it sounds like you're in the military, relocating every few years, and you're going to get a pension that has a lot of moving parts and a lot of uncertainty. You can't set roots for 10 years. So, yeah, I mean, your situation kind of lends itself to renting. I do want to philosophically, because I know this will be watched by people beyond Herbert and his situation of moving around for his job, it doesn't make sense to set down. But the thing I've always shared about why I love home ownership, beyond the financial stuff, is that it does allow a sense of community. I mean, that's why I nudged, I felt like I almost bullied Brian when they had their first child. I was like, "You guys have to get out of the apartment and get into a home because I just think that, you know, knowing your personality, you're going to be stressed out with that baby crying, knowing there's two neighbors on the sides of you, neighbors to the north, and neighbors below you. You got to get that baby in a house so you can cry in peace." But it is one of those things where, it is a different situation than Herbert has. But I feel like right now we're in this weird period where we're at all-time highs with pricing, interest rates are high. I think everybody needs to understand, I think we will revert to the norm at some point. Don't get discouraged now. Herbert's situation is not fit for his life. But for those of you who really want to own a home, don't let this moment freak you out. Your opportunity will come. I really do believe reversion to the norm will happen in some way. I don't know what that is by the way. I don't have the crystal ball. I just know that a lot of times in my life where I see things crazy and I just panic, or I think about it, and I think, "Man, that's so unfair. This doesn't work." It's very humbling over time that things adjust. That can come either through the real estate markets correcting themselves. I don't know if that's going to happen or not, or it could come with interest rates adjusting down lower in the future. There are enough variables that I think better days will come. So, don't despair. For more information, check out our free resources.