Rent or Buy

Like the vast majority of Australian youth of my own and some subsequent generations, I was brought up with the understanding that my life would follow a fairly set path – get married, buy a house, have a family, save some money, die and leave it all to the kids. I think I rejected that life plan a long time ago, but of course death and leaving it all to the kids have yet to happen!

Elsewhere children are raised with the idea that not buying a home and renting for life is OK, if not even preferable, to working hard just to pay off a mortgage.

After a couple of decades of paying a mortgage at a rate higher than rent, I became a renter with a fairly long lease. When the landlord offered to sell me the property I declined on the basis that I had that long lease. When he then put them property on the market and the first potential buyer came for an inspection, I caved in and bought.

I remain firmly convinced that buying your own home and working like mad to get rid of the mortgage cannot be justified on economic grounds. The peace of mind enjoyed by millions of Australian homeowners cannot be justified in financial terms but demonstrates that other compelling measures apply.