My only reasons to *own* a house rather than to rent was for that sense of ownership you get with *owning*.

I thought of superficial things such as being able to do more permanent decorating, buying matching more permanent (non-Ikea) furniture, having a back / front yard and using that area for entertainment and other social functions, having a garage, setting up a dedicated media / entertainment center, having your own washer and dryer, not sharing walls… the list goes on and on.

There were also non-superficial values I assumed owning would provide that renting COULD never such as being able to have a stable residence / address and being able to raise a family.

However since renting the apartment then moving to the house in Lakewood, I’ve learned I can have many things on both lists, with the only stress of having to make sure I make my rent payment. If I don’t like where I’m at, I can pick up and move to another location.

Don’t get me wrong, I’d still prefer to *own* a house rather than rent BUT I do not feel bad for renting!

I knew at the time (4+ years ago) when I began to look at buying that the market was entering into stupid inflation land and by the time we could buy it would be too late to afford a reasonably priced house or condo/townhouse (which I despise)

I just didn’t want to get into some crazy mortgage I couldn’t afford JUST to have a house, so I would have to rent.

Financially speaking, had our life been one year advanced, we’d have married a year sooner and been in better shape to own something, but that’s just how life is and finances weren’t the reason we were getting married!

All you can do are some basic things (saving, avoiding grossly unnecessary debt, being observant of your surroundings / opportunities) to help prepare for the coming curve ball that life will throw you. I suppose it would be easy to get consumed into calculating risks and how to avoid them, but I think it would squelch too much of the necessary *fun* time you MUST allow yourself in life and probably shorten your lifespan.

If buying a house would lead to me choking myself every month… I don’t want it!