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> When you rent, you are also paying interest on a loan--just not your loan. Actually, you're paying somebody who also might be paying interest on a loan. What

> When you rent, you are also paying interest on a loan--just not your loan. Actually, you're paying somebody who also might be paying interest on a loan. What happens to money after you pay it is immaterial. You're not paying interest on a rent debt you've accumulated. > The point is, a mortgage creates leverage and it's silly to ignore that when thinking about return. You're spinning it in terms of pure rewards. When you leverage your money on an investment which can have value go both up and down, you're just magnifying your exposure. Of course, if you can find an investment that's guaranteed to go up, of course you should leverage yourself to the hilt. If that's the case, go buy up some tulip bulb. > This is speculation by you. Again: note how many resumes keep college on them. And also by you - if we did an A/B test based on years of experience vs college, we can see whether that matters or not. Everything else is speculation. > you think that salaries for people with degrees grow more slowly than for people without degrees. Of course they do. If you start off earning 30k as a high school dropout doing the same job as somebody earning 60k who has a degree, your wage will rise more quickly if you perform at the same level.

snowwrestler 10y ago
> Of course, if you can find an investment that's guaranteed to go up, of course you should leverage yourself to the hilt. It's worth pointing out that the post I'm replying to stated that housing prices generally track inflation, which is upward. My point is simply that leverage permits a return higher than inflation under those circumstances. I wouldn't claim that housing prices are some sort of "sure thing," and I don't think I did. > And also by you Yes, but the difference is I know I'm speculating. Unless you've got some actual data to bring, I'm not interested in a guessing contest.
- jimmywanger 10y ago
  > It's worth pointing out that the post I'm replying to stated that housing prices generally track inflation... Well, my point is that if you leverage yourself in an investment that just tracks inflation, you're running in place. Leverage doesn't do anything in real terms here. The number value in your bank account might go up, but your real purchasing power doesn't. That was my point, that in this situation leverage doesn't help you, and that fundamentally if you're trying to use leverage in this situation, you're hoping that housing prices rise faster than inflation does.

snowwrestler 10y ago

> Of course, if you can find an investment that's guaranteed to go up, of course you should leverage yourself to the hilt. It's worth pointing out that the post I'm replying to stated that housing prices generally track inflation, which is upward. My point is simply that leverage permits a return higher than inflation under those circumstances. I wouldn't claim that housing prices are some sort of "sure thing," and I don't think I did. > And also by you Yes, but the difference is I know I'm speculating. Unless you've got some actual data to bring, I'm not interested in a guessing contest.

jimmywanger 10y ago
> It's worth pointing out that the post I'm replying to stated that housing prices generally track inflation... Well, my point is that if you leverage yourself in an investment that just tracks inflation, you're running in place. Leverage doesn't do anything in real terms here. The number value in your bank account might go up, but your real purchasing power doesn't. That was my point, that in this situation leverage doesn't help you, and that fundamentally if you're trying to use leverage in this situation, you're hoping that housing prices rise faster than inflation does.