[e4ad93ca07]

That’s assuming people purchase assets that increase in value over time. And that most people are fiscally responsible and manage their debt properly. Which isn’t the case for probably 90%+ of Americans.

It’s very easily to live a paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle (even in higher incomes, people adapt to expensive lifestyles very quickly) and spend a lot of money on vacations, cars, eating out etc... and only consider your living costs as a passive constant that you pay no attention to. I imagine most people think of spending and budget allocation in this way, so for them having a mortgage makes more sense.

Rather if you think of every purchase in terms of your total net worth and you spend a significant amount of your income towards saving, investments, and assets that don’t depreciate, then sure, maybe renting is your better option.

[statguy]

OTOH it can also be argued that fiscally irresponsible people should not be taking on mortgages as they are the more likely to end up with a foreclosure.