[jacquesm]

You must be a much better investor than I am. On property I have to date never lost a dime, and made pretty good money every time I bought something and held on to it for at least five years. But on other investments the returns have been all over the place, from tripling my money to losing it all and everything in between.

If you don't have a home that you own yet and your only options are mortgage or renting I'd pick the mortgage any time, but I'd always make sure to buy in a market that is active.

[bbbobbb]

It sounds like I might be in this case. We're talking decades. You are talking about various investments and even making sure to time the mortgage to beat the market.

I am talking about putting the money in S&P 500 and similar without trying to time, beat or track anything.

[orwin]

You always bought property in or nearby city centers then. My mom's house lost 10k (~5%) in value in 10 years. Not an issue at all, but rural houses do not appreciate as much as the worst ETFs

[thunky]

> You must be a much better investor than I am

> returns have been all over the place, from tripling my money to losing it all and everything in between.

Yes you are a bad investor and you should stop what you're doing and buy VTI or a target retirement fund instead.

It takes zero skill or effort to get average market returns that way.

[jacquesm]

Thank you for your well thought out advice.

[thunky]

You're welcome. But don't take my word for it:

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/030916/buffe...

[lukas099]

A house is a lot of eggs in one basket though.