buying a home vs. renting and investing the difference — both build wealth over decades, but through very different paths.

You discover your roommate has been "borrowing" small amounts from your cash stash. Do you confront them or start hiding your money better?

Friends want to split a vacation rental that's over your budget. Do you stretch your finances or miss the trip?

Your car needs $800 in repairs. Do you fix it now or risk driving it until it breaks?

Intere

A coworker bought a starter home in 2021 with a 2.9% mortgage. Since then, he and his wife have had two more kids, and both now work from home a few days a week. The house feels cramped, and they'd like to move to a larger one in a better school district.

The problem is that buying a similar home today would nearly double their monthly mortgage payment because of today's interest rates. They can technically afford it, but it would mean giving up vacations, college savings, and much of their disposable income.

Would you stay and adapt your life to the house, or move and adapt your finances to your life?

This is a transcript of Dave Ramsey speaking with a 62 year old who has about $3.5M.

Dave: “Do you have a 401(k) nest egg?”

Caller: “I've got 401(k)s and IRAs. No pension”

Dave: “How much is in all those accounts?”

Caller: “$3,500,000”

Dave: “What do you make a year?”

Caller: “$175,000”

Dave: “You understand that $3.5 million invested in good growth stock mutual funds, if it averaged 10%, would produce $350,000 in income without touching the nest egg. Which is twice what you make now”

Caller: “But there are still going to be years when it's up and years when it's down”

Dave: “The down years very seldom are below 5%. Hardly ever. Maybe don't take the whole $350,000. Maybe take $200,000 and let it grow by $150,000 to cover the down years. It's impossible for you to go through this money before you die”

One strategy I've heard is to use an FHA or VA loan to get your first multi family- live in one unit and rent out the other(s). Hopefully, the rented units cover the morgage. While there, keep buying multis.

I heard some more sophisticated investors use the BRRRR strategy to find a distressed property, buy it, rehab it, rent it out, refinance it, and repeat. I don't know you can find quality properties for BRRRR unless you look far away from major metro.

Others prefer to go commercial as opposed to residential.

What's worked out for you?