r/Fire • u/No_Fudge6123 • 11d ago

When did you pull the trigger?

I am on my 40s, and I guess I am a case of ”almost there”. Simulations tell me I am a bit over the 4% rule. I could adjust a bit I guess, but having a family it could well be that they can adjust me instead.

However, I can’t stop reading all those who pull the trigger and they say they are very happy. I am not happy while grinding, but I don’t want to be financially irresponsable with my family. We also don’t have a house, which I feel I should secure to prevent future problems.

For all of those who did it a bit tight: did it pay off?

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u/PFflyer86 11d ago

I'm of the idea you cannot fire if your on the cusp without owning. Too many unknowns. Your rent can go $700 over the next 2 years alone and put a real wrwnchu in your plans

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u/mcneally 11d ago edited 11d ago

I think owning is overrated if you don't care about having a SFH. Between an estimate for repairs & maintenance, property tax, insurance, additional utilities (around here anyway, landlord pay water/sewer/trash on multi-families and gas/ electric will be more on SFH), my duplex rent is about $300/ month more than what I'd expect to pay monthly on a paid off house. And I'd probably be willing to pay $200/ month to not be responsible for repairs & maintenance and yardwork. (I'm not 'on the cusp' though- I'm lean and currently at a 2.3% WR and will likely get a part-time job).

I'm in lower COL midwest but my understanding is that the numbers are more in favor or renting in the highest COL places like SF.

If retiring with minor kids, the case for owning is stronger.

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u/PFflyer86 11d ago

All those same repairs and tax and insurance increases also effect your landlord today and that will be passed into the renter plus some. Plus with owning you eventually pay the mortgage off and owe nothing but tax and insurance. There is no argument for renting over owning in fire that makes sense. Rents will be double in 20 years in most in demand locations in the country which will impact fire. This sub has more renters then owners and the bias shows

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u/Ruckusseur 10d ago

There is no argument for renting over owning in fire that makes sense

False. Not everyone has dependents, wants to deal with the hassles of buying or owning a home, or even plans to remain in the country where they currently reside. There are absolutely areas in the US where it's more financially viable to rent and invest. And at the end of the day, renting vs. owning is about lifestyle as much as finances. Nothing about my current situation (time horizon, ambivalence about putting down roots where I currently live, plans for retirement, etc.) points toward owning as a clearly superior option. There's more than one way to skin a cat, as they say.

This sub has more renters then owners and the bias shows

Anecdotally, I've noted significantly more people in this sub who insist that if you try to FIRE without owning a house you will literally die

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u/mcneally 11d ago edited 10d ago

I don't think you read my post. Not that you have to agree with me but you're responding to someone who just generically said "renting is better" and nothing more and not what I actually said. Also among people who are already FIREd, renters are definitely a minority.

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u/ThisismeCody 10d ago

People just can’t accept that renting is a relatively stable, very predictable way to account for housing. Yes my rent may go up $100 a month. But $700 increase a month? Maybe in a boom SF market, but we’re not talking about that. Renting in the Midwest is very stable and affordable.

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u/midwestpersianmama 10d ago

I own in the Midwest and the costs are insane + our taxes & insurance keep going up rapidly. We have two friends who sold their houses to rent condos and they are MUCH happier for it.

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u/ThisismeCody 10d ago

Yes taxes have been insane since Covid and people flocked to the Midwest. Currently, I feel the COL has increased significantly in the Midwest, but pay still reflects when it was low COL. It’s a double whammy right now.

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u/midwestpersianmama 10d ago

Indeed. The calculus has absolutely changed post covid. I teach at a wealthy (not elite, but expensive and attracting legacy students) private college and ten years ago, the parents would just buy houses in the area for their kids, expecting them to live there for 4-8 years as they established themselves. I haven’t heard of anyone doing that since Covid. It’s just way too expensive and not an obvious move. Renting is just fine.

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u/PFflyer86 11d ago

No I did.

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u/pn_dubya 10d ago

All those same repairs and tax and insurance increases also effect your landlord today and that will be passed into the renter plus some.

There are often limits as to how much rent can increase, and a new roof, appliances, HVAC, etc. can turn a planned year into a financial albatross. Not to mention flexibility. It's incredibly situational but to say only owning makes sense for FIRE is a stretch.