A weekly thread to discuss financial matters - from personal all the way up to global.
Ground Rules
- Remember that we're all just Internet randos. Don't bet your life savings on a hot tip from this thread.
- Keep culture war in the culture war thread. Yes, global events may impact our personal finances, but that does not mean we have to incessantly harp on culture war aspects here. If you are going to discuss it, please stick to the practical impacts of it on an individual level.
- Be kind. Remember that everyone here comes from different circumstances. We all have different resources available and different risk tolerances.
- Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Better is better. Celebrate people when they take a step up and work to move their finances in the right direction. Don't flame out because they haven't followed what you consider the optimal path. Everybody has to start somewhere.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
Owning a home is great. I am glad I do, most days. It is not a good financial choice.
For example: since I bought my house 4 years ago, it has gone down ~10% in real dollars. Then, leverage by a factor of 5+. The market has gone up 80%. The lost market growth on my down payment alone works out to about the same amount as I've paid in mortgage etc.
Even if the math did work in favor of owning in my specific case, this is like being the smug friend who held NVDA or BTC. Not a genius, just a lucky gambler. Actually, worse: a REIT would be a better analogy for that. Owning a specific house and being happy it worked out well is way higher variance. Foundation cracks? Meth lab next door? Have fun.
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