It’s widely thought that home ownership is a key to building wealth — but is it? And should you consistently make sacrifices to buy your own home?
Let’s start with the first question: Is owning a home essential to building wealth? It would probably be more accurate to say that home ownership can be helpful in building wealth. Building home equity — essentially, the difference between the size of your home’s value and what you still owe — is certainly valuable. Plus, the bigger your equity, the less you might have to take out in a new mortgage if you ever want to buy a different home.
Now for the next question: How much should you sacrifice to buy your own home? This isn’t an easy question to answer because buying a home isn’t just a financial issue — it’s also an emotional one. Many people simply like the feeling of owning a home. If you fall into this category, you might be willing to make many sacrifices to join the ranks of homeowners.