Why Renting Doesn’t Save As Much As You Think It Does

Code & Coins
14 min readApr 11, 2024
Photo by Tierra Mallorca on Unsplash

There is a school of thought when it comes to owning versus renting that says that renting has the benefit of not having to worry about maintenance, upkeep, taxes, etc. With renting you simply pay the rent (and maybe utilities if they’re not included), and nothing else.

Sounds reasonable…at first.

In this post I’d like to debunk this myth and show you how you actually do have to foot the bill for all of the above even when you’re renting.

First, a disclaimer.

Disclaimer

Let me preface this by saying I understand how hard it is to actually be able to afford a home AND be “qualified” to buy one in today’s climate.

This post isn’t meant to put on rose colored glasses and assume everyone is in the position to buy a home with ease. I am simply writing this to debunk a longstanding point of debate as to why renting is better than buying assuming the cost of rent and a mortgage are comparable.

As of writing this, it is currently literally more affordable to rent than it is to buy. This post is meant to discuss the why if owning is feasible for you why it might be better even if on the surface renting is cheaper.

The Myth

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