540: Renting vs. Buying a Home in 2024 and Do You Have Enough in Your 401(k)?

Renting vs. buying a house: when it comes to FIRE, many people assume that you must own a home and preferably have it paid off to reach financial freedom. But is this really true? With renting so much cheaper than buying in 2024, would it be wiser to rent a place and send the savings to your investment accounts? Today, we’re tackling this topic and a few other heavy hitters as we give our takes on four of the hottest financial headlines.

Kyle Mast, certified financial planner, joins Scott Trench to share FIRE-first thoughts on these not-so-easy-to-answer questions. First, we give our take on the ever-relevant renting vs. buying debate and ask whether things have changed since high mortgage rates have made buying a home much more expensive. Then, how do you manage savings and investments with interest rates so high—should you keep your money in a high-yield savings account or search for better opportunities even with savings yields so high?

Think your nest egg is a little too light? We share the average 401(k) balance for those close to retirement and give our strategies to boost retirement savings before you leave full-time work. Finally, for those struggling to take care of elderly parents, our last headline is for you. We talk about the growing number of Americans physically, mentally, andfinancially caring for aging parents and how you can set yourself up in the best position possible to care for those in your life.

In This Episode We Cover

Buying vs. renting a house in 2024 and whether homeownership is required for FIRE

The best housing investments you can make to propel your net worth and savings rate

Saving and investing during higher interest rates and the type of “opportunities” you must be looking out for

The shocking average 401(k) balance and what you can do to increase income in retirement

How to ensure your children DON’T have to financially care for you in your old age

And So Much More!

Links from the Show

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Podcast Talent Search!

Find an Investor-Friendly Agent in Your Area

Find Investor-Friendly Lenders

Property Manager Finde

Renting is Increasingly Cheaper Than Buying a Home

How to manage retirement savings with interest rates remaining elevated

This Is the Average 401(k) Balance for Ages 55 to 64

When Caring for Your Parents Comes at a Cost to Your Career

See Scott at BPCON2024 in Cancun!

Grab the Book, “First-Time Home Buyer”

Hear Our Episodes with “Catching Up to FI”:

BiggerPockets Money 537 - Late Start, Early Retirement: A Step-by-Step Guide to Get On Track to FI

BiggerPockets Money 538 - Late Start, Early Retirement: The Huge Advantages of Investing Later in Life

00:00 Intro

01:57 Renting vs. Buying a House

10:49 Best Home Purchase for FI?

13:35 Saving and Investing with High Rates

25:05 Average 401(k) Balance

33:02 Caring for Elderly Parents

Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/money-540

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