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$42,070

September 9th, 2007 at 08:11 pm

$42,070: the approximate amount I've paid in rent over the last 6 years.

Yikes.

The number is only an approximation because some of my apartments included utilities in the rent whereas others, like my current place, do not. I halved the monthly rent for the past 3 years since I was married because my spouse and I basically split expenses.

My rent has ranged from $400 / month (my current place.. where $400 covers 1/2 the total rent for a 2 BR house and no utilities in a small college town), to $860 / month for a 1 BR apartment in DC back in 2004.

This is good motivation to continue to stash away my $20 Challenge money earmarked for a house down payment.

Posted in Saving Wisely | 6 Comments »

6 Responses to “$42,070”

  1. Ima saver Says:
    September 9th, 2007 at 08:19 pm 1189365546
    1189365546

    Wow, that is a lot!! I was so lucky. I bought my first house when I was 21 and worked like heck to get it paid off. Save for that down payment.

  2. Aleta Says:
    September 9th, 2007 at 11:32 pm 1189377178
    1189377178

    What a wake up call to see the final totals. It is an excellent motivation to look at where your money is going though and how much of it is going. You're more or less seeing the big picture.

  3. nika Says:
    September 10th, 2007 at 12:05 am 1189379108
    1189379108

    Don't feel so bad. How much would you have paid in interest on your mortgage?
    For us, rent is smaller than the interest part of the mortgage would be, and property taxes alone would be 1/3 of the rent. If we could have bought 6 years ago when prices were reasonable, than yes, it would make sense. But to buy now just hoping for appreciation? That's scary.

    I don't have an emotional desire to buy a house, to me it is just numbers. So even though we have a downpayment and an ability to buy, I have been hesitant to do it. Look at all the numbers, not just rent. Of course, I don't know about your area, maybe in your housing market it does make economic sense.

    Good luck!

  4. threebeansalad Says:
    September 10th, 2007 at 01:37 am 1189384656
    1189384656

    Thanks for the comments. Just to clarify-- I don't feel bad that I've been renting. Buying in the past 6 years wouldn't have been a wise decision for me for a number of reasons-- the first of which is that my career and education has not required me to move to different cities in that time period. However, I will be settling down in the next few years and look forward to buying a home at that point.

  5. anon Says:
    September 10th, 2007 at 01:55 am 1189385728
    1189385728

    seeing that figure just makes me want to save even more for a house - im 20 and all my bf and i want is some crappy house to call our own! i've been renting for nearly 2 years and though compared with most people that's hardly anything, but like you have shown, the figure adds up and makes you want to be able to use that money for something else. I've only paid around $8000 in rent in my whole life but to me that's huge!

  6. fern Says:
    September 10th, 2007 at 08:03 pm 1189451008
    1189451008

    Wow, when you put it that way...

    If it's any consolation, I didn't buy my 1st house til i was 36.

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