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In todays dollars, that comes to $342,691.
Buffett currently boasts anet worthof $141.1 billion, according toForbes Real-Time Billionaires List.
Sure, your house technically counts as an asset on your personal financial statement.
Too often, middle-class buyers overstretch their budgets for homes they dont need.
Housing is an expense that prevents you from putting money into true investments which illustrates the paradox of wealth.
Investments are where your real wealth lies, where the magic of compounding happens.
But they require delayed gratification, and theyre invisible to everyone but yourself.
When your stock portfolio or private equityreal estate investmentsshoot up in value, no one sees it.
The middle class should prioritize financial stability over appearances, continued Orcutt.
Thats the wrong question.
Instead, reframe the question to focus on the floor.
Ask: Whats the least I can spend on housing and still meet my priorities?
A home is meant to serve your needs, not be a financial burden.
Too often, middle-class buyers overstretch their budgets for homes they dont need, Singla remarked.
Hold Long-Term
Today,Realtor.comestimates the value of Buffetts home at around $1.4 million.
It has, of course, outpaced inflation well.
But it takes time for properties to appreciate.
For a home to break even, it must appreciate enough to cover both rounds of closing costs.
That illustrates another point: sometimes it makes more sense to rent than buy.
execute the Numbers on Renting vs.
Owning
Americans have bought into the narrative that everyone should own the home where they live.
It has put many of them in homes they dont belong.
And I also rent my own home.
Because I value flexibility over control.
I dont need to paint my daughters bedroom bubble-gum pink.
I do want to pick up and move whenever I feel like it.
Renters also enjoy easier budgeting, with single housing expense each month.
They also get to outsource all home maintenance and repair headaches to someone else.
In some markets, it costs less to rent, even after accounting for appreciation and mortgage principal paydown.
Take San Francisco infamous for its sky-high rents.
Homeownership isnt for everyone, at every phase of their life.
Consider whether renting might fit your life better after all, at least for the moment.
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