> "renting is just throwing your money away".

yep, it is.

i bought my home and went from paying 650 euros/month for a single room and sharing the rest of the flat with a roommate (in his own room) to paying 430 euros/month for my whole flat (in the same city, btw).

fast forward a few years and:

- the same room now goes for around 700-900 euros/month (post covid inflation)

- my mortgage price would have stayed the same (fixed interest rate)...

- ... except i paid it in full before time (and saved a ton on interest)

- my flat is now worth a lot more than i paid id (again: post-covid inflation)

nowadays i'll be kinda braggy, i'm leaving the dream: i work in tech, i have a very good salary and all of my fat paycheck stays in my pockets.

having a mortgage with a fixed interest rate meant i could plan around the payments i had to make.

and don't get me wrong: i'm 34, i'm not a boomer.

they say that renting gives you optionality. well... i can still easily sell my flat and move elsewhere OR, hear me out... i can rent it.

My home on 3/4 acre is worth 2.5x what I paid for it after just 7 years ago.

The best time to plant a tree... same for a house... Do it now or live with the regret of generations of "wait and hope" idiots. I waited and I see the folly of my ways. If I had done it 20 years earlier and dealt with the hardship of being "house poor" for a few years I would have been able to retire at an early age. Do not let fear control your decisions/actions! Carpe diem!!!!