Steven

But it's not, in the slightest. I mean, for anyone who's owned a house, you know the expenses that go into a house. It's not just the mortgage. It's the broken water heater. It's replacing your roof. It's the expenses that go into it. Like, you want to talk about throwing your money away, try replacing your roof on a house that you own. That feels like throwing money away.

So my wife and I lived in five different cities. Some of those were because we got jobs that we didn't, you know, in different cities we had to move. You can't quantify that flexibility or it's very hard to, but in the moment it was everything. It was, I remember when my wife got into grad school and it was like, great, pack up this city and move to this city.

So my wife and I lived in five different cities. Some of those were because we got jobs that we didn't, you know, in different cities we had to move. You can't quantify that flexibility or it's very hard to, but in the moment it was everything. It was, I remember when my wife got into grad school and it was like, great, pack up this city and move to this city.

And it was just like, no handcuffs, just get up and go. Versus if you own your house, like anyone's tried to sell a house, like it's a nightmare. And so you can't quantify that, but it meant everything in the world to us now.

And it was just like, no handcuffs, just get up and go. Versus if you own your house, like anyone's tried to sell a house, like it's a nightmare. And so you can't quantify that, but it meant everything in the world to us now.

There are so many people today who bought homes in 2021, 2022, and their mortgage rate was 2% or 3%. They have a 2% or 3% mortgage. And a lot of those people want to move today because they can get a better job in another city. They want to move and they feel like they can't.

There are so many people today who bought homes in 2021, 2022, and their mortgage rate was 2% or 3%. They have a 2% or 3% mortgage. And a lot of those people want to move today because they can get a better job in another city. They want to move and they feel like they can't.

because because they're they have golden handcuffs for the super cheap mortgage because if they sold their house and bought a new one their new mortgage rate would be seven and a half percent and so those are people who like a lot of those people look back and when they bought in 2021 they're like we won the lottery two percent mortgage this is amazing and looking back they're like gosh we would have been so better off renting if we did if we had the flexibility to move so interesting

because because they're they have golden handcuffs for the super cheap mortgage because if they sold their house and bought a new one their new mortgage rate would be seven and a half percent and so those are people who like a lot of those people look back and when they bought in 2021 they're like we won the lottery two percent mortgage this is amazing and looking back they're like gosh we would have been so better off renting if we did if we had the flexibility to move so interesting

So much of economic prosperity over history is your ability to move. And that's been true for hundreds of years. Like if you want to see like a basic measure of how wealthy any economy is, like how often do people move? Because moving is usually a symbol of opportunity.

So much of economic prosperity over history is your ability to move. And that's been true for hundreds of years. Like if you want to see like a basic measure of how wealthy any economy is, like how often do people move? Because moving is usually a symbol of opportunity.

And the more that they're locked down and feel like they can't move, the more stagnant and like sclerotic that economy is going to be.

And the more that they're locked down and feel like they can't move, the more stagnant and like sclerotic that economy is going to be.

I stole that from an author named Ramit Sethi. He's a very well-known author. And he says, too many people ask $3 questions when they should be asking $30,000 questions. What he means by that are when people say, how can I save more money? They say, I should stop drinking coffee. That's a $3 question. And that does not make any difference to you.

I stole that from an author named Ramit Sethi. He's a very well-known author. And he says, too many people ask $3 questions when they should be asking $30,000 questions. What he means by that are when people say, how can I save more money? They say, I should stop drinking coffee. That's a $3 question. And that does not make any difference to you.

What you should be asking are $30,000 questions like, where should I go to college? Should I go to the cheap school or the expensive school? Where should I live? The cheap city or the expensive city? Should I rent or should I buy? Those are $30,000 questions. And we spend a lot of mental energy on $3 questions that actually don't move the needle that much in our finances.

What you should be asking are $30,000 questions like, where should I go to college? Should I go to the cheap school or the expensive school? Where should I live? The cheap city or the expensive city? Should I rent or should I buy? Those are $30,000 questions. And we spend a lot of mental energy on $3 questions that actually don't move the needle that much in our finances.

For most people, there are only a couple of expense items that actually matter to your finances. That is your housing payment, either rent or mortgage, your car payment, child care, health care. And that's pretty much it. And yes, you're going to spend money on other things, but those four, that's the vast majority of what people spend money on.

For most people, there are only a couple of expense items that actually matter to your finances. That is your housing payment, either rent or mortgage, your car payment, child care, health care. And that's pretty much it. And yes, you're going to spend money on other things, but those four, that's the vast majority of what people spend money on.

But when you hear people talk about how do you save money, it's like, oh, well, stop going to Starbucks. You can pack your own lunch to work. It doesn't make that much of a difference. It's those big four things.