Choosing to move out or hang on a bit longer.

In My Humble Opinion
21

Why are you just paying nominal rent? Even if your parents are okay with it and you are repaying them with in-kind services, it still seems kind of overly self-indulgent to me. Especially since you seem pretty proud of yourself for saving a lot. You’ve mentioned it many times on the board. Maybe this is my own insecurity showing, but it comes across as borderline bragging (Lookit how much money I have, you rent-paying suckers!) Intellectually I know you aren’t bragging because you seem too nice to brag. But it still can kind of seem that way to me. (Hey, you asked for our opinions.:))

Personally I think the current living arrangement is making you too risk-averse. Instead of living your life and accepting that there will always be risks, it seems as if you’re all about protecting your assets instead of doing something with them. Having lots of money is great. But having fun experiences is better. I am starting to appreciate this a lot more as I get older.

I guess I don’t see the harm in renting for awhile. I don’t care that you did it for 8 years already. That was a different time, under different conditions. Get a short-term lease somewhere in a cool neighborhood. Stop with the nervous bean counting and let your hair down a little. Buy some IKEA furniture and do it up royal. Your parents are just a phone call away, and you can always check in with them on Sunday evening. Plenty of teachers are making it on their own without relying on the kindness of their parents. And you have built up a great safety net. Many people do not have anything saved and that’s not stopping them from dancing all night long. If they can do it, why can’t you? :slight_smile:

Just try to have some fun and stop worrying about everything being tidy and predictable. It’s not going to be. But you are strong enough to handle whatever comes your way.

22

STEP-daughter.

I might be dumb, but I am not crazy enough to get into that dynamic…

23

Thanks for the advice folks. Some good food for thought here!

24

I’m in real estate and after the crash the old assumption of buying always being better than leasing is not necessarily always the case in the current market. I’m not familiar with the Canadian market, but the financial logic in considering buying to always be the way to go is not as clear cut as it used to be given that a lot of that reasoning was based on the notion that real estate values will never fall.

If you are a young person in a potentially transitional work environment leasing may make more sense in the near term.

25

How much value do you place on having your independence? Greatly, apparently, as you mentioned it three times in your OP. There’s value in that, so I think you should be leaning toward moving out on your own again.

Staying put until October, until you see how the subbing works out, is just fine, though.

And there’s also the prospect, which you mentioned, of earning up to $600/month doing private music lessons, versus saving $800 - $1000 / month on rent by staying home with the fambly. Thus, your suggestion that your savings rate might plummet to around $0 if you rent does not compute. Are you fairly confident on the income you could make with your private music lessons? Will you have the time to moonlight at it after school? Will you have any time left for your social life, which is one of the benefits of living on your own? Will you be teaching algebra? Do the math!