Renting vs Buying a Home - All 30 Years of Math

Is it better to rent or buy a home? The answer is more complicated than "rent is throwing money away" — and most videos on this question stop halfway through the math. In this video we run it all the way to the end. Two people, same income, same savings, one buys and one rents. We follow them for thirty full years and show every number, including the ones that make the case for buying look worse. Timestamps: 0:00 Meet Adam and Sarah 1:43 What Adam actually pays 2:54 What Sarah actually pays 3:40 Only $278 of it is his 5:13 Leverage — the part nobody explains 6:49 Year 3 8:53 What happens if prices fall 10:12 Year 10, and why he never catches up 12:08 The year renting gets expensive 13:55 Year 20, and the tax bill 15:19 The assumption nobody meets 16:20 Two futures 17:33 Year 30 20:12 The price-to-rent shortcut 20:06 So which is better WHAT WE ACTUALLY COVER How much of your first mortgage payment builds wealth (it's less than you think) Mortgage interest vs principal, and why the split flips over time Leverage — the real engine of homeowner wealth, and why nobody explains it properly What happens to a homeowner when prices fall 15% and 25% Property taxes, insurance and maintenance, counted honestly Rent increases over thirty years The year the renter's monthly cost overtakes the owner's Capital gains tax on an investment portfolio The $250,000 primary residence exclusion — the biggest tax break most people never hear about Selling costs, and why they wipe out early gains The price-to-rent ratio, and how to run it on your own city What a 7% return does to the answer, and what a 10% return does Why paying off your mortgage destroys the thing that made it a good deal What happens when the renter's wealth has to pay rent forever THE PART EVERYONE SKIPS Most rent vs buy comparisons stop at twenty years. Ours goes to thirty — because the last decade is where the mortgage ends, where leverage disappears, and where the answer stops being about who has more money. Buying gives you leverage, a fixed payment, a tax break nobody else gets, and a housing bill that eventually stops. Renting gives you flexibility, diversification, and more money in the market. Both come with a condition attached, and we show you exactly what those conditions are. EVERY ASSUMPTION, STATED $385,000 home · 20% down · 6.5% fixed 30-year mortgage · $2,250 rent rising 3% a year · 3–4% home appreciation · 8.5% assumed stock returns · 2.5% inflation · 6% selling costs · all figures nominal. Change the stock return assumption and the answer flips. We show you that too. REFERENCES & FURTHER READING Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — Mortgage Amortization Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — How Paying Down a Mortgage Works Freddie Mac — Closing Costs Fannie Mae — Building a Maintenance and Repair Budget IRS — Publication 523, Selling Your Home U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission / Investor.gov — Index Funds DISCLAIMER This video is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, tax, legal, mortgage or real-estate advice. All figures are illustrative assumptions. Past investment performance does not guarantee future results. SEO KEYWORDS 30 year mortgage explained, mortgage amortization explained, mortgage interest vs principal, how much of my mortgage payment goes to principal, leverage in real estate explained, does buying a house build wealth, home equity explained, what happens when house prices fall, capital gains tax on investments, primary residence exclusion, safe withdrawal rate explained, price to rent ratio, is renting throwing money away, renting and investing the difference, rent vs buy over 30 years, should I rent or buy a house, is buying a house worth it in 2026, homeownership vs renting the real math, real estate vs index funds, opportunity cost of a down payment, closing costs and selling costs explained, first time home buyer math, compound growth vs home appreciation, personal finance explained simply, financial education animated, Captain Green TAGS 30 year mortgage, mortgage amortization, interest vs principal, leverage explained, home equity, house price crash, capital gains tax, primary residence exclusion, withdrawal rate, price to rent ratio, rent vs buy, renting vs buying a home, should I rent or buy, is buying a house worth it, buying vs renting 2026, renting and investing the difference, real estate vs index funds, opportunity cost, closing costs, selling costs, first time home buyer, compound growth, homeownership, personal finance, financial education, Captain Green HASHTAGS #RentVsBuy #HomeBuying #PersonalFinance #Investing #WealthBuilding #CaptainGreen So — are you buying, renting, or have you been about to buy for the last four years? Let me know in the comments. Subscribe to Captain Green for money questions worked through properly — real numbers, plain language, and every assumption on screen.