Buying vs renting: which is smarter for your money and lifestyle?

If you’ve ever found yourself scrolling property listings late at night or running the numbers on what rent you could save if you “just bought already,” you’re not alone. The question of whether to buy or rent your home is one of the biggest financial crossroads most of us face, and it calls for careful financial planning.

And on top of it all, family, friends, and colleagues each have their own opinion. Some will tell you renting is throwing money away. Others will swear that buying is a money trap. With so much noise, it’s no wonder many people feel stuck in the middle, unsure of what’s actually right for them. And with options like buy now pay later schemes increasingly influencing how we think about affordability, the decision can feel even more complicated.

Here’s the truth: there isn’t one answer that works for everyone. Even if the maths looks perfect on paper, buying property might still not be the best choice for you. For some people, the freedom and flexibility of renting is more valuable. For others, paying off a home loan feels safer and more secure.

It really depends on your life stage, your finances, and what feels like the best fit for the way you want to live.

The Wealthbit Buying vs Renting tool was designed to guide you through the decision from every angle, cutting through the “renting is wasting money” versus “buying is a trap” debate and grounding everything in your actual numbers and lifestyle.

And just to be clear, this isn’t about buying property as an investment strategy. That’s a different conversation altogether. Right now, we’re talking about the home you live in.

In this article, we’ll look at two aspects of this tool:

1. Life fit looks at your lifestyle and priorities as well as the numbers.
2. Buying vs renting now checks your current affordability and readiness.

Step 1: What fits your life right now

Start with your lifestyle before looking at costs.

Your goals and priorities will guide whether renting or buying makes more sense.

For example, if you might move to a new city in the next couple of years, renting gives you flexibility. If you’re planning to settle down and start a family, buying may feel like the better fit. And if you want the freedom to travel whenever a good deal pops up, renting can make life simpler since you’re not tied to one place.

In the first section of the tool, you’ll tick the statements that feel true for you.

• Do you value flexibility?
• Do you want stability?
• Would you rather avoid repairs and big upfront costs?
• Or are you excited by the idea of building equity?

This is a simple way to see whether your lifestyle leans more towards renting or buying.

The tool then gives you a headline result: renting lean, buying lean, or balanced. Something like:

Knowing what fits your life is a good place to start. It helps you see more clearly how to move forward.

Step 2: Are you financially ready?

Being financially ready to buy is super important. The last thing you want is to overstretch yourself or get stuck with payments you can’t keep up with.

In the tool, map out your monthly income versus your monthly spending, your debt levels, your emergency buffer, how much you’re putting away for the future, and what you’ve already saved toward buying.

Think of it as a pre-flight safety check. It evaluates whether you’re financially ready to buy before you take off.

Once you’ve filled all of these in, the tool insight boxes will show whether you’re ready, close, or not quite there yet.

If you spot a red flag here, it’s better to know now than halfway through an offer to purchase.

The great thing about these insights is that they’re based on your actual numbers, not your feelings or a colleague’s opinion. They’re objective.

Step 3: Compare your numbers

Buying a home isn’t just about wanting to. It’s about having a clear picture of your finances and what they can really afford you, including all the hidden costs and factors that come with ownership.

Scroll to the “Compare what renting and buying might look like” section. This is where we put the two paths side by side and start grounding the decision in your actual numbers.

On the left is your Renting table. Fill in what you pay now, what rent would be in your target area or just use your current rent if you wouldn’t move, how much you expect rent to rise each year, and the one-time security deposit.

On the right is your Buying table. Add your target home price, deposit percentage, mortgage rate, loan term, property tax, and all the upfront and monthly costs that come with buying.

Once you’ve filled this in, check your housing snapshot. This is where the first insight formula kicks in, showing you:

• How your savings compare to the deposit you need
• What your monthly bond repayment could look like
• How rent in your chosen area stacks up against that bond
• How that bond compares to your current rent
• Whether your savings cover the upfront plus first-year buying costs.

Next, look at the two headline ratios underneath the Buying table. These tell you:

• The share of your income that would go to housing. Under 25% is usually comfortable. Over 30% means you’ll need to plan carefully.
• How your monthly lifestyle spend would change if you bought a place. A positive number means you’d spend more each month, a negative number means buying would actually cost you less.

These are models, not guarantees, but they give you real insights so that whichever path you choose, you do it with your eyes wide open.

In the next article, we’ll explore the insights you can gather from using the “Over time: Buying or renting?” insights sheet. It shows how the numbers play out in the long run and helps you see the bigger financial picture behind each option.

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