STOP PAYING RENT

STOP PAYING RENT!

Paying rent does not make cents (sense), and it should certainly not be a life goal. However, most employees work to “pay the rent” or “earn a living”. If you ask me, these two responses are really one, “I earn a living to pay my rent”. For many people, paying rent is actually a “career objective”.

90% Employees believe that to pay rent is the right thing to do. They take this role so seriously that it is the first payment they make on payday! Let us examine this four-letter word in some detail, not because it is wrong or bad, but because most employees don’t really know the impact of this “responsible” payment on their life.

Rent adds no value to your net worth. Rent pays for your convenience but will not make you rich! After paying rent faithfully for 20 years, you will walk out of that apartment without so much as a “window” as a token (of appreciation) from the owner. It really does not matter if you live in Beverly Hills or a slum in far away udoland, if you don’t own the house, your net increase in value is zero! Surveys show that paying 30-40% of your salary, as rent is a reasonable sum to part with for suitable housing. Tell me, what is reasonable about losing 40% of the money your earn? Rent is probably the single most important reason why you don’t have any money in your pocket right now.

I have absolutely nothing against house owners who work hard to ensure that needy people have houses to rent. But, I do have a bone to pick with employees, living in false comfort and believing that where they live defines them. Most people believe that living in a good neighbourhood makes them rich while living in a slum makes them poor. The maths is really quite simple, if you pay rent for the house you live in, you are losing a lot of money that could make you rich.

The sensible thing to do is to own the house you live in, recover 40% percent of your income and use the money as capital to create wealth for your family. It is a down to earth way to get you out of poverty and into owning property. However, it will mean that you need to take some hard decisions today to ensure you become wealthy tomorrow. Some people take a mortgage; others buy houses, while others build their own homes. Do what works best for you in the shortest possible time, because the bottom line is, you need to stop Paying Rent!

Allan Bukusi