🌟 Editor's Note
Welcome to another issue of Financial Freedom Insights. This newsletter is full of financial tips, insights, financial news, announcements, a special treat for those who make it to the bottom, and more!
🤖 AI Note
NONE of this newsletter was written using AI. It was written by humans for humans.
Table of Contents
Presented by:
Financial Freedom Starts Here
Hit Subscribe below and enter your email to get this newsletter sent right to your inbox!
💸 Your 10 Second Financial Freedom Tip of the Week
Don’t shop hungry! Shopping hungry can lead to way over spending and not sticking to your grocery list. So plan ahead and eat a meal before you head to the grocery store. This small habit change could save you hundreds of dollars!
📢 Announcements
Our online courses have officially relaunched!
It has taken us the beginning half of the year but our online courses are officially… online! Our self paced courses have over 75 hours of content that will teach you about Personal Finance, Investing, and Day Trading. We even have a Personal Finance 301 course that helps you complete your own Blueprint to Financial FreedomTM And the best part… we made it super affordable (less than a 5-layer burrito) because we want as many people to achieve Financial Freedom as possible!
Use the Coupon code RELAUNCH2026 to get 50% off of our Master Your Money. Build Your Future program and gain access to all of our courses. This brings the cost down to $2.50 a month. Yes, you read that number correctly. And the better news, once you sign up that price is locked in for life! So you will maintain that same price and get access to all of our future courses too.
This coupon code will expire on July 7th at midnight so you have plenty of time to look into it and see if it is something you believe would help.
📰 In the News
Federal student loan borrowers can lower their interest rates by 1%!
Starting July 1st, federal student loan borrowers can reduce their interest rates by 1% just by enrolling in auto pay - article here
4 in 10 of Gen X Americans have no retirement savings
Life goes quick, don’t be caught off guard. You need to start saving for retirement otherwise you may not be able to retire- article here
📈 Financial Freedom Insight
If You Never Own a Home, is That all Bad?
Image Courtesy of iStock.com
Financial Freedom Insight: Table of Contents
Why Do So Many People Feel Unable to Buy a Home?
The Housing Shortage
Stagnating Wages
The Cost of Home Ownership
Are There Advantages to Not Owning a Home?
Can You Build Wealth by Renting and Investing the Difference (RITD)?
What’s the Catch?
What’s the Verdict?
It’s no secret that people are struggling to make ends meet and are living paycheck to paycheck in many cases. It’s no wonder then that many young and not-so-young people are resigning themselves to the sad idea that they may never be able to own a home.
For one, saving enough for a deposit seems out of reach, and earning enough to cover a mortgage, property tax, utility bills, and maintenance is a heavy lift.
If that is really the case, is renting really such a bad idea? And if you aren’t relying on real estate to boost your portfolio, can you build wealth by renting and investing the difference?
Why Do So Many People Feel Unable to Buy a Home?
No matter how much gig work you take on to supplement your income, no matter how much you resist ordering takeout, cancel streaming apps, and give up your daily latte on the way to work, trying to save up a down payment to buy a home still seems an impossible task.
The inability of so many people, particularly first-time, young, and middle-income buyers, is a bigger problem. There is an affordability crisis caused by high interest rates, lack of supply, and wages that are not keeping up with inflation.
Interest Rates
Interest rates have been stubbornly high over recent years. The graph below shows the Federal Funds Interest Rate over the last four years.
Source: Macrotrends: Fed Funds Interest Rate | Historical Chart | Data | 1954-2026
For homeowners, interest rates have a huge impact on monthly payments. The mortgage on a house that cost the same in 2022 as in 2026 could be $1,000 more per month today.
Another effect of higher interest rates is that fewer homes are circulating on the market because homeowners have little incentive to sell and buy a new one.
Nearly 70% of current homeowners have mortgages with interest rates below 5%.[2] If they sell their house to buy a new one, they have to trade that ultra-low rate for a much higher one. As a result, homeowners are refusing to sell, keeping existing homes off the market.
The Housing Shortage
The effect of interest rates is keeping housing supply low, but a growing population is compounding the problem. According to Freddie Mac, the U.S. housing market is missing nearly 3.7 million units to meet current demand.[3]
Even where homes are being built, they tend to be at luxury or higher-end price points because developers must cover increasing labor and material costs. That makes it harder for people to find affordable starter homes. Also, zoning laws and land-use regulations in many areas ban more affordable townhomes, duplexes, or condos, limiting supply for home buyers.
Stagnating Wages
Home prices may not be rising rapidly or crashing at the moment, but average wages have not kept pace anyway.
According to data from the National Association of Realtors, a middle-income household earning around $75,000 a year can comfortably afford a home up to roughly $261,000.[4] That’s great, except that today, homes around that price account for only 23% of the market. That means most middle-income and entry-level buyers are priced out of 3 out of every 4 homes on the market.
The Cost of Home Ownership
Even if a buyer scrapes together a down payment and can afford the mortgage, they might struggle to pay the secondary costs, such as homeowners’ insurance. The costs of insurance have skyrocketed due to rising climate risks and the cost of construction material costs. In some areas, particularly California, Florida, and Texas, many insurance carriers have pulled out of the market.
Are There Advantages to Not Owning a Home?
As deflating as high interest rates and home prices might be, the good news is that homeownership is not necessarily the ultimate milestone. There are many advantages to renting a home.
Less Stress and More Freedom
Home ownership brings headaches and responsibilities, such as yardwork and maintenance. If you rent a home, these things are often taken care of. If your AC stops working or your roof needs repairs (which could cost $5,000 to $15,000), your landlord is responsible for fixing them.
Also, people are changing jobs more frequently and often relocating to do so. If you rent a home, it is much easier and often cheaper to up and move to a new area.
Fixed Housing Costs
When you rent, your monthly payments typically remain the same for the length of your lease. If property taxes, insurance premiums, or HOA fees go up, your landlord absorbs the hit, not you.
Avoiding "Lifestyle Creep"
Because it’s harder to find a starter home, people often buy more house than they need. A bigger house means buying more furniture, higher utility bills, and just more of everything to clean and maintain. All this adds up to an additional cost you could avoid by renting a smaller space.
Which brings us to the all-important question: can the money you save by renting be invested elsewhere to deliver a better return than homeownership?
The answer is… Maybe
Can You Build Wealth by Renting and Investing the Difference?
"Rent and Invest the Difference" (RITD) is a strategy. There is an old adage that renting amounts to "throwing money away," but that may not always be the case. It depends on your situation.
When you rent, your unrecoverable cost is simply your rent check. If your total cost of renting is significantly lower than the total cost of owning a similar home, it could be a strategy to take that leftover cash (the "difference") and any savings and aggressively invest in wealth-generating assets or tax-advantaged retirement accounts. It would be up to you to determine what assets you wanted to invest in and how much.
But remember no investment ever has guaranteed returns!
What’s the Catch?
While RITD can work, there are some things to keep in mind.
Be Careful of Lifestyle Creep
Without proper discipline, of putting the difference aside into the proper investment, you could be much worse off if you tried this strategy so be careful!
In other words, you calculate the “difference,” which, as a renter, is the amount you are not paying in maintenance, property tax, HOA fees, etc., and invest that amount “purposefully.” Ideally, that would be with the help of a financial advisor who can recommend the best diversified investments for you.
“Discipline” is the operative word because, as a homeowner, your mortgage ensures your money goes toward wealth-building rather than other things, such as vacations, dining out, or lifestyle creep.
Rent Inflation
Yes, your monthly rental payment is fixed for the term of your lease. But after that, there are no guarantees.
If you have a fixed-rate mortgage, your principal and interest payment is locked in for 30 years. If you rent, however, your rent could go up when your lease ends. In some cities, that could mean a 5% to 10% increase a year, and that would be enough to erode your wealth-building.
Debt Leverage
This is probably the biggest advantage of owning a home for wealth-building. If you buy a $300,000 home with $60,000 down, if your return is 3%, that 3% is a return on the $300,000 asset, not just the $60,000. As a renter, you only get a return on the amount you invest in your portfolio (the $60,000 down payment, if you have it, plus monthly savings).
What’s the Verdict?
While homeownership is the typical path to building a nest egg. It is not the only route to a substantial nest egg in the future.
We recommend you review your own circumstances, perform your due diligence, speak with a professional if necessary, and figure out what the best path for you is!
Disclaimer: Investing instead of buying a home is a strategy some people have used but we at Haas Trade are NOT telling you how to invest your money. Past performance is not conducive of future performance when it comes to investing. If you decide to invest instead of buying a house you MUST perform your OWN due diligence and make sure it is the best course of action for you.
Sources
[1] Macrotrends. “Macrotrends: Fed Funds Interest Rate | Historical Chart | Data | 1954-2026.” https://www.macrotrends.net/datasets/2015/fed-funds-rate-historical-chart. Accessed June 19, 2026.
[2] PR Newswire. January 14, 2026. “Mortgages Above 6% Now Exceed Share of Mortgages Below 3%, Marking a Turning Point in the Rate Lock-In Era.” https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mortgages-above-6-now-exceed-share-of-mortgages-below-3-marking-a-turning-point-in-the-rate-lock-in-era-302660419.html. Accessed June 19, 2026.
[3] Economic and Housing Research Group. November 26, 2024. “Housing Supply: Still Undersupplied By Millions of Units.” https://www.freddiemac.com/research/insight/housing-supply-still-undersupplied. Freddie Mac. Accessed June 19, 2026.
[4] Melissa Dittmann Tracey, May 20, 2026. “Inventory Is Finally Rising, So Why Aren’t Buyers Happier?” National Association of REALTORS®. https://www.nar.realtor/news/real-estate-news/inventory-is-finally-rising-so-why-arent-buyers-happier. Accessed June 19, 2026..
📙 Nathan Haas’s Scripture of the Week
Proverbs 23:4 (ESV)
“Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist.”
Thanks for reading!
Haas Trade Financial Freedom Insights
P.S. Think this newsletter could help someone you know? Please consider sharing it. Our goal is to help as many people as possible achieve their dream of financial freedom. It could all start with a simple click!
Friend or Family send you here? Subscribe below!
Nathan Haas, Founder & CEO, Financial Advisor & Coach
Caroline Banton, Director of Writing & Editing
💵 Financial Coaching
Tired of being stressed out about your finances and feeling like you aren’t making progress? We offer 1 on 1 Financial Coaching programs that may be perfect for you! Click below to learn more.
💰Financial Planning/Advising
Looking for a financial advisor? Haas Trade is only a financial coaching company but our sister company Haas Trade Advisors is a Fee-Only Fiduciary Financial Advising Firm that can help you with your saving, investing, and retirement needs via Comprehensive Financial Planning. Click the button below to learn more.
Have a busy schedule or prefer to listen to this newsletter? You can now listen to AI generated Podcasts of it on all of your favorite podcasting platforms!
Prefer to watch a video of the newsletter? You can now watch a video on our youtube channel! This is an AI generated video of our newsletter for those who prefer visual media!
💻 Haas Trade Online Courses (NOW LIVE!)
Prefer self-paced online learning? For only $5 a month we offer an ever growing list of online self-paced courses to help you on your journey to financial freedom. Click the button below to learn more.
Use the Coupon Code “RELAUNCH2026” to receive 50% off, that comes out to $2.50 a month! This coupon code will expire July 7th at Midnight.
😺 Making it to the Bottom Bonus
P.S.S. Okay now its the end of the newsletter, we hope everyone has stayed safe during the heavy storms and rains of the last couple of weeks! Here is a picture of a cool storm.
