Growing up you’re inundated with questions that are appropriate for you age. When I was 6, people always asked, “What are you going to be when you grow up?” When I was 12, it was, “How tall are you, how much do you weigh?” The the tough questions came at around 17 or 18, “Where are you going to college, what you are you really going to be?” After college it’s, “When are you going to find a job, Are you seeing anyone yet?” My wife and I both finished our schooling last year, got married, and started new jobs. All while she was in Philadelphia and I was in Chicago (talk about a crazy year). We thought the questions would finally end!!! But no, now the questions are, “When are you going to have babies and when are you going to buy a house?”

Everyone’s encouraging us to have babies and soon! A lot of the newly married, young couples around us are either having their second babies or are pregnant with their first. So it’s tempting to entertain the idea, but our plan is to wait at least three more years. We want to enjoy our first few years of marriage. We still feel like we’re too selfish to give that much to another being and we’re trying to be more financially secure. We don’t have any qualms about getting to the point where we’ll one day be parents.

The source of contention goes with the second question of my adulthood, “When are you going to buy a house?” We live in a 1000 square foot apartment in the suburbs of Chicago and the rent is dirt cheap. The size of the place is just right for a couple without children. A few of the questions that we’ve been thinking about have been:

• When do we want to buy? Do we want to move out within the next year or two into a starter home and then move into a larger place when our family grows bigger? The time issue really is a big deal. We have to work it into starting a family and opening up my wife’s optometry practice. The timeline is really important.
• Do we really want a starter home or the dream home? The question determines if we move in a year or if we’ll wait longer to afford the bigger place. I really hate moving? Who doesn’t?
• Which would be more financially sound? Renting vs. Owning Everyone’s encouraging us to buy, buy, buy! They say that renting is throwing your money down the drain and that with owning you build equity. I partially agree with that, because once you drop your rent check at the beginning of the month, you’ll never see it again. I also think that with the run up of real estates prices in the last five to seven years, people have this misguided idea that prices are going to continue to skyrocket and that your house will be your best investment. It’s simple not true.

My wife and I are debating what to do. I think it’s probably wiser to save a few more years and forgo the starter house, while we invest. I think that nets us the most money. In Why rent? To get richer at SmartMoney, the author states that, “Houses don’t appreciate any faster than the level of inflation over the long term, so forget about buying a home and put your savings into stocks.

I’ll keep you posted with our decision, but I want to hear your thoughts about renting and owning.