I did a quick search and I couldn't find anything on it, but I was wondering if anyone has thought about the buy vs. invest option? Technically this is the rent vs. buy question, but with the twist that you could either have a fully paid off house or not have a house and have that value in investments instead. The quick math I did seems to lean toward renting while investing (provided that your rent isn't outrageous). For example, if you had even a cheap-average house like mine (125k) and could get 7-8% returns on that investment, your rent could be anywhere from $700-$830 AND you wouldn't have to pay property tax, repairs, etc. It gets even better if the rent includes partial utilities or cable/internet, etc. A more expensive house like a $200,000 house could afford rent of $1,150-1,330. What are your thoughts on this?