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Comment by mistermann | Hacker News Reader

Would you mind sharing how many years ago it was that you bought, and what your estimated % increase is in your house since then?

> I don’t count house equity in our extreme retirement plan, as far as I am concerned, it will be icing on top of the cake.

If that turns out to be true, you are doing very well indeed with your saving. For typical income in Vancouver vs typical housing price (and even in other parts of Canada, but to a lesser extent), your house is the cake and everything else is a rounding error. There is a vast net worth chasm in this country between those who purchased before housing started going nuts vs those who did not, regardless of your saving level.

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> There is a vast net worth chasm in this country between those who purchased before housing started going nuts vs those who did not

Housing has gone up nation-wide, but not everywhere is nearly as crazy as the major urban centers (Vancouver, Toronto, etc). For mid-sized cities or smaller, I don't think the gap can be called a "chasm".

sure. i bought 10 years ago. i would say the value of my house has climbed 262%.

if i sold my house today and found a place to rent for the same housing costs, we would only have to work 4.5 years before "retiring" (work by choice, earn enough interest to cover expenses) compared to the 10 to 13.5 years I mentioned above.

but i don't want to sell right now to "retire" earlier. my kids are still young and in school and we love our place. We can walk and bike almost everywhere. My current job is still interesting. If things change (jobs, health, etc.) then maybe I would sell and move.

Wow, good for you, and you seem pretty grounded about it.

My prediction is you'll find holding turns out to be a wise financial move as well, I think another doubling of housing (houses, not condos) prices will happen, within 10 years if not much sooner.

thanks, but really just timing, i am not any smarter than the next person. financial i do hope my equity continues to rise, but i do worry about the negative effects on our neighborhoods and society.

regarding savings rate, i do believe it is the only thing that matters, not how much you make, when it comes to obtaining financial freedom.

sure there are extremes, one should be making a multiple above the poverty line. but if you assume this is the case, then how much you make can either be translated into earlier financial freedom through an increased savings rate or "nicer things".

here is an ouput of my simple retirement calculator:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8k8RO7VeaIbc0JlUExLZmktSkE...

I agree, but this normally correct theory is less valid in societies that have simultaneously decided that median housing costs should be be 3,40,50%+ of the median salary.

Sorry, just a little bitter that I lived below my means and actually saved, unlike those who stretched dangerously to buy as much house as possible, and essentially won the lottery in the process.

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