Poor people buy homes, my friend. Wealthy people rent. Allow me to explain. In 2026, the average mortgage payment broke two thousand dollars a month for the first time ever — a forty-four percent increase in four years. The average rent right now is one thousand seven hundred and two dollars. The average mortgage — two thousand three hundred and twenty-nine. Over six hundred dollars more every month, before property taxes, insurance, repairs, and maintenance. The hidden costs of owning run over eighteen thousand dollars a year extra. Meanwhile, households earning over one hundred and fifty thousand a year that rent instead of buy went up eighty-seven percent in five years. Not because they cannot afford a home — because they did the mathematics. A house is not an investment. It is an expense that happens to appreciate slowly. Real investors do not live in their assets. They own buildings that pay them every month. They rent their lifestyle. They buy cashflow. The middle class was told renting is throwing money away. That idea was invented by banks that needed you to sign a thirty-year loan. You are not building wealth, my friend. You are building someone else's balance sheet — one payment at a time. Comment "RENT" — I shall send you the free guide personally. With my regards, Sir Edmund Hale ⚠️ Educational only, not financial advice — rent versus buy depends on your situation. — #oldmoney #rentvsbuy #siredmundhale #quietwealth #realestate - @sir.edmund.hale