<story><title>How Homeownership Became the Engine of American Inequality</title><url>https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/09/magazine/how-homeownership-became-the-engine-of-american-inequality.html?hp&amp;action=click&amp;pgtype=Homepage&amp;clickSource=story-heading&amp;module=photo-spot-region&amp;region=top-news&amp;WT.nav=top-news</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>komali2</author><text>Regarding 2: I cannot wait to pay off my debts (scheduled in September!) and start putting money in IRA and 401(k) :) Every time someone asks me if I&amp;#x27;m using the 401k I always feel sheepish answering &amp;quot;no... because I have debts with a higher interest rate than I&amp;#x27;d get on the return...&amp;quot; Nobody seems to buy it but I&amp;#x27;ve run the math again and again, it&amp;#x27;s just true.</text></item><item><author>kcorbitt</author><text>So this article advocates for the removal of the mortgage interest tax deduction, because subsidizing home ownership leads to a larger economic divide between owners and renters. As a renter, I appreciate the intent, and I also appreciate any measure to simplify the tax code. That said, I also see compelling arguments in the deduction&amp;#x27;s favor. The sad truth is that most Americans are terrible at saving and in very poor shape for retirement[1]. And empirically, a home mortgage is perhaps the most successful mass-market forced-savings program in American society today, with much higher participation than tax-deferred retirement accounts[2]. So I see the advantage of tax policies that encourage people to buy their home.&lt;p&gt;[1] Time to get on my customary soapbox: spend less, save more! You&amp;#x27;ll be happier today, and much happier in the future.&lt;p&gt;[2] Back on the soapbox: If you&amp;#x27;re an American making a professional salary, have no debt and are not maxing out your IRA and 401(k) contributions, there will be a moment in your future when you do the retrospective calculation on how much more money you would have if you had done so and be very sad. :) Minimize regret, and save more today!</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>pyoung</author><text>Does your company offer a 401k matching program?  If so, that is basically an instant 100% return.  If they are not matching, then you might be right, but if their is a match on the table, it probably makes sense to max that out.</text></comment>
<story><title>How Homeownership Became the Engine of American Inequality</title><url>https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/09/magazine/how-homeownership-became-the-engine-of-american-inequality.html?hp&amp;action=click&amp;pgtype=Homepage&amp;clickSource=story-heading&amp;module=photo-spot-region&amp;region=top-news&amp;WT.nav=top-news</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>komali2</author><text>Regarding 2: I cannot wait to pay off my debts (scheduled in September!) and start putting money in IRA and 401(k) :) Every time someone asks me if I&amp;#x27;m using the 401k I always feel sheepish answering &amp;quot;no... because I have debts with a higher interest rate than I&amp;#x27;d get on the return...&amp;quot; Nobody seems to buy it but I&amp;#x27;ve run the math again and again, it&amp;#x27;s just true.</text></item><item><author>kcorbitt</author><text>So this article advocates for the removal of the mortgage interest tax deduction, because subsidizing home ownership leads to a larger economic divide between owners and renters. As a renter, I appreciate the intent, and I also appreciate any measure to simplify the tax code. That said, I also see compelling arguments in the deduction&amp;#x27;s favor. The sad truth is that most Americans are terrible at saving and in very poor shape for retirement[1]. And empirically, a home mortgage is perhaps the most successful mass-market forced-savings program in American society today, with much higher participation than tax-deferred retirement accounts[2]. So I see the advantage of tax policies that encourage people to buy their home.&lt;p&gt;[1] Time to get on my customary soapbox: spend less, save more! You&amp;#x27;ll be happier today, and much happier in the future.&lt;p&gt;[2] Back on the soapbox: If you&amp;#x27;re an American making a professional salary, have no debt and are not maxing out your IRA and 401(k) contributions, there will be a moment in your future when you do the retrospective calculation on how much more money you would have if you had done so and be very sad. :) Minimize regret, and save more today!</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>cbhl</author><text>Yes, this is the right thing to do.&lt;p&gt;From &amp;#x2F;r&amp;#x2F;personalfinance:
&lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;i.imgur.com&amp;#x2F;fb7Dtmh.png&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;i.imgur.com&amp;#x2F;fb7Dtmh.png&lt;/a&gt;</text></comment>