Bernadette Joy has heard the arguments against renting. It’s throwing money away. You’re getting killed on inflation. Homeownership is a cornerstone of the American Dream.
Joy, a financial coach and author of “Crush Your Money Goals,” was a longtime believer in the latter point. “I definitely grew up with the philosophy that homeownership was the way to go,” she says.
And when her career began to flourish, she went for it. She and her husband owned four homes between 2010 and 2022, typically owning two at a time — one to live in and another for rental income.
But three years ago, Joy and her husband sold all of their property and went back to renting. And she says it’s made her richer, not only because she invested the proceeds of the sales into her portfolio, but also because she was able to better focus on her businesses without the stresses and time commitment of managing multiple properties.
“In 2021, when we grew our first million dollars of net worth — that’s when we first started to think about downsizing and going back to renting,” Joy says. “And then it only took us another three years to make our next million dollars.”
