Renting vs buying a house, and other money matters experts don't agree on

The money advice you follow should be customised for you based on your own unique situations, values, and goals. How you implement money advice depends on your acceptance and awareness of what you are capable of, what you are comfortable with, and what kind of situations you are okay to deal with. 

Though some finance rules are universal, many are not. This includes advice on paying off your debt, renting a home and cutting down expenses.  

Here are some topics on which you might have contradictory information:    

1. PAY OFF DEBT VS CREATE A LARGER EMERGENCY FUND

Some experts who consider ''debt'' or ''loans'' to be the most toxic financial parasite, use their leadership role in the finance industry to encourage people to get rid of them. ''Sell off your car'' or ''close your student loan asap'' is the mantra they follow. According to these experts, saving for a basic emergency fund and closing off your debts is the first thing that people should do. 

Whereas other experts believe that you should create a diverse emergency fund like insurance and cash funds before aiming to reduce your debt. 

This means that your decision should come from your own personal circumstances, the risks you are ready to take, and the nature of the loans you have taken. 

Say, if you are staying with family or have someone who can take care of your basic needs for a few months, you can prioritize paying off your debts. But if you are staying by yourself or are ill and need someone to take care of you, you would ideally want to create a solid emergency fund. 

2. MAKING MORE MONEY OR CUTTING DOWN ON SPENDING 

No matter which personal finance website or expert you talk to (that probably includes your parents), every time you are in a money mess, the first few default pieces of advice you get, sound like these: 

• Spend less money (why do you pay your gym membership fees when you don't even go thrice a week?)
• Cut back on your morning coffee (you don't need a Blue Tokai every Monday).
• Make a DIY meal/ learn to cook it (instead of ordering it on Swiggy).
• Buy in bulk (to reduce costs).
• Stick to your budgets (as if we don't).

Now notice, how this all pertains to cutting costs but none of them relate to ''growing your income''. 

Growing your income includes much more than setting aside some free time and creating a side hustle. It means actively negotiating and at least trying to raise your main sources of income and diversifying the streams from where money flows to you from. 

3. RENTING A HOME VS BUYING ONE 

If you have parents who feel strongly about ''buying your own home'' and consider it to be a status symbol (and your most important financial achievement ever), chances are higher that you grew up listening to thoughts like: 

• ''Go to college, get a degree, start working, and get a home''.
• ''Home is a great stable investment. At least you can call it your own after paying all your EMIs'.' 
• ''Renting is basically throwing your money away''.

Having said that, renting can really be a better financial move if you are someone who needs to shift faster when your life changes. This can be when you have to take a different job or want to shift to a bigger space or move to another country etc. Also, being a renter only needs you to bear your rent as an expense, whereas when you own a home, an EMI is one of the costs you incur. You also additionally have to bear repair and maintenance costs, pay property taxes and keep systems in order. Plus if you want to move out, moving out of a rented apartment may be easier for you than selling your owned home. 

This just highlights that you cannot adopt personal finance advice just because experts have a certain view and see general trends. This is because what works for others may not essentially work for you the same way. Also, financial experts are self-appointed and often offer advice based on experience. So, you always have to decide based on your personality type, your own risk tolerance, your habits, and the amount of bank balance you want to see in your bank.