DECIDE LIKE A CFO
Free weekly newsletter

Money decisions, worked through like a CFO would.

One everyday money decision each week, with the assumptions stated, the calculations shown, and a spreadsheet you can run on your own numbers.

THIS WEEK'S DECISIONRent vs buy

Get the free newsletter + model Explore this week's example

Free · one email a week · about five minutes of reading · unsubscribe in one click

Written by a chartered accountant with 15 years in banking. Episodes presented by Vera, our AI host. Education, not advice.

Vera, the show's AI presenter, in a bright home office: dark shoulder-length hair, tortoiseshell glasses, navy sweater AI HOST
Vera presents each week's decision in a one-minute video.
This week's decision · Episode 1

Rent vs buy: when does buying pull ahead?

A US example, in US dollars. Change one assumption, how fast the home's value grows, and watch the answer move.

Home price
$450,000
Down payment
20%
Mortgage, 30-year fixed
6.25%
Comparable rent
$2,400/month
Years you stay
7
Home value growth per year
Buying pulls ahead in
Year 13

After seven years, renting leaves this household $23,999 ahead.

Years until buying is ahead
By home value growth. Shorter bar = buying wins sooner.
  • 0%Not within 30 years
  • 1%Year 30
  • 2%Year 24
  • 3%Year 13
  • 4%Year 6
  • 5%Year 4
  • 6%Year 3

Source: the free Rent vs Buy model, Sensitivity tab, using the example household on the left; other assumptions at the model's defaults. An illustration, not a forecast.

Run it with your own numbers.Get the model with the newsletter →
What you get

Every issue has the same three parts.

The decision

One question a real household is facing right now, set out as a choice between options. No answer assumed.

The workings

Every number with its source and date. Where a figure is an assumption, we say so and show what happens if it's wrong.

Your copy

The spreadsheet behind the decision, free, ready for your own figures. Works in Excel and Google Sheets.

Who writes it

Vera is an AI presenter. The numbers aren't.

Vera, the AI presenter

VeraAI HOST
Presents the weekly video. She reads a script a person wrote and checked.

A person writes the analysis. Every input is sourced and dated. Every calculation is in the free model, so you can check it.

The newsletter and every script are written and checked by a chartered accountant with 15 years in banking.

  • Corrections are listed in the next newsletter.
  • No recommendations of financial products: investments, loans or cards. No advice on your personal situation.
  • Education, not advice: the examples are illustrations, not forecasts.

Get the free newsletter + model.

  1. Enter your email on our sign-up page.
  2. Your welcome email brings the Rent vs Buy model.
  3. Then one decision a week, about five minutes of reading.
Get the free newsletter + model

Free. Unsubscribe in one click. We never share your address. Can't see the welcome email? Check Promotions or spam. Privacy notice