I-Rate

Rates seem to be out of control - we certainly are not in control of the rates we pay on mortgages or our insurance or the rate of inflation that impacts everything from food to energy to mobility to services. And this is causing one huge piece of our wealth accumulation engine - housing - to be seemingly out of our control. Because outside forces push us one way or another, or, keeps us feeling (physically, mentally) stuck where we are, the outcomes will leave everyone unsatisfied.

Can't summarize things better than my guy Ryan Patel does here:

Your home is your castle but it all depends on affordability - and this is where we sit now -

And this challenges everyone in real estate right now -

There's no silver bullet playbook right now - if the Fed cuts rates too soon, that could turn inflation back up again. It's not going to raise much more, and raising hasn't stopped the economy as much as expected. So now we're in a holding pattern, between a rock and economic hard place, irate and irritated at the rates we have to pay.

The only way to not get lost in frustration and anger is to focus on what we do control. Or at least have some control over - our actions and activities. Where we end up is the direct result of all the millions of tiny decisions we make. As I remind Ariel Belgrave Harris all the time when faced with the choice of stairs or escalator - I'm taking the stairs. If I don't, I feel bad, guilty. And what happens is, over time, I actually feel good about taking the stairs. I think that mindset is very applicable to how we spend, how we manage our finances, how we use leverage, how we go into debt.

And we have to persist while others quit, per James Eagle