Why is everyone so concerned that I rent?
PLUS! Perimenopause is hard on skin, hair, and nails. Natural nutrition can help
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Why is everyone so concerned that I rent?
BY LAURIA LOCSMONDY
You’re throwing away your money! Your rent is more than my mortgage!
If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a thousand times. Like getting married and having kids, women have a timeline for these things, according to society, and I missed the train to Adultville.
Pause. Rewind. Actually, I did get married — then divorced. And I did have a kid who I raised alone. Does that count for a hole or two in my adulting punch card, Joneses? It certainly counts for a hole in my bank account — my divorce set me back tens of thousands of dollars, not to mention years, toward the one thing that seems to matter most to everyone but me: home ownership.
Where my homies?
A 2023 Pew Research Center survey using 2022 census data found that single women owned 58% of the nearly 35.2 million homes owned by unmarried Americans, while single men owned 42%. Booyah!
If you dig a little deeper, you’ll discover that this number is influenced by windows’ homeownership since we GALs live longer than men. Meanwhile, among all working heads of household, women earn about 88% of what men earn. If we’re gonna keep getting the paycheck shaft, at least we get to live longer?
Still, home prices have risen nearly 30% since 2019, making a typical home about $80,000 more expensive than it was pre-pandemic. While wages may have increased as well, it doesn’t match the rapid escalation of these price spikes.
With current record lows in home inventory, this double whammy leaves folks surrendering to the renters’ life — a modern-day luxury, if you ask the right GALs.
But renting is expensive, too
Vice President Harris released a series of housing proposals, including a rapid increase in home construction, $25,000 in down-payment assistance for first-time homebuyers, and a promise to "take on corporate landlords and cap unfair rent increases."
Though rent prices nationally have climbed about 19% since 2019, prices increased only about 1% in the past year, according to a Washington Post analysis of rent data from CoStar Group.
With rental options on the up and up, why would you sign a lease over a mortgage — especially if you have the option to do either?
5 reasons why renting rules
Renting a home is like wearing a wig. You try it on for size, live in it a little, have your moment, then move on to the next. No major investment — no baby bangs.
I’ve lived in Chicago for 26 years — 7 different neighborhoods, 13 different apartments — I love da city and appreciate all the reasons I get to rent, like:
It’s more affordable. “The financial sense of renting or buying depends a lot on where you prefer to live. According to an analysis by Realtor.com, in 45 of the 50 largest U.S. cities, renting is lower than buying a starter home. Despite rising costs, renting has become relatively more affordable than buying year-over-year,” reports Forbes.
No commitment. Yes, you have a lease, but there’s no pressure to stick around any longer — unless you want to. This flexibility allows you to explore your town — or the world — over and over again.
No maintenance. Jack-up garbage disposal? Done. Knarly weeds? Forget about it! Your landlord or property manager does it all. Pretty handy for the non-handy folk like myself — plus, no repair bills.
No financial strings. That’s right — no mortgage, no down payment. You pay to live where you live each month without any huge loans or financial burden looming over you.
No property taxes. That sh*t is expensive! In Chicago, the rates depend on location but average around 6.697% for a single-family home, making the average bill between $2,500 and $6,388. Yikes.
I love renting in the Chi because I can walk to my favorite restaurants, my yoga studio, the grocery, and so on — which would not be an option if I had to buy. The culture, the people, the experiences — this is the life I want for my family and me, and no one in Adultville can tell me otherwise.
Do you rent or own? Tell us why in the comments!
Perimenopause is hard on skin, hair, and nails. Natural nutrition can help
BY SALLY DUFFIN
Acne and greasy hair belong in our teenage years, right? Think again! Thanks to the hormonal ups and downs of perimenopause, breakouts can stage a midlife comeback, along with thinning hair, itchy skin, and brittle, flaky nails. More than a quarter of American women in their 40s experience adult acne. Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) may help, but it’s important to remember that our skin, hair, and nails directly reflect how well-nourished we are on the inside. Focusing on natural nutrition — healthy foods and nutrients — can support hormone balance and glowing skin, healthy hair, and strong nails.
Why does menopause cause acne?
Like teenage acne, fluctuating levels of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone cause menopausal acne.
However, this rate of decline doesn’t happen neatly, which means we have times when testosterone is relatively higher than estrogen and progesterone. This can lead to an increase in sebum production. The rate of skin exfoliation slows down too, meaning pores become more easily clogged and inflamed.
While teen acne usually affects the T-zone area (forehead, nose, and chin) menopausal acne is likely to appear on the lower cheeks and jawline.
Menopause and hair loss
According to leading trichologist (a specialist in conditions affecting the hair and scalp) Annabel Kingsley, around 40 percent of women will show signs of hair loss by the time they are 50. You might also see shorter, finer hairs growing, and hair appearing on the upper lip and chin. The rate of growth depends on our sensitivity to variations in estrogen and testosterone. Women with pre-existing hormonal issues like Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) are especially prone to these symptoms.
This article was originally published on the-midst.com here.
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X, Lauria, Head of Editorial & Content at The Midst
The Midst is a woman-owned business on a mission to empower women in midlife.
Owning rhymes with maintenance - And lost hours waiting for the fking plumber who never comes. I owned many houses. Then I got older and realized a taxi or ambulance would take at least 45 minutes to get me to a hospital- I moved to a rental at age 80. Best move ever. Landlord does maintenance while I read a book
All of this! As a 46 year old single woman, I love renting, though my story is a bit different.
I moved into my beautiful little under market value, rent controlled apartment in a great LA neighborhood 18 years ago and will likely never move. I’m paying a fraction of what I would pay for something anywhere else in the country and my rent is DEFINITELY less than a mortgage anywhere would be.