Throughout the project, I observed and calculated the costs of housing for both Betty and

Randy. Their finances situations were similar yet their housing conditions, loans, and payments

were vastly different in the long run. The most prominent thing that I noticed is that although

Betty’s costs were higher than Randy’s, she owned her homes and was able to sell both for a

profit at later periods of time. Randy’s costs were a lot lower than Betty’s, but he did not own

any of the homes he was living in. He also lost his initial security deposits. While both of the

homes he lived in aged well and made a profit, he wasn’t able to ‘cash in’ on said profit because

they weren’t his. This led to him paying more for each property, which in the long run affected

his finances when it came time to retire. If he had initially invested in owning his homes rather

than renting them, he would be in a better financial position while making money off of the

property.

Another prominent thing I also noticed is that although Betty and Randy are the same

age, college graduates, and make similar pay, their finances are wildly different due to a

differentiating choice. By choosing to buy a home rather than rent, Betty set herself up for

success while Randy’s choice set him up to spend more than cost. It reminds me of a phrase I’ve

heard that essentially goes along the lines of “renting a home is throwing money away,” which is

true for Randy in this situation. If he had initially computed the cost of renting a home vs.

owning a home, he would have a better understanding of the overall benefits and disadvantages

to each. I think this would’ve helped him better prepare for expenses in his later life, like

healthcare costs or a spacious room in a nursing home. By running these computations, it

would’ve helped him save money that he could spend on delicious things like gelato or caviar.

Nursing home parties would definitely be a thousand times better with gelato around.