Personal Finance

Should you delay your dream retirement if it allows you to buy your dream home?

Christy Bieber

Published: January 29, 2025 3:22 pm

What’s more important: Retiring early or having an amazing home? This is a question that a Redditor is facing right now. The original poster (OP) said he is very close to hitting his goal of having $10 million invested. This would enable him to retire, as that amount would cover his costs even in a very expensive area. 

However, he currently lives in a modest house and is wondering whether he will regret not upgrading to a better place with a view. He thinks that doing so would cost him around $4 to $5 million, though. So if he were to buy his dream property, he would have to delay his retirement to a more traditional age. He’s wondering what the best option is. 

So, should the Redditor buy his dream home even if that means giving up his plans for early retirement? Or is it time to call it quits and just be happy with the home he already has?

Do you place a higher premium on a nice home or on financial freedom?

The big question that the OP needs to ask himself here is what is more important to him. Does he value being able to retire at a young age more than he values a nice house? Or is having a nice place to live so important to him that he is willing to work many more years to get it?

There’s no correct answer to this question. For some people, retiring early is the single most important goal and they are willing to make big sacrifices to do it, including living in a very modest place and skipping out on things like luxury vacations or dining out. For other people, enjoying life more in the moment is a higher priority and they’d rather spend money on things like a house or a nice car even if that means working extra time to afford these lifestyle choices.

In this particular case, the OP is just about ready to retire but is still thinking about giving up that dream to buy the perfect house. This suggests that he isn’t too unhappy with the work he is doing — otherwise, he’d be halfway out the door and not even considering trading his early departure just for a better property.

If he’s happy at work, then there’s likely no reason not to upgrade to the better house and just keep going with the job. He will, however, want to be sure he talks with a financial advisor about the long-term implications of this. Buying a $4 to $5 million home comes with large ongoing expenses like expensive property taxes and insurance. He will not only be shelling out a lot of money now, but he will also need more money in retirement eventually to be able to afford to keep up with these bills. 

Money decisions should be practical — but emotion plays a role too

When you’re deciding what to do with your money and which goals to prioritize, ultimately you need to be practical but also consider your happiness.  Most people do this without even thinking about it. After all, everyone could choose to live in the smallest place they can afford, to spend little on fun, and to save aggressively to retire early — but most people don’t want to sacrifice that much today just for the hope of a better tomorrow. 

If the OP runs the numbers, makes sure he can afford the house and is willing to work long enough to ensure he can pay for it as a retiree, that’s what he should do. The good news is, depending on how quickly properties appreciate where he lives, he always has the option of selling later and going to a more modest place if it turns out he regrets not retiring early. So, the choice is not necessarily one that’s going to doom him to working for decades even if ends up wanting to leave work sooner rather than later.