The Biggest Money Win You Can Have Before 35 Isn't Buying a House

That house everyone keeps telling you to buy before 35 probably isn't your biggest financial win. Homeownership has been sold as the ultimate proof you're adulting correctly, but here's the thing — a mortgage can actually anchor you to a spot when you should be building real wealth instead.

When the goal is financial security, experts say there are several other steps to focus on first.

Building a Financial Foundation

Buying a house can absolutely be part of a healthy financial plan, but it shouldn't come at the expense of the basics that create long-term stability. Gabbie Kelly, a certified public accountant (CPA) and founder of The Profit Mama, pushed back on the idea that anyone needs to buy a home by 35.

"A house is an asset, but for a lot of people under 35 it's the thing that drains the cash they needed to build actual wealth.” She argued the biggest win before 35 is “becoming someone who reliably earns more than they spend and knows exactly where their money goes."

According to Kelly, a solid financial foundation should include a healthy emergency fund, control over high-interest debt, automated investing and an understanding of your numbers that makes money less scary.

She’d rather see a 32-year-old with a growing income, six months of expenses in the bank and money invested “than the same person house-poor and stressed with nothing liquid."

Max Out Retirement Savings While Time Is on Your Side

Christina Mehltretter, a CPA and financial advisor with Carolinas Financial and Retirement Planning, said that consistently investing for retirement before 35 may deliver a much bigger lifetime payoff than buying a home early.

“If someone funds a 401(k) earlier in their career, they have time on their side," said Mehltretter. "They will have many more years of compounding interest and that money working hard for them."

And when people are ready to buy a home, she cautioned against buying “the biggest house that you can qualify for,” and instead suggested building a plan that affords you "the biggest future that you can afford.”

Establish Good Money Habits

Buying a home is a single transaction, whereas building wealth is the result of hundreds of intentional decisions repeated month after month.

Michelle Taylor, a financial advisor business consultant and the founder of Women in Wealth, said “the biggest impact comes from understanding your money and giving it a job so that it works, even while you’re sleeping.”

People underestimate the simplest actions, like automating investing, regularly reviewing your finances and staying invested when the market feels uncomfortable. “Those habits can feel boring in the moment, but they are often the reason someone looks up 20 years later and realizes they have built real wealth."

Ignore the Peer Pressure

Many people feel behind if they haven't bought a home by their early 30s. But Kelly argued that buying simply because everyone else you know already owns a house can delay wealth.

"When your money is locked in your walls, you can't invest in the thing that actually grows your income, whether that's a business, a certification or a move,” she said. Flexibility in your 20s and early 30s is worth more than most people realize.

The key is to remember, as Kelly put it, “You're not behind. You're on a different timeline, and the timeline everyone else is running on isn't a financial plan, it's peer pressure with a mortgage attached."

Homeownership is still a worthwhile goal for many people, but only after the financial fundamentals are in place.

This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice.