Rent or Buy?

While I was deciding on whether to rent or buy, I was confused about all the variables that go into the decision. The common advice is to buy because

• You're investing your money into something that always goes up
• It's a safe investment
• You're putting money into yourself and not someone else

I wasn't convinced as I knew my investments into index-based stocks and bonds also, in the long-run, always go up. I wanted some numbers to convince not just myself but others who kept nagging me about it.

Most of the calculators I've seen have been either

• based on false assumptions, like staying at 1 rental the entire time, or
• unclear on what the variables are for and how they're used (is this monthly? yearly? why a percentage and not a dollar amount?).

That's why I've created this calculator.