We acquired our current home in 2013 when interest rates were near all-time lows. At the time, conventional wisdom would suggest that we would likely come out ahead by taking out a mortgage loan.
I don’t like scanning receipts and entering each one into a spreadsheet, saving the paper receipts elsewhere to cash in at some far away date. It’s a lot of effort for a sliver of optimization.
Having a second home hasn’t made us wealthier, but it has given us the opportunity to spend more time with my wife’s family without taking over their homes & brings us close to friends we made when living nearby.