Just a few weeks ago, I was playing the board game Life, a game in which every player must spend money on at least two things buying a house and buying a car. This aspect of the game truly mirrors two questions that must be considered in real life. Whether or not to buy a house is the one question everyone must answer, since having a place to live isn't exactly optional. And with real estate being so costly, over 50% of people decide, whether willingly or grudgingly, to put off buying a house and, instead, lease an apartment.

One appeal of buying a house is being free from testy landlords who may raise rent or not care for the property as well as they should. Many people see rent as a "waste of money," meaning that it is a recurring bill that they pay to someone else without actually gaining anything the property still isn't theirs and they could be homeless as soon as the lease ends.

In the case of a mortgage, the payments will eventually stop, albeit within 30 years, and at the end of the payments the house will be their property as long as the owners choose to keep it; it can also be considered an investment since the real estate market usually increases in value as time goes on.

Some of these real estate principles hold true for the auto industry. While you are leasing, the payments you make do not make the car any more yours than when you drove it out of the dealership. And buying a new car is acquiring a new asset that can later be sold.

However, I don't pretend that the two investments houses and cars are the same. When you buy a new car, your investment lost 5% of its value the moment you drove out of the dealership. That hardly sounds like a good acquisition.

Leasing certainly has its appeals. Depending on what your occupation is, the lease payments may be a tax right off. And the short-term commitment you are making to the vehicle makes it less likely that you will have to put serious investment into it beyond the monthly payments. That said, I still contend that buying a car is a wiser financial decision that leasing one. But, there's a twist.

The average price of a new car is $30,000. After factoring in the rapid depreciation of a car's value, the moment you turn the ignition you immediately lose $1,500. The average price of a certified used car is $9,000 and it depreciates at a slower rate due to its reduced purchase price and likelihood of resale. I would like to stress the importance of the vehicle being a certified pre-owned one. As it sat in the dealership, the vehicle received massive amounts of maintenance that results in the average lifespan of a certified vehicle nearing about 30,000 miles.

Once a pre-owned vehicle is purchased, the driver reaps the rewards of an aesthetically pleasing look as well as well oiled gears. And at the end of the average lifespan, the owner may give the car to charity, thereby earning a tax break comparable to that earlier mentioned regarding a leased vehicle.

Therefore, we see that the best solution to the buy or lease debate is actually a middle ground buying a used car that combines the pros of buying and leasing while eliminating the cons each traditional options poses.

Unfortunately for Parker Brothers, this ideal option is not one offered in their game.

Learn more about this author, Alysha Brady.
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