If you're weighing up the benefits of buying and renting, the housing market's stability might influence your decision, but the real question is: ?What'll happen to ME??

Imagine you buy a house tomorrow. Of course it matters if its value goes up or down by 10%, but probably not as much as a major change in your own life, like losing your job, getting promoted or having a baby.

What are your prospects? So start with a look at your finances. Let's split them into three: work, home and commitments.

Work: Is your job secure? Any chance of a pay-rise / promotion? Are you expecting your income to go up, down or nowhere?

Home: Are you planning a family? If you already have kids, are they costing you more every year, or about to leave home? Marriage, divorce, inheritance, big expenses ? changes in your home life can have a major impact on finances.

Commitments: Do you have any debts? Are you paying child support or supporting an elderly relative? If your children have left home, are they financially independent?

You can probably answer questions like these with a fair bit of certainty ? and figuring out if (and when) you're expecting things to change should help you make that all-important ?buy / don't buy? decision.

What's your monthly budget? If money is the biggest factor, there's no easy answer.

Some people buy because they feel they can't afford to keep renting. If rents go up by 4% a year, today's ?700 rent could be ?1,700 by 2030. Even with a variable rate mortgage, payments aren't likely to grow by anything like as much ? and a fixed rate mortgage costs the same every month until the end of the term. Plus, unlike rent, mortgage payments won't go on forever: one day they'll finish and the house will be yours to live in for free.

Others rent to avoid the expenses of homeownership, from fixing windows to replacing roofs. Inflation might drive up rental prices, but it should also keep pushing salaries upwards so they (hopefully) keep pace. No-one enjoys rental price increases, but at least they're more predictable than the costs that come with owning a house.

So which set of pros and cons is more suited to you and your plans for the future? Ask yourself a few questions.

Could your budget cope with unexpected ?homeowner? expenses? If not, one disaster (or a series of smaller problems) could mean you lose the house you'd worked so hard to buy.

How much are you spending on rent today? If you're waiting for house prices to come down, you might find that renting for another year costs you more than you'll save on the purchase price.

Do you need to buy now? It might be a good idea ? especially if you're young ? to wait until your wages are higher, your career is more secure and you have a better idea of where you want to live for the foreseeable future.

What's your financial forecast? No matter when you buy a house, prices could always go up or down unexpectedly. So when you listen to the predictions, don't forget to listen to yourself. No-one knows for sure what the future will bring, but a calculator and a calendar might help you weigh up the risks and decide whether to buy now, later, or never.