u/Tight-Essay-8332

Do you account for inflation in addition to the after tax HELOC interest rate when determining if your usage of the smith manoeuvre was value additive?

For example if my after tax heloc rate is 3% and my investments earn a nominal return of 3%, it seems that I have essentially done a sub optimal thing by doing the smith manoeuvre. Since I have taken on risk to earn a negative real rate of return. Isn't my actual breakeven rate ~5%? Which in turn seems like a much tougher hurdle to beat over time. What am I missing?

Looking to have a gardener come and take a look at our front porch and backyard. We want advice and him to do basic work with planting for beauty and veggies. Any recommendations based on good experiences?