I am 44 and completely debt free. I will never be able to buy a house and have that debt just because they have become stupidly unaffordable. I rely on myself. I used to be able to regularly toss money into savings, but inflation has killed that. My rent has nearly doubled even though I haven't moved since 2015. It's not a large apartment, but if I want to pay a reasonable amount I will have to downsize and that's just sad. I've been working since I was 14 and will be working until the day I die. No retirement for me, if I even live that long.