I don't think you should "own nothing." Unless you're willing to go live a vagabond lifestyle (not realistic for most people who want a family and etc) you'll just endlessly be enriching others (mostly (((you know who))) ) through rentals. Better plan for freedom is buy stuff that doesn't tie you to anything. The (((bank))) might tell you that you can afford X amount for a mortgage. But if X keeps you dependent on a specific job working for someone else to pay for it you don't want it, that makes you a serf. Same for cars and other big expenses. Instead buy cars in cash and a house that you could afford working for yourself if you had to, even if you have a good job you like and have no intention of working for yourself. It gives you the freedom to know you could say, "fuck it Im out," if you wanted to. Over time you'll build up equity it the house and can always use that to move up later to something bigger / nicer that will still leave you in a position that you know you still could afford to chuse out of the system on if you wanted Same princeple with cars. Yes, unlike your house they will lose value over time instead of appreciate. But if it took you three years to save to buy a 20k car in cash today, three years from now saving the same will allow you to move up to a nicer car. No, your car won't sell for 20k, but it will sell for a lot more than zero. If we guess at 20% deprecistion a year for a car, that still now leaves you three years lster in a position to buy a 30k car in cash and move up in comfort. (((The bank))) doesn't want you to think like that though. They want you not to have saved, take a loan for a 20k car today, pay $30k for it over the life of a five year loan, then have seen your $20k car fall to <7k value and now take another loan for a $27k car where with inflation factored in you've hardly moved up at all.