Every time I say this I'm shouted down as an exception. Of Course, I have been forced to live the entirety of my average life so I'm inclined to disagree, but maybe I'm wrong. I just wanted to get that out there. I own where I live. After graduating college I also had to pay my debts, my rent, and my other monthly fees. I did this for five years. After five years, I realized that the money I put towards rent was disappearing into a black hole. I also realized that the people who owned where I lived were just using my payments to pay a mortgage. I could do that myself. When I told my friends I was shopping for a house they imagined the homes of their childhoods - four bedroom suburban plots. I was thinking something a bit more lateral. I went from one 1,400 foot townhouse to another. Because I made a lateral move, I had proof that I could make the payments. I also convinced my roommate to make the move with me, assuring him he'd have a much cooler landlord. Since it was a townhouse, I wouldn't have to worry about fixing up the exterior of the house. I did a little math to make sure my roommate's rent price took repairs into account and now instead of all of my money going into a black hole, most of it goes into a property. Because I paid my bills for 5 years and the cost of the townhouse was only ~$110,000, I wasn't required to put any down payment. I acted as my own agent, which was terrifying, but ended up saving me money up front. If you are paying rent and especially if you are living alone it is very possible to own your own house."I can't afford a down payment on a house because I'm tied up paying student loans and car payments and my rent."