I decided to buy almost 25 years ago. Now, I have my own home, with land, and no mortgage. Because that is the real choice... not what is best for you today. But in 25 years, do you want to be living on freely owned property, with minimal bills? Or do you still want to be paying rent to someone else?

There are legit arguments both ways... the numbers are not vastly different in the long run. But I am thrilled to have front-loaded my living expenses, so that I now am looking at a smaller burn rate of expenses during my retirement.