Got a job and then married someone who also has a job. We go to work, make our money, come home and relax.
For a side hustle, we bought a home around 2015 for $125k. We've paid off about $70k of the 2.8% 15-year mortgage and property taxes at $1100/mo, it's now estimated to be worth about $330k. That represents an income stream equivalent to about $2200/mo due to that asset's value rising at about 15% per year. If it wasn't for the fact that I live here, I'd be divesting a lot of my investment in that obvious bubble ASAP. Similarly, my parents built my childhood home nearby in '96 for about $80k, their property is now worth about $750k, you do the math.
You would need to subtract the YOY property taxes and maintenence costs (with inflation) to get actual net earnings, though
One use case is being able to borrow more against the increased value, but I do not think that it is a good idea for 99% of people to use their primary residence as leverage.
However, I do agree with the sentiment of your post. It's a lot easier to live below your means as a way to grow income rather than to stretch yourself to try to make extra money externally. 40 hours at a well played, balanced job with low living expenses is truly a great path.
And assuming I needed to live somewhere else, it would likely be because something undesirable has happened to the whole area, so the price at that point would be much lower than whatever it is at times before then.
(Also, I see I also need to use more of that ~4 weeks of vacation I've saved...)
She'll be joining the workforce full-time in the next 6-9 months in a new field. I'm psyched for a pretty significant boost to our overall income that we've never had before.